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Official Samsung LNxxB550 Discussion Thread

233K views 863 replies 208 participants last post by  MonarchX 
#1 ·
Alright,


Now that the NEW 2009 Samsung LNxxB550's are coming out, l'd like to start talking about what's different about them from the 2008 "A550" model line.


Samsung has finally come out with detailed information available here:

http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/d...d&menu2=detail


The NEW "B550" has the Touch Of Color (TOC) "Red" on the top & bottom. The USB/Composite/HDMI auxillary connection panel is on the LEFT side now, compared to the "A550's" RIGHT side design. There is no S-Video hook-up or Head Phone jack on these "B" models.


Here are some pictures:







This 40" LCD HDTV supports true 1080p high-definition and features a WiseLink USB 2.0 port that lets you integrate a digital camera, camcorder or other USB device into your home entertainment center.


MSRP: $1099.99


What's Included

Samsung 40" Class 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV

Swivel stand

Owner's manual

Product Features

Built-in HDTV tuner

Add HD-capable antenna to receive over-the-air high-definition broadcasts, where available. Optional set-top box required for high-definition cable or satellite programming.

39-9/10" screen size measured diagonally from corner to corner, ideal for medium-size rooms.

1080p display

Provides the highest quality progressive-scan picture possible from a high-definition source.

16:9 widescreen aspect ratio

Delivers a cinema-style entertainment experience.

Wide color enhancer and CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp)

Provide a vast array of colors for vibrant picture quality.

Incredible dynamic contrast (70,000:1)

For a stunning viewing experience and intense detail.

Wide Color Enhancer2

Optimizes a given color's hue, resulting in more natural rendering of colors.

Wide 178° horizontal and vertical viewing angles

Make every seat the best in the house.

Fast 6 ms response time

Minimizes blurring of moving video for crisp images.

SRS TruSurround HD Sound system

With 2 built-in 10W speakers delivers a virtual surround sound experience.

Ultraslim design (3-1/10" deep)

Ideal for wall mounting (with optional mounting kit, not included).

WiseLink USB 2.0 port

Provides a quick connection of a digital camera or other USB device.

PC video input

Lets you connect your computer to experience high-resolution images.

4 HDMI inputs

Provide an uncompressed all-digital audio/video link for the highest quality connection and they support copy-protected HD broadcast content. HDMI-CEC support for controlling compatible peripheral devices with the TV remote.

Inputs

4 HDMI (1 side, 3 rear), 2 component video (rear), 2 composite A/V (1 side, 1 rear), 1 PC (rear) and 1 optical audio.

V-Chip parental controls

Give you the option of blocking undesirable material.

ENERGY STAR qualified

Assures a high standard of energy efficiency.

Touch of Color cabinet

Features red accents in a black frame for a stylish addition to your entertainment center.

Additional features

Include trilingual (English, French, Spanish) on-screen menus, game mode and sleep timer.


Warranty Terms - Parts 1 year

Warranty Terms - Labor 1 year

Product Height 26-3/5" with stand (24-7/10" without)

Product Width 38-7/10"Product Weight 39.7 lbs. with stand (32.8 lbs. without) Product Depth10" with stand (3-1/10" without)

TV Type LCD Flat-Panel

Screen Size 40"

Aspect Ratio 16:9

Display Type Flat-panel LCD

Built-In_DVR No

Digital Cable Ready No

Maximum Resolution 1920 x 1080

Vertical Resolution 1080p

Contrast Ratio 70,000:1 dynamic

Media Card Slot No

USB Slot Yes

HDMI Inputs 4

DVI Inputs No

S-Video Inputs No

Component Video Inputs 2

Composite Inputs 2

PC Inputs 1

Watts/Channel 10

Speakers 2

Speaker Location Bottom

Simulated Surround Yes

Language Options English, French, Spanish

V-Chip Yes

Sleep/Alarm Timer..Sleep timer, yes; alarm, no

ENERGY STAR Qualified Yes

Screen Refresh Rate 60Hz.


Here is a link to a Quick Setup Guide of the LN40B550:

http://media.onecall.com/Image_Produ...pdf?BCPID=2577


Please add your comments, calibrations or settings to this thread if you'd like.


Happy viewing!
 
