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Which 40" Samsung HDTV to get?

arnette

arnette

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 22, 2002
314
110
Manhattan Beach
Samsung LN40A750 40-inch 1080p DLNA LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color
$1774

/or/

Samsung LNT4081F 40-inch 1080p LED LCD HDTV with LED Motion Plus
$1799

I'm leaning towards the Touch of Color CCFL because of the software/ports and the screen is less glossy. Though I understand the contrast of LED is way better (not sure about response time though).

I'll be using this for everyday TV in my small apartment living room, probably with a few HDTV channels if I spring for the DishTV HD package. Will be playing PS3 games on it as well.

Anyone have an opinion between these two? Thanks!

EDIT: Added links.
 
I am also looking at samsung TVs - so I might also suggest a couple of their plasma sets - such as the pn50a550, which is a HDTV, and the pn50a450, which is only 720p. ( they are both 50" )

They are priced quite reasonably compared to the LCDs, and imo perform better for a larger range of viewing inputs - though games will probably be a little better on the LCDs.

Either way, I suggest you go to a retail store with the models you are looking at - and stare at them and fiddle around with them.

Good Luck.
 
Get the Touch of Color set. It has a better response time than the other set (4 ms compared to 8 ms), which will be good for your PS3 gaming. It's also got one more HDMI port.
 
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/544283-REG/Samsung_LN40A530P1FXZA_LN40A530_40_1080p_LCD.html

that one.

pretty much exactly the same as the ones you're looking at. it might be last years model, i'm not sure.

40'', 1080p, ATSC & QAM, 3 HDMI, PC input, etc. $1179.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889102132

that one looks good too.

Definitely buy from B&H if they have what you want. I've bought 2 HDTVs plus other stuff from there. great place. If they don't have one you like (though I don't see why they wouldn't, they have a bunch) newegg is also great.

Martin C said:
Get the Touch of Color set. It has a better response time than the other set (4 ms compared to 8 ms), which will be good for your PS3 gaming. It's also got one more HDMI port.
Click to expand...

That response time is pretty irrelevant. PS3 only does up to 60p. As long as the response time is under 16.67 ms, you'll be fine.
 
I checked out the B&H website and it says they're closed for the holidays Monday and Tuesday......uh, what holiday is next week?

Anyways, I'm shopping for an HDTV as well, also in the 40" range and will definitely check out those Samsungs. Is ordering online generally a good way to go? I'm impatient, plus I don't know if I'd trust a courier with it, I'd rather pick it up at Circuit City or something and bring it home and install it myself. Plus, sounds like it would be a royal pain in the ass if something went wrong and you had to return it.
 
yg17 said:
I checked out the B&H website and it says they're closed for the holidays Monday and Tuesday......uh, what holiday is next week?
Click to expand...

Some Jewish holiday.

Anyways, I'm shopping for an HDTV as well, also in the 40" range and will definitely check out those Samsungs. Is ordering online generally a good way to go? I'm impatient, plus I don't know if I'd trust a courier with it, I'd rather pick it up at Circuit City or something and bring it home and install it myself. Plus, sounds like it would be a royal pain in the ass if something went wrong and you had to return it.
Click to expand...

If you want to go and pay $500 more at Circuit City, then go do that. Otherwise, ordering online is much better. They ship it double boxed, so you can't tell what is in it and it's extra protected.

I've never had to return anything to B&H, but I'd assume they're fine about it. They're great about everything.
 
zioxide said:
Some Jewish holiday.
Click to expand...
I'm a terrible Jew then, I probably should've known that


If you want to go and pay $500 more at Circuit City, then go do that. Otherwise, ordering online is much better. They ship it double boxed, so you can't tell what is in it and it's extra protected.

I've never had to return anything to B&H, but I'd assume they're fine about it. They're great about everything.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind
 
Thanks for the input. I wanted to stay around 40-42" size. Will more than likely go with the Touch of Color Samsung through Amazon (I'm a Prime member so shipping is free).

