Friday, October 30, 2009
Samsung LN52A630 Best TV and best buying experience I've ever had
I did a lot of reading on LCD sets and the pros and cons. I also did a lot of reading on LCD vs Plasma. The 120mHz refresh rate and contrast ratio put all the arguments for Plasma to rest. The 630 has a matte screen finish and that settled the debate over the 650 vs the 630. The 650 model has a gloss screen with lots of glare (and yes, even when on). Unless you plan on watching TV in a dark room with no windows, the 630 is the way to go. Though the contrast ratio is only 40,000 to 1, the set renders blacks very well. The contrast ratio is as good as Plasma, and the screen is brighter than most Plasma sets I looked at. The 650 has a 50,000 to 1 contrast ratio, but that is only due to the gloss screen finish (an optical illusion in effect). I'm very happy with the 630 set. I'm also glad the TV uses less energy than Plasma (reviews tend to down play this but the difference is much greater if the TV is your primary set). I've seen the two types of sets being run with a current meter attached and the Plasma used about 30% more power in standard operation mode. The LCD screen is also rated to last longer than a Plasma.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Samsung LN52A630 Very Pleased
I purchased this TV instead of the Samsung 650 because I wanted the matted screen to reduce glare. I'm glad I did. Even in my family room with tons of light coming in from my windows, glare is not an issue. The picture is also absolutely amazing. I am very pleased. The sound is good, but I will eventually purchase a home theater sound system to compliment this TV. Setup was a breeze. I definitely would recommend this product.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Samsung LN52A630 Fantastic TV - Fantastic Purchase!!
I had decided on the 650 model based on excellent customer reviews, highest Consumer Reports rating, and very good CNET Editor's review. The room I am putting the TV in is quite bright and, like others, I had concerns about the 650 model's shiny screen. Then I read about the 630 model - - basically the same TV with a "semi-matte" screen that reduces glare and reflections. So, I went with the 630 model and am thrilled with the entire purchase through Amazon.
The 630 model was about $100 bucks cheaper than the 650 model ($1799 vs $1899), and it was delivered to my door by Pilot 4 DAYS after I ordered it on Amazon. Pilot did a great job, arrived within the designated time frame and brought this 52 inch beauty into the room where I am putting the TV.
The unpacking and set-up was a snap - - the box comes apart easily by removing the two clips at the bottom of the box. I plugged in the TV and hooked up the HDMI cable from my Hi-Def cable box. Simple set-up.
Then, the fun began. First, the TV itself looks great. The glass frame around the screen is sharp looking (though I didn't really notice the red TOC coloring on this model). The swivel stand looks sharp and works really well.
The picture on the A630 is simply incredible. I broke in the TV by watching a college bowl game on ESPN HD and the colors, brightness and clarity were very much like being at the game. I have an older Samsung DLP TV in the Family Room, and this picture is a notch better. And, I noticed zero reflection on the TV in the bright room (my original fear about the A650). The sound is solid if not spectacular. There are tons of adjustments that can be made to the picture and sound, but I went with the standard settings (will play with the adjustments later).
I am looking forward to trying a few Blu-ray's on the TV in the future (on my PS3), and expect them to be incredible. I will update this review once I take the television's 1080p resolution for a ride.
All I can say is this may be the best electronics purchase of my life in terms of price, the purchase experience, and the product itself. Amazon and Samsung really came through!
The 630 model was about $100 bucks cheaper than the 650 model ($1799 vs $1899), and it was delivered to my door by Pilot 4 DAYS after I ordered it on Amazon. Pilot did a great job, arrived within the designated time frame and brought this 52 inch beauty into the room where I am putting the TV.
The unpacking and set-up was a snap - - the box comes apart easily by removing the two clips at the bottom of the box. I plugged in the TV and hooked up the HDMI cable from my Hi-Def cable box. Simple set-up.
Then, the fun began. First, the TV itself looks great. The glass frame around the screen is sharp looking (though I didn't really notice the red TOC coloring on this model). The swivel stand looks sharp and works really well.
The picture on the A630 is simply incredible. I broke in the TV by watching a college bowl game on ESPN HD and the colors, brightness and clarity were very much like being at the game. I have an older Samsung DLP TV in the Family Room, and this picture is a notch better. And, I noticed zero reflection on the TV in the bright room (my original fear about the A650). The sound is solid if not spectacular. There are tons of adjustments that can be made to the picture and sound, but I went with the standard settings (will play with the adjustments later).