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#3 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by C-eclipse /forum/post/16151931


Sounds good to me man, hey do you do any 360 gaming or ps3 gaming over component on this set, I would like to know you settings. Thxs.

No I don't...sorry C-eclipse! How do you like your set viewing regular network..cable/sattelite, or otherwise... TV? I can't quite get my Reds to come out very good. They are too Orangy Red than Real Red, again watching DirecTV, via a HR-23 DVR.


Thanks for being the first to stop on in!
 
#4 ·
Eh....I don't have any HD cable or nothing. The apartment complex I live in offers cable but just standard def stuff through coax...get like hbo and stuff, so i never really cared. However, now that I have this set I will get digital cable in the future. I heard some people are really enjoying the set while others can't seem to get settings that they want. I dunno about your reds and stuff, I guess you can adjust things like the flesh tone, White Balance, and you color to get that straighten out. Problem is, the more settings you have on your set that affect your pq, the harder it is to get something you like. My old Westinghouse was easy to get something I liked, however it hardly had any settings to play around with.


Besides your red issue, how are the HD programming?
 
#5 ·
#6 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by C-eclipse /forum/post/16152046


Eh....I don't have any HD cable or nothing. The apartment complex I live in offers cable but just standard def stuff through coax...get like hbo and stuff, so i never really cared. However, now that I have this set I will get digital cable in the future. I heard some people are really enjoying the set while others can't seem to get settings that they want. I dunno about your reds and stuff, I guess you can adjust things like the flesh tone, White Balance, and you color to get that straighten out. Problem is, the more settings you have on your set that affect your pq, the harder it is to get something you like. My old Westinghouse was easy to get something I liked, however it hardly had any settings to play around with.


Besides your red issue, how are the HD programming?

I'm finding it pretty hard to get the Reds to come out as dark as my Plasma has...Pioneer. Sorry to hear/read about your not having any HD programming though. This set really does look pretty darn (dumb) good with a good source...DirecTV!


As far as literaly Picture Quality...I think with the settings that I listed at: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...6#post16140416 I am VERY satisfied with, other than the Orangy Red! Maybe this is the way Samsung has their Reds being displayed, but I'm not particularly found of them this way, hopfully I can adjust the set to get deeper Reds soon.


How long before you get HD or sattelite TV? Thanks for posting those pictures also!
 
#9 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by C-eclipse /forum/post/16152166


You said dumb good? That being bad or good? LOL.


Yea His pictures look amazing, I wonder what settings he has his TV set to, seems like those are some Blu-ray movies on a ps3.

LOL..dumb=good..I'll re-edit that!


I'm hoping that he'll chime in and let us know about those settings...or you could PM him.
 
#12 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mike_c70 /forum/post/16152251


The Bs have a slower response time 6ms as opposed to 5ms for the As.

And South Dakota is further north than North Carolina. I'd like to see someone actually tell the difference between 5ms and 6ms without knowing which was which.


The human eye and brain can only discern so much.


It takes up to 30ms for the human ear to tell a difference. The eye is better but not that much better.
 
#13 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mike_c70 /forum/post/16152251


The Bs have a slower response time 6ms as opposed to 5ms for the As.

Honestly, I really have my doubts about this claim. In fact, I have doubts about a lot of the numbers these manufacturers provide us.


For example, does anyone really believe that the B550 is 70,000 DCR, while the B530 is 60,000? They're nearly identical tvs, except for a few tiny changes, and slight cosmetic differences. They use the same panel. I honestly think these companies just slap a slightly different number on one tv, so they can sell it for a couple hundred more dollars.

With that said, I really doubt that Samsung made the new version of the A550 models 1ms slower than the previous year's model. My guess is that they just want to make the disparity between the cheaper and more expensive models look that much bigger.
 
#14 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tigerriot /forum/post/16153987


Honestly, I really have my doubts about this claim. In fact, I have doubts about a lot of the numbers these manufacturers provide us.


For example, does anyone really believe that the B550 is 70,000 DCR, while the B530 is 60,000? They're nearly identical tvs, except for a few tiny changes, and slight cosmetic differences. They use the same panel. I honestly think these companies just slap a slightly different number on one tv, so they can sell it for a couple hundred more dollars.

With that said, I really doubt that Samsung made the new version of the A550 models 1ms slower than the previous year's model. My guess is that they just want to make the disparity between the cheaper and more expensive models look that much bigger.

