I've seen and liked the 850 almost enough to buy, but have heard that the PQ on the 950 is beyond awesome (as is the price:rolleyes:)

There's very little info on the 950 so would appreciate any comments.

950 is awesome if you're sitting directly in front of it, but its Achilles heel is that if you move a little off to the side (off-axis viewing) the picture quality really deteriorates. :(

Many LCDs are a bit touchy that way, but the 950 is worse than most.

If it's mostly just you watching and you can sit in the perfect spot, then it's wow.

There's some 950 owners in here (like Ommie) who can tell you more.

The off axis viewing of the 950 is at 45 * or more. It is not as bad as they say. I have the 46A950 and my buddy has the 55A950 and all our viewing angles the picture are fine. The T.V is outstanding, I still pinch myself on the quality vs my old plasma.

The 850 is also a outstanding set picture quality wise but it has clouding and flashlight issues that are discussed in the 850 thread.

So each has its merits and demerits, I think the 950 is the set to get it seems to have all the latest with Local dimming, next years sets are edge lit dimming and thin which has been discussed and postulated that a sacrifice has to happen to get thin and LED Edge lit dimming you have to sacrifice picture quality. Or to put it another way local dimming is a superior technology but they haven`t been able to get into a thin set at a good price. In talking to a Samsung rep that is there is angst that the 2009 sets are thin sets but is the quality the same as the 650,750 and 850 sets using the new edge lit technology gets you thin and LED`s. Time will tell in first production runs.

Well my rant is over, buy the 950 and you will be a little ahead of the curve!!!!! IMHO

From the CNET A950 review:

From off-angle, however, the LED-based Samsung was a poor performer even compared with most other LCDs we've tested. Blacks became noticeably brighter from just one position to the left or right of the sweet spot right in the middle of the couch. From either of those off-angle seats the far edge of the screen also washed out more noticeably than the near edge, and blooming became a lot worse; that unnatural cloud of light around bright objects on dark backgrounds showed up a lot more clearly from off-angle. Finally, discoloration set in and black areas appeared greenish from those non-sweet spots.


However, the rest of the review is very positive. Check it out at:

http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/samsung-ln46a950/4505-6482_7-33182079-2.html?tag=txt;page

Systemshock2 I do not care what Cnet says, my opinion is based on owning it and watching it in real life. It is good to about 45 degree after that yes it does have problems and the same goes for my friends 55 inch. I never watch any TV at greater than 10 to 20 * off angle, so this set works for me. Others review it as average for off angle viewing, while others say good, it is all a word and subjective. Go to the store and check it out yourself is my opinion, or maybe believe the real life testers here.

Real life is better than the lab, IMHO.

And yet, an obvious fall-off in off-axis viewing performance is not something that's very difficult to notice, y'know? It's reliably within the scope of a review.

I respect your opinion, but I think some ppl are more sensitive to off-axis performance drop-off than others.

That said, I agree with you that the 950 is overall a really good set.

A big thank-you to Canada 45 and SystemShock2for posting all the info I could have wanted to know and more:).

Usually, I keep on top of my e-mail, but because we had to be away yesterday, I'm just getting to it today. I had yet to see a 950 and there was a really good sale on the 850 at 2001 A/V so I sort of half-pulled the trigger late yesterday...yep, on the 850...

I actually had left a message at Gibby's on Tuesday regarding the 950, but no one called until late this afternoon. There is still time......, but for $1k more??? I'd rather give the business to Gibby's, but heck, I guess I'm a day late and SOL?? Help???

I've seen and liked the 850 almost enough to buy, but have heard that the PQ on the 950 is beyond awesome (as is the price:rolleyes:)

There's very little info on the 950 so would appreciate any comments.

The LN850 is a fabulous LCD. Much like the Kuro's and XBR8's, the 950's are too pricey.

Thanks so much, Auditor55! That makes me feel a little more confident.

The LN850 is a fabulous LCD. Much like the Kuro's and XBR8's, the 950's are too pricey.

You might want to check the price on the Kuros from some of the forum sponsors. Some great deals to be had.

