46″ widescreen HDTV (16:9 aspect ratio) * high-gloss black finish * built-in digital (ATSC) and analog (NTSC) tuners for over-the-air TV broadcasts (antenna required) * built-in QAM cable TV tuner receives unscrambled programs without a set-top box (cable service required) * 1920 x 1080 pixels *

Customer Reviews:
4 out of 5 stars So Far, So Good.

I ordered the Samsung LN46A550, sight unseen, from Electronics Expo based upon the price/performance ratio and the fact that Samsung HDTV’s have always struck me as having the best image quality. So far, I’ve not been disappointed. For a price just under $1600, this is undoubtedly an awful lot of TV for the money. First and foremost, the picture quality is superb. I have spent much time at the Best Buy, Circuit City, and the Electronics Expo for the past 18 months and so I’m not easily impressed. But I’d have to say that the A550 image quality easily rivals the best Pioneer plasmas costing many thousands more. The 30,000:1 contrast ratio helps put the Samsung among the very best of the best. With the `Black Mode’ and `dynamic contrast’ turned up, there’s that sense of looking through a window. The image clarity literally blows away my previous HDTV… which was a Philips.

When turned off, the LCD display is not quite as glossy and reflective as some of the earlier Samsung models. The set comes with the swivel stand pre-assembled and the TV can be lifted by one person without too much trouble. It should be noted that the swivel stand is a very useful feature.

Before turning on the set, I hooked up all the peripheral devices, namely an HD Cable Box, a Panasonic 30K Blu-Ray player, a Toshiba HD-DVD player, and my laptop computer. I then turned the set on, fingers crossed, hoping there wouldn’t be any problems. The first show that appeared on the screen was from an HBO HD movie, Chris Rock’s `I Think I Love My Wife’. Even without any adjustments, the image clarity was jaw-droppingly good. As I’ve stated earlier, it blew away anything I’d ever seen with my previous Philips. I quickly realized that that the picture size needed to be adjusted because the edges were slightly cut-off. The remote allows toggling picture sizes without the need to access a menu. Setting the size at ‘Just Scan’ is probably the best option. Afterwards I adjusted some of the picture settings and of course, things only got better. Oh and I watched the whole Chris Rock movie…it was pretty good.

Next, I watched `Kingdom of Heaven’ in full 1080P using the Panasonic Blu-Ray player. Of course it was spectacular visually. But damn, it’s a boring film. Anyways, there were no `issues’ using the Panasonic player because the 24FPS feature is non-existent on the A550.

Sure, the A550 is not 120HZ. But to some extent, the 120HZ anti-judder filters are a gimmick that add an artificial clarity…turning movies that were filmed into video-game like drawings. Its an interesting effect, to be sure…but I didn’t think it was worth spending an $800.00 for one feature that amounts to `processing’. Indeed, the A550 gives the best image possible from the source material while still looking entirely natural.

As for reliability, the TV has worked flawlessly so far…but I’ve only had it for a day. The PC input worked well: text was crisp at 1920X1080 resolution. But I probably won’t use it as a monitor. About the only negative thing I can say is that the built in speakers are laughably inadequate. Of course you’ll want to have a good external stereo system.

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