If I remember correctly, there was a more matted finish on the B530's screen over the B550's. In last years A650 model line, the 650's near-glass finish gave it 10,000 more dynamic contrast over the A630...could this be the case here as well?
 
#16 ·
The B550 definitely has a matte screen. Whether it is more or less matte than the B530 I can't say, since I wasn't able to view these side-by-side. Glare is not an issue with the B550.
 
#18 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by andrewdale /forum/post/16153940


And South Dakota is further north than North Carolina. I'd like to see someone actually tell the difference between 5ms and 6ms without knowing which was which.


The human eye and brain can only discern so much.


It takes up to 30ms for the human ear to tell a difference. The eye is better but not that much better.

Wow, testy aren't we. I was just merely pointing out differences between the As and Bs as the OP suggested. Does 1ms make a big difference? In my eyes no. But maybe someone needs to know that difference. It's posted for a reason.
 
#19 ·
Im seriously considering the LN40B550 to replace a 3yr old 720p viewsonic 32". So far the only real reviews on the B550 online are right here and another thread on this site. From what I gather it's seems like a very good tv for the price.


I sit 11' away from the wall mounted viewsonic. Is 40 big enough? I was contemplating 46, but not sure.


Still a little hesitant, i was hoping to see "wows" and "awesome" from OP. My friend has the 40A550 and I think it looks awesome.
 
#21 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by chillltown /forum/post/16155741


Im seriously considering the LN40B550 to replace a 3yr old 720p viewsonic 32". So far the only real reviews on the B550 online are right here and another thread on this site. From what I gather it's seems like a very good tv for the price.


I sit 11' away from the wall mounted viewsonic. Is 40 big enough? I was contemplating 46, but not sure.


Still a little hesitant, i was hoping to see "wows" and "awesome" from OP. My friend has the 40A550 and I think it looks awesome.

What you can do is possibly go to a BB and see if htey have one set up and judge the pq yourself, most people who saw it on BB said it looked great. I don't have any HD cable so I can't comment on the HD programming pq, but most people have said it looks great.
 
#22 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by C-eclipse /forum/post/16155763


What you can do is possibly go to a BB and see if htey have one set up and judge the pq yourself, most people who saw it on BB said it looked great. I don't have any HD cable so I can't comment on the HD programming pq, but most people have said it looks great.

Im definitely going to do that. And if they do have it setup and it looks great.. you think they'll mind if I take a look at the display settings and take a few pics lol? I've always hear that they brighten them up a bit more that what you would use in home, but the other settings may be helpful..
 
#23 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by chillltown /forum/post/16155966


Im definitely going to do that. And if they do have it setup and it looks great.. you think they'll mind if I take a look at the display settings and take a few pics lol? I've always hear that they brighten them up a bit more that what you would use in home, but the other settings may be helpful..

Yes, definitely go and see the set before you purchase it. Take a bit of time to play with the settings, because the store will have it set to "Dynamic" mode, which may look over saturated...color-wise.


No real reviews are out yet, except for the people on this forum...myself included. To some it up, I really like the set, the sound is not by any means great, but acceptable, to me anyway. I have my sound set to "Movie" mode for regular TV viewing, and it seems to be fine.


I personally would get a 46" set for viewing at the distance of 11'. I have a 43" Plasma that I sit about 9' from, and I kind of wish I would have gone with a little bit bigger, but at the time, the next set up was a 50", and that was just a bit too big.
 
#24 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mike_c70 /forum/post/16155418


Wow, testy aren't we. I was just merely pointing out differences between the As and Bs as the OP suggested. Does 1ms make a big difference? In my eyes no. But maybe someone needs to know that difference. It's posted for a reason.

Not trying to be testy. I apologize if it came off that way -- I'm quite sarcastic at times.
 
#26 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by C-eclipse /forum/post/16157957


So who else games on this TV(360 or PS3)? Anyone else? If you do what are you impressions and settings if you can please.

I will be! I have both systems. Just got the PS3 and that's what gave me the extra nudge to upgrade my display. Can't wait to see the blu-ray on the B550, I just need to buy one..



I got the PS3 mainly for the blu-ray. But I did get Killzone 2 and it looks amazing on my viewsonic..


If all goes well I'll have the tv by the end of the week.. Hope BB has it on display.
 
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