I heard there were other colors coming out for the Samsung TV other than the current red. Hopefully I can dig up more info before I buy in the next few weeks.
 
arnette said:
Samsung LN40A750 40-inch 1080p DLNA LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color
$1774

/or/

Samsung LNT4081F 40-inch 1080p LED LCD HDTV with LED Motion Plus
$1799
Click to expand...
The LNT4081 is a 2007 model. The LN40A750 is the new 2008 model. I have the LNT4069 -- it's an excellent set (but not LED backlit) and can be had for around $1400.
 
I just picked up the Samsung LN40A530 (zioxide linked to it, it's the one at B&H) from Circuit City today. It was $1,199, so $20 more than at B&H. But B&H wanted $141 for shipping, and since sales tax at CC was only $90, it ended up being cheaper. Plus, instant gratification.

As far as thoughts on the TV: I'm surprised it hasn't blown up yet, because nothing is big enough to contain the amount of awesomeness this TV is. Until Charter comes out Wednesday to install a CableCARD in my TiVo, I'm stuck with crappy, standard def TV (I plugged it directly into the cable outlet, but it seems Charter encrypts all their HD channels, the only ones in clear QAM were PBS). But I downloaded a few HD movie trailers from the Xbox Live Market Place, and even though they're only 720p, they look amazing. I can't wait until I get a PS3 (probably in a couple months) and can watch some Blu-Ray movies in all of their 1080p glory. I think I'll definitely be renting some movies from XBL until I get a PS3. I highly recommend it.
 
I vote for the 81f. I own the 65f 40" (since september last year) and I got it for almost the same price as the 81 goes for nowadays. I've been jealous of the 71f, which doesn't have near the contrast of the 81.
 
yg17 said:
I just picked up the Samsung LN40A530 (zioxide linked to it, it's the one at B&H) from Circuit City today. It was $1,199, so $20 more than at B&H. But B&H wanted $141 for shipping, and since sales tax at CC was only $90, it ended up being cheaper. Plus, instant gratification.

As far as thoughts on the TV: I'm surprised it hasn't blown up yet, because nothing is big enough to contain the amount of awesomeness this TV is. Until Charter comes out Wednesday to install a CableCARD in my TiVo, I'm stuck with crappy, standard def TV (I plugged it directly into the cable outlet, but it seems Charter encrypts all their HD channels, the only ones in clear QAM were PBS).
Click to expand...

Nice.

Do you have a set of old rabbit ears laying around? Plug that in to the antenna port and you should be able to get the major networks over the air in Full HD. Check out antennaweb.org to see which stations you can get. I can get NBC CBS ABC FOX all free in HD over the air with just an antenna.
 
zioxide said:
Nice.

Do you have a set of old rabbit ears laying around? Plug that in to the antenna port and you should be able to get the major networks over the air in Full HD. Check out antennaweb.org to see which stations you can get. I can get NBC CBS ABC FOX all free in HD over the air with just an antenna.
Click to expand...


I was just looking around the house for a set of rabbit ears and came up empty :(

I'll be all set once I get those CableCARDs. The local HD channels are free on Charter, you just need one of their boxes or the cards. Although Charter doesn't have our local CBS in HD for some unknown reason, I may need to pick up a set of rabbit ears for that
 
Well I should be able to offer a review of the A650s soon enough. Our 9+ year old Sony Trinitron died recently so now we're going to upgrade to the LN52A650 should be delivered on Monday. The mount coming sometime later this week or early next week. It was between the Samsung and this Panasonic. The lack of burn in, PIP and slightly larger size had the Samsung winning by a hair (would have probably won by more had it not been for the Touch or Color, not sure how the red tint is going to look at home yet, wasn't too bad in the store).

Once we manage to get everything set up it should be a pretty nice upgrade from our previous setup. Have to see about upgrading to HD on Directv but might make due with rabbit ears for a little while. Don't have a lot of HD sources (yet) but at the rate we like to run stuff into the ground better to get a good setup started now.
 
First one you listed.

Seriously though, they are both awesome and I doubt you will be unhappy with either!
 
I've got the LN40a650a.. there's a bunch of letters & #'s after that, but you get the point.. It's the one with the enhanced black.. It's picture is absolutely insane.. I have another Samsung LCD and the picture on this one is noticeably better..