:)

Systemshock2 I do not care what Cnet says, my opinion is based on owning it and watching it in real life. It is good to about 45 degree after that yes it does have problems and the same goes for my friends 55 inch. I never watch any TV at greater than 10 to 20 * off angle, so this set works for me. Others review it as average for off angle viewing, while others say good, it is all a word and subjective. Go to the store and check it out yourself is my opinion, or maybe believe the real life testers here.

Real life is better than the lab, IMHO.

And yet, an obvious fall-off in off-axis viewing performance is not something that's very difficult to notice, y'know? It's reliably within the scope of a review.

I respect your opinion, but I think some ppl are more sensitive to off-axis performance drop-off than others.

That said, I agree with you that the 950 is overall a really good set.


I find these reports interesting regarding the off axis viewing angles on these panels. When they were released, owners said there were 0 issues with them. Then the review came out, and Samsung anounced a FW/HW upgrade, and the owners starting chiming in complaining they wanted the new panel, because the blooming and off axis angles were an issue.

From my experience with several of these panels, is that the 55 inchers are pretty bad with viewing angles and blooming, while the 46's are much better. Definitely not as wide as the 45 degree angles the poster above has mentioned, atleast from my experiences, but better than the 55 nonetheless.

You might want to check the price on the Kuros from some of the forum sponsors. Some great deals to be had.

:)

Yep, Kuros, at least the 5020FD, aren't that expensive anymore. Like $2K USD at Amazon, probably similar from forum sponsors. That's only slightly higher than what the 850 is.

I'd recommend that the OP view the 850/860*, 950, and Kuro 5020FD b4 buying. Unless you're a crazed videophile, you're likely to keep such a set for years and years, so it pays to be picky. ;)


* 860 is the same as the 850, but has a blue 'touch of color' bezel instead of the 850's red, and an 18 month warranty instead of the 850's 12 month. It's also slightly more expensive.

You might want to check the price on the Kuros from some of the forum sponsors. Some great deals to be had.

:)


The 5020's yes, but the 6020's are still pricey and lack bang for the buck. I would like to see the 6020's be competitively priced. $2700-2900 is a a good range. Still more than the 58'' Panasonic plasmas.

The 5020's yes, but the 6020's are still pricey and lack bang for the buck. I would like to see the 6020's be competitively priced. $2700-2900 is a a good range. Still more than the 58'' Panasonic plasmas.

Well, since I couldn't find any Samsungs (other than the 650, 750 and 850 and liked the 850's PQ best of all) within a comfortable driving area (2 hours in all directions), I pulled the trigger on the 850 about an hour ago. I hope we have good luck with it as it's replacing a Samsung DLP that we bought four years ago.

I couldn't justify paying an extra $1k right now either for something I hadn't actually seen in action.

We have 30 days to check it out, and if there are problems, I hope they'll show up within that period.

A big thank-you to everyone for all your help; I'll keep you posted.:rolleyes:

Nice purchase, Isabel. :)

I had the recent good fortune to view 'Transformers' on Blu-Ray on an 850, and it was pretty darn stunning, with incredible sharpness/detail and a real 'you are there' feeling to it. Some ppl don't like the 'video/3D' effect that AMP gives, but I love it, personally, and one can always turn it off if they don't.

I recently bought a 630 for my Mom, and I'm looking to pull the trigger on what is likely to be an 850 or 860 very soon for myself. Enjoy.

Thanks, SystemShock. When we originally saw this model late last week, I was mezmerized by the 3D look which I hadn't seen on any other TV so far.:eek:

Perhaps, I was a little hasty in making the decision and should have taken more time to travel *farther and wider* to explore what I felt was perfection, but there comes a point when you say to yourself *enough*.

I could have second-guessed choices for many months to come, but I think I would just have confused myself even more.:confused:

In addition to the TV, we purchased a Blu-ray player and and PVR on sale so we'll have lots of toys to play with while the snow blows.:D

Isabel --

You will love the 850. I was doing the same analysis as you early last week and wanted to pull the trigger before the Super Bowl. I ended up getting the 46" 950 and have been in heaven ever since. Samsung makes a really good TV. Enjoy.

Thanks Luca!! The new 850 hasn't been installed yet so I can't comment much on the quality.

Bravo on scoring a 950 to watch the Superbowl!