I am looking forward to trying a few Blu-ray's on the TV in the future (on my PS3), and expect them to be incredible. I will update this review once I take the television's 1080p resolution for a ride.
All I can say is this may be the best electronics purchase of my life in terms of price, the purchase experience, and the product itself. Amazon and Samsung really came through!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Samsung LN52A630 Notes for Unpacking, Deciding and Set-Up
We have owned this TV for about two months now, and are delighted with the product.
A TIP BEFORE UNPACKING
I wanted to pass along one tip for a new purchaser. When I saw the size of this box in my kitchen, I thought it was going to be quite the challenge to unpack and get the set into the family room. Upon close inspection of the carton, I found small cartoon stencils depicting two plastic clips on the sides of the box at the bottom. After cutting the plastic banding, when you pull these two plastic tabs out, the entire box will lift off its base. With my wife steadying the TV, I was able to lift off the cardboard packaging and set it aside. This made the TV very easy for two people to lift out of the box bases and carry, with appropriate care. In my opinion, the TV came with very cleaver packaging. Maybe this tip wont help you decide to buy, but it should make the set up easier than attacking the box from the top with a box cutter.
PICTURE QUALITY
As for performance of the TV, we were upgrading from a 19-inch standard TV, so the results are (of course) amazing. When I was comparing TV's at the local Big Box, the picture quality looked virtually the same across all makes of TV's (when fed the same signal, High Def or Conventional). All looked excellent when fed a High Def signal, and pretty mediocre when fed a conventional signal. I know some people hold strong opinions about differences between brands, but my expereince was that they all looked pretty much the same, and way better than what I was used to.
SO, HOW DID WE PICK THIS ONE?
In the end, the matte finish, consumer rating and price were the deciders. The "touch of red" is very, very subtle; more marketing than material in my opinion. All of the Samsungs have a glass border around the perimeter of the TV. My wife liked that the width of the glass border around the TV is narrower on the A630 than the A650 Samsung LN52A650 52-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color. It is a point of personal preference, but the lines on the 630 looked cleaner than the on 650. The 750 model Samsung LN52A750 52-Inch 1080p DLNA LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color comes with "content": recipes, video clips and maybe other stuff. We decided that "content" was not what we needed when buying a television.
We have two windows in the room with the TV, plus ceiling lighting on dimmers. When the model A630 TV is on, there is no reflected light on the picture screen. To be honest, I can't say if the A650 would be any worse with reflected light, since I did not try it in the same room. I tend to doubt there would be much reflection on the glossy screen either because the brightness of the screen is so strong it would probably overcome the reflected light.
SYSTEM
As we were starting from nothing, we bought the Samsung blu-ray player and two HDMI cables and the TV in a package deal from Amazon. We also bought a Yamaha RX-V663BL receiver Yamaha RX-V663BL 665 Watt 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver and Harmon Kardon HKTS-15 5.1 speaker system Harman Kardon HKTS-15 5.1 Channel Speaker System from Amazon at the same time. I selected the speakers and receiver/amplifier unseen on the strength of the reviews I read here and elsewhere (Consumer Reports). We decided on a Dolby 5.1 speaker system and a 7.1 amplifier because we learned that while the best sound available over the HD broadcast channels is 5.1, the blu-ray dvd's could put out 7.1 sound on the HDMI cable. We wanted to have the amplifier/receiver decode the 7.1 signal and pass it directly to the speakers. With this configuration, we would only need the one HDMI cable up to the TV from the components, a cleaner look on the wall. Our room set-up allows for four satellites (plus the center channel and sub-woofer). Adding two more satellites in our room would be challenging the room layout. We use HDMI cables to connect from the cable company's dvr box to the amplifier, the blu-ray player to the receiver, and the receiver to the TV.
SETUP NOTES
I encountered two problems on installation: First, the amplifier kept shutting down at moderate volume. I traced the problem to my attachment of speaker wire strands at one of the satellite speakers. Then the amplifier would complete its calibration normally. We now have "shake the walls" quality sound. The second installation challenge was with the Samsung blu-ray player which could not recognize or play a blu-ray disc until I upgraded the firmware following the directions from Samsung's web site. The only DV we have tried is the Planet Earth DVD (blu-ray). It is completely awesome on this setup, really sensational.
I know that some reviewers recommend calibration of the TV to maximize the picture quality (even using third-party professionals who come to your house). We have not done this, nor have we tried to follow the directions in the user manual to improve the picture. We have not found reason to try to improve on the quality we saw right out of the box. The colors seem natural and bright, and the sharpness of the picture seems better than we could see with our eyes!
