So far so good!

After researching HD plasmas for about a month I was all set on an LG model from a different website because it was the least expensive 42 incher with the best reviews I could find but then I came across this model on Amazon for a hundred and fifty dollars cheaper (This was onsale for under $500 then..I dont think it is anymore). This is the least expensive 42 incher I've been come across and I'm very satisfied with the quality. After watching a lot of movies with dark scenes I was concerned because if I increased the brightness the colors seemed to wash out - well after selecting the 'dynamic' picture setting instead of 'standard' that has been resolved - the colors are crisp and dark scenes are sharp and more visible.



I was concerned that this tv might have the ugly red stripe on the base of the tv like some pictures of other samsungs I've seen but thankfully it does not. The tv frame and base are a sexy piano black. My opinion on why it's inexpensive is because it has the fewwest inputs on it. It only has 2 hdmi inputs. Perfect for an hd cable box and a ps3. This tv also has 2 sets of component inputs which are ideal for a vcr or other video game system that isnt in hd (like a wii).



I don't have digital cable just a plain old basic cable service and the QAM tuner picked up all the digital channels but they're not in hd so I'm still thinking of getting a comcast hd box even though I despise the significant compression comcast utilizes with its signal. Compare comcast hdtv to a blu ray and you'll notice how compressed the comcast video signal is (tiling and pixelating and motion blur is evident from the comcast signal).



All in all at this price point this can't be beat.



Anyway feel free to ask any questions on this new model via the comments section and I'll be happy to respond.More detail ...

Fantastic Image Display

The picture on this TV was stunning right out of the box. After a few minor adjustments it was as close to perfect as I could imagine. It came with the SQ01 panel and it would be hard to differentiate the color depth and quality from some of the plasma sets I looked at. The TV is in a very bright room and the matte screen cuts out glare with no picture degradation. The viewing angle is very good though we are never more than 25 to 30 degrees off center. The picture is very stable from channel to channel with no change in the back lighting that I can see and the standard definition picture is almost HD quality when using the 16:9 picture format. It has separate settings for processing speed and anti-judder for motion blur when using the Custom view mode unlike the majority of sets that combine both settings into one. I watch a lot of sports and really don't notice motion blur at 60hz so its certainly not an issue at 120hz. I'm not a gamer so for my viewing habits I see no need to spend more for a 240hz option. The sound is very good for normal TV viewing. It can be connected to a home network and I have also hooked it up to my laptop using the VGA connection to watch Netflix and even that produces an acceptable SD picture. There are multiple picture settings you can use to suit just about any programming source including watching at 120hz without the "soap opera" effect that some people find so annoying. There are 4 HDMI and 2 USB connections plus one for headphones. There is no S video so you may need cables to hook up older external equipment. UVerse is the programming source.



One thing about settings. The first evening the picture suddenly got much darker and even though I would reset the brightness it would get dark again once I left the menu. I spoke with Samsung and they had no idea why this was happening. It turns out this set automatically adjusts the picture to your room brightness in the Standard viewing mode which is the factory default. You can change this in the Eco portion of the picture menu to never go below a certain brightness level or you can turn it off completely. This is not an issue when using any other viewing mode.



The last time I bought a LCD I continued to look around in case I found something better. That will not be the case this time as I am completely satisfied. Pilot shipping through Amazon was great. They delivered on time set up the TV and swivel stand and had everything working in 5-10 minutes.More detail ...

Time for an upgrade!

I have literally been following the prices of HDTV's for about a year now and there is no better time for an upgrade! Samsung just released their new "C" series and somehow they are remarkably less expensive than their pre-existing models! The majority of the websites are selling this HDTV for $800+ Amazon's lower-than-low price is less than the rest of the market. I purchased it here on Amazon and received my HDTV in 5 days (could have been 4 days but I had school all day). CEVA did the shipping for my HDTV which I was wary at first because I have only dealt with UPS and Fedex. However CEVA provided excellent customer service as they did contact me and I verbally specified a delivery time. Packaging was very efficient and surprisingly light too!



For those who prefer using TV stands you do have to assemble it on your own. Extremely easy to assemble though! All it took was 9 screws (already in the box) and I recommend using a power-screwdriver. Directions said it required two people I did it solo! I was just eager to hook up my PS3 via HDMI cable and experience the wonderful world of 1080P.



Okay now for the specifics and why this HDTV deserves a spot in your living room - As I mentioned before right up to my purchase I extensively followed the quality and price of several HDTVs. The Samsungs 530 550 630 650. The Samsung 630 is the best deal for your money here's why: The 5 series is less expensive but only offers refresh times of 60Hz as compared to the 630 which is 120Hz. This is a big difference and means that your HDTV with 120Hz displays at least twice as many frames-per-second which makes movies not only sports very fluid and more realistic. Another difference is the response time where as the 5 series has a 6ms response time the 6 series has a 4ms response time. And if you are a gamer a difference of 2ms can make a big difference. So why the Samsung 630 and not the 650? The only difference now is the contrast ratio. The 630 comes with a 80000:1 contrast ratio which in my opinion still creates an extraordinary depth to the display. TV contrast ratio's are starting to become stable around the 70000 - 100000 range (or much higher for LEDs). Whereas 3 years ago the highest was around 10000 but kept constantly rising. So this HDTV is very much future proof. Yes the 650 has a higher contrast ratio but is it worth the extra $200 something dollars?



All in all if you're not worried about price go all out and purchase a LED HDTV. But if you want to shop smart this HDTV is the way to go.More detail ...