Samsung LN40A750 40-inch 1080p DLNA LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color
This TV is absolutely incredible! I don’t have much more to say then what’s already been said here, but I’ll do my best.
I was trying to decide between this model and the series 6, and ended up with this one because of the built-in subwoofer. I’m glad I did because the sound is definitely excellent! It’s not quite surround sound, but the simulated surround sound is still impressive.
One of the grea things about this TV is that it works so well right out of the box! I went to a friend’s place and he has a 52″ Bravia, but the picture was only 1/2 or 1/3 of the screen most of the time whereas the picture fills my screen like 95% of the time. I went home and watched the same show I was watching at his place at my place and the quality was significantly better on my TV (and we live in the same building, so it’s the same cable). On his TV there were lines and it looked like a CRT, whereas mine was a lot cleaner and, while it wasn’t very clear because the broadcast itself sucked, it was smoother and looked better overall. I tried messing with some settings but couldn’t get it looking as good as my 40″ did. (note: I have my picture mode set to ‘dynamic’, and it truly does dynamically seem to adapt to video games or TV or whatever I’m watching)
This TV is so great that it makes DVDs look better and standard definition video looks great! Sometimes I have to get really close to the TV to convince myself that it really isn’t HD. Of course, when you put on something that’s true HD (like 1080i or 1080p), it puts everything else to shame. In other words, you can tell the difference between standard def and high def, and yet the former is still better than you may expect. I feel like the main difference from far away between the two is how much more vibrant and real the colors are in HD as opposed to SD, but when you get up close you can tell that the SD content is just grainier and more fuzzy around the edges, and you see more artifacts. From a distance of like 7 feet though, you can’t tell the artifacts are there. Of course, this is all somewhat dependent on your cable/satellite provider.
I have a PS3 so I can attest to how incredible games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Rock Band look AND sound! MGS4 will have you thinking that they’re real people and the gorgeous environments really shine on these TV. The otherwise mundane backgrounds in Rock Band look really real on this TV. I watched some Seinfeld episodes from DVD on my brother’s TV (he has a 46″ series 7) and it’s like a totally new show! I also have a couple of Blu-ray movies (Kill Bill 1 & 2), which output 1080p with PCM 5.1 sound, and it seriously felt like when I first saw the movies in the theater. Obviously, the screen isn’t as big, but the experience with the picture quality and the sound made me forget that I was even watching it in my living room at times. I really flipped for how perfect the colors were, which proves how great Blu-ray is and how well this TV can handle it. (note: I have my PS3 connected via HDMI, which is really the only way to go)
I do have a couple of gripes though. The whole dlna thing does not work for me at all. I have Vista Home Edition and whenever I try playing video on the TV using their crappy software from my computer, it always errors out (it doesn’t crash the TV, just that application). The remote is not the best. The button layout doesn’t always make the most sense, and the clickwheel is terrible. Fortunately, it is a clickwheel so you don’t have to spin it around, which is really painful. The remote feels kind of cheap, but at least it has a backlight.
As you can see though, those are pretty minor things. The Info Link feature is pretty neat and lets me see what the weather is every morning so I can dress appropriately. The TV looks very stylish, and I don’t even see the “touch of color” around the edge (though the picture refracts a bit around the edges). It has a TON of options if you really want to tweak it to your liking, but it’s not always easy navigating through these menus.
Overall, this TV is ridiculously high quality. It was my first real TV purchase ever and I’m so glad I made it. It was a lot of money for me to give up, but I reasoned that it was better going with quality than a cheaper TV that I’d have to replace a couple of years later. This TV will last me a long time (after all, not everything is in 1080p now, so even if they end up with something better later I don’t think it’ll be very popular until after this TV has outlived its usefulness). I work hard so it’s really nice to come home and relax and know that no matter what I watch on this TV that it’s going to look great and I’ll be treating myself. I know it’s just a TV, but after a hard day it’s still a nice perk.
Reviewed By : Elton V. Pinto “Eptiger” : Sep 21, 2008
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