Thank you to everyone who wrote reviews before me. We are delighted with our purchase and appreciate your assistance.
A TIP BEFORE UNPACKING
I wanted to pass along one tip for a new purchaser. When I saw the size of this box in my kitchen, I thought it was going to be quite the challenge to unpack and get the set into the family room. Upon close inspection of the carton, I found small cartoon stencils depicting two plastic clips on the sides of the box at the bottom. After cutting the plastic banding, when you pull these two plastic tabs out, the entire box will lift off its base. With my wife steadying the TV, I was able to lift off the cardboard packaging and set it aside. This made the TV very easy for two people to lift out of the box bases and carry, with appropriate care. In my opinion, the TV came with very cleaver packaging. Maybe this tip wont help you decide to buy, but it should make the set up easier than attacking the box from the top with a box cutter.
PICTURE QUALITY
As for performance of the TV, we were upgrading from a 19-inch standard TV, so the results are (of course) amazing. When I was comparing TV's at the local Big Box, the picture quality looked virtually the same across all makes of TV's (when fed the same signal, High Def or Conventional). All looked excellent when fed a High Def signal, and pretty mediocre when fed a conventional signal. I know some people hold strong opinions about differences between brands, but my expereince was that they all looked pretty much the same, and way better than what I was used to.
SO, HOW DID WE PICK THIS ONE?
In the end, the matte finish, consumer rating and price were the deciders. The "touch of red" is very, very subtle; more marketing than material in my opinion. All of the Samsungs have a glass border around the perimeter of the TV. My wife liked that the width of the glass border around the TV is narrower on the A630 than the A650 Samsung LN52A650 52-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color. It is a point of personal preference, but the lines on the 630 looked cleaner than the on 650. The 750 model Samsung LN52A750 52-Inch 1080p DLNA LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color comes with "content": recipes, video clips and maybe other stuff. We decided that "content" was not what we needed when buying a television.
We have two windows in the room with the TV, plus ceiling lighting on dimmers. When the model A630 TV is on, there is no reflected light on the picture screen. To be honest, I can't say if the A650 would be any worse with reflected light, since I did not try it in the same room. I tend to doubt there would be much reflection on the glossy screen either because the brightness of the screen is so strong it would probably overcome the reflected light.
SYSTEM
As we were starting from nothing, we bought the Samsung blu-ray player and two HDMI cables and the TV in a package deal from Amazon. We also bought a Yamaha RX-V663BL receiver Yamaha RX-V663BL 665 Watt 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver and Harmon Kardon HKTS-15 5.1 speaker system Harman Kardon HKTS-15 5.1 Channel Speaker System from Amazon at the same time. I selected the speakers and receiver/amplifier unseen on the strength of the reviews I read here and elsewhere (Consumer Reports). We decided on a Dolby 5.1 speaker system and a 7.1 amplifier because we learned that while the best sound available over the HD broadcast channels is 5.1, the blu-ray dvd's could put out 7.1 sound on the HDMI cable. We wanted to have the amplifier/receiver decode the 7.1 signal and pass it directly to the speakers. With this configuration, we would only need the one HDMI cable up to the TV from the components, a cleaner look on the wall. Our room set-up allows for four satellites (plus the center channel and sub-woofer). Adding two more satellites in our room would be challenging the room layout. We use HDMI cables to connect from the cable company's dvr box to the amplifier, the blu-ray player to the receiver, and the receiver to the TV.
SETUP NOTES
I encountered two problems on installation: First, the amplifier kept shutting down at moderate volume. I traced the problem to my attachment of speaker wire strands at one of the satellite speakers. Then the amplifier would complete its calibration normally. We now have "shake the walls" quality sound. The second installation challenge was with the Samsung blu-ray player which could not recognize or play a blu-ray disc until I upgraded the firmware following the directions from Samsung's web site. The only DV we have tried is the Planet Earth DVD (blu-ray). It is completely awesome on this setup, really sensational.
I know that some reviewers recommend calibration of the TV to maximize the picture quality (even using third-party professionals who come to your house). We have not done this, nor have we tried to follow the directions in the user manual to improve the picture. We have not found reason to try to improve on the quality we saw right out of the box. The colors seem natural and bright, and the sharpness of the picture seems better than we could see with our eyes!
Thank you to everyone who wrote reviews before me. We are delighted with our purchase and appreciate your assistance.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Samsung LN52A630 superb
LN52A630
In searching for an LCD or plasma TV my main focus was an accurate and excellent picture at a somewhat reasonable price, and for LCD, a 120 hz refresh rate. I checked Consumer Reports and CNet for highly rated LCD's and plasmas and narrowed it down to 5 models from Samsung and Panasonic. The LN52A650 was very highly rated by both CR and CNet and one of my considerations, while the LN52A630 was not rated by either but it is a very similar model. I went to a store and saw all of the models I was interested in. All displayed excellent pictures and the plasmas were a pinch better but their screens were like mirrors and in a normally lit room reflective glare was very distracting. Some of the LCD models were almost as bad. The 630 and 650 were side by side making it easy to compare video on the 2 models and it was hard to notice any picture quality difference as both were excellent, except that when the screen went white, grey, or black the difference in glare was very noticeable. Since all of the models I was interested in displayed an excellent picture, screen glare became more of an important factor for me and the A630 was clearly a winner in that category. At home, I noticed it had noticeably less glare than with my old tube TV, and the picture was superb for both cable standard and HD broadcasts.
It came out of the box very easy, set up was very easy, and picture out of the box was excellent. For me, some minor tweaking such as contrast 94, brightness 55, sharpness 0, color 54, tint G46/R54, and backlight depending on how dim or bright your viewing room is, slightly improved the picture as well in my opinion. Sound quality is good. I have had this for 2 weeks and am very happy with it.
This TV is supposed to have TOC - the slightly red edge around the TV frame, which is pretty subtle when seen in person. On mine however, it is not red. Possibly a defect but one that I don't mind.
In searching for an LCD or plasma TV my main focus was an accurate and excellent picture at a somewhat reasonable price, and for LCD, a 120 hz refresh rate. I checked Consumer Reports and CNet for highly rated LCD's and plasmas and narrowed it down to 5 models from Samsung and Panasonic. The LN52A650 was very highly rated by both CR and CNet and one of my considerations, while the LN52A630 was not rated by either but it is a very similar model. I went to a store and saw all of the models I was interested in. All displayed excellent pictures and the plasmas were a pinch better but their screens were like mirrors and in a normally lit room reflective glare was very distracting. Some of the LCD models were almost as bad. The 630 and 650 were side by side making it easy to compare video on the 2 models and it was hard to notice any picture quality difference as both were excellent, except that when the screen went white, grey, or black the difference in glare was very noticeable. Since all of the models I was interested in displayed an excellent picture, screen glare became more of an important factor for me and the A630 was clearly a winner in that category. At home, I noticed it had noticeably less glare than with my old tube TV, and the picture was superb for both cable standard and HD broadcasts.
It came out of the box very easy, set up was very easy, and picture out of the box was excellent. For me, some minor tweaking such as contrast 94, brightness 55, sharpness 0, color 54, tint G46/R54, and backlight depending on how dim or bright your viewing room is, slightly improved the picture as well in my opinion. Sound quality is good. I have had this for 2 weeks and am very happy with it.
This TV is supposed to have TOC - the slightly red edge around the TV frame, which is pretty subtle when seen in person. On mine however, it is not red. Possibly a defect but one that I don't mind.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Samsung LN52A630 Product description error
I have purchased this TV and it is splendid. Unfortunately, the Amazon product description is wrong: the TV does not have an ethernet port and will not connect to the Internet. Photos of the connectors that have been posted to this page by consumers show no ethernet port. There is no mention in the product manual about an ethernet port and Samsung customer service tells me that it has none. This is a minor loss and doesn't detract from the worthiness of the product. (I spent 20 minutes on hold with Amazon after writing the foregoing. They agree that the product description is wrong and should be corrected. So, if you read this review but find no mention in the description of an ethernet port you will understand why.)
Update: Four days after Amazon agreed that the description is wrong it is still not corrected. Let's see how long it takes them to put it right.
Update: Four days after Amazon agreed that the description is wrong it is still not corrected. Let's see how long it takes them to put it right.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Samsung LN52A630 Thrilled with my selection
Bought the A630 just before Christmas, and unveiled it for the family on Christmas Day -- fantastic TV! Main reason for writing this review is to validate the comments on glare vs. the A650. We have a huge wall of east-facing windows directly behind the open TV-viewing area (den), and with the sun coming in the windows dark scenes will still have a bit of reflection (though I