Here's the thing with Samsung TV's- if you're going to get one DON'T get Verizon FIOS.. They've got some serious compatibly issues with Samsung TV's and HDMI.. I'm told an update is coming in August, but I'm not holding my breath..
 
Well I've got a week in on the ln52a650 and have to say I'm very impressed with it so far.

I still have to find a time when the kids are out and I can get someone to help me lift the TV so I can get it mounted but it works in its current position for now.

The picture is nice although certain standard definition shows do show some scaling artifacts when viewed up close, but if I were always that close to the TV I wouldn't need a 52" screen.

We don't have a lot of HD sources and I need to pick up some cheap rabbit ears to get the over the air HD signals that are available in our broadcast region. (DirecTV upgrade to HD won't happen until we clear off some PPV movies on the DVR, and I can convince my wife that HD is worth the extra bit every month).

The one great test we did was after getting a bunch of new cables was to put in Serenity on our upconverting DVD recorder/player, and watched about 15 minutes. That was pretty. Really want to actually watch something using that setup soon, but I'm at the mercy of the wife, kids, and Wii so I don't have as much free time as I'd like. So far I can say that Noggin looks as good as it ever did although some of the traditional animation shows seem to show more artifacts than others. Pixar movies look great on our old DVD changer through component output (need to try one over HDMI). The Wii looks better via component and I can finally play games in 16:9 mode.

The Touch of Color actually looks a lot better than I thought it would so I'm really happy with the whole setup now, and will be even happier when I can purchase a new receiver to do most of the switching and eliminate most of the cabling to the TV.

I can wholeheartedly recommend the LNxxA650 displays at this point. I don't have any complaints so far aside from some minor difficulty in getting certain options to work (mainly PIP, but it's all starting to make sense).
 
Samsung makes some really nice TV's.
I picked up an LN40A550 set a month back for our bedroom. Man this is a beautiful picture - BR looks un-fracking-believable!
I couldn't see spending the extra $300 for the ToC series since the set is in the bedroom. When we finally replace the aging 480p/1080i 47" RPTV in the family room, we'll definitely look for a top of the line LCD.
This thing does give off a bit of heat, though. It'll be nice in the winter - we'll just display a cracklin' fireplace image and gather 'round. Marshmallows, anyone?:)
 
zelmo said:
Samsung makes some really nice TV's.
I picked up an LN40A550 set a month back for our bedroom. Man this is a beautiful picture - BR looks un-fracking-believable!
I couldn't see spending the extra $300 for the ToC series since the set is in the bedroom. When we finally replace the aging 480p/1080i 47" RPTV in the family room, we'll definitely look for a top of the line LCD.
This thing does give off a bit of heat, though. It'll be nice in the winter - we'll just display a cracklin' fireplace image and gather 'round. Marshmallows, anyone?:)
Click to expand...

That's the one I was looking to get! I initially wanted a 40" for my living room, but now I have changed plans to get a 32" so I can have it in my bedroom at home and in my living room in college.
I am looking at the LN32A550. All I can say is WOW! The picture on these beauties is amazing!
With the pricepoint and upgrades I'm sure the 750 series would be great as well.
 
well, samsung just announced the new 8 series and 9 series for their LCD lineup. apparently the 9 series gets led baclighting and the 8 series (maybe 9 series too) gets a new ToC (Touch of Color) option where they can choose the red, which is currently out now, or blue which is a $100 premium i believe. both series come out in september i believe though.
 
jemeinc said:
I've got the LN40a650a.. there's a bunch of letters & #'s after that, but you get the point.. It's the one with the enhanced black.. It's picture is absolutely insane.. I have another Samsung LCD and the picture on this one is noticeably better..

Here's the thing with Samsung TV's- if you're going to get one DON'T get Verizon FIOS.. They've got some serious compatibly issues with Samsung TV's and HDMI.. I'm told an update is coming in August, but I'm not holding my breath..
Click to expand...
We have a Samsung LN40A550 and we had a previous 32" Samsung LCD TV with Verizon FiOS TV. What problems are you having? I haven't noticed too many problems yet.:apple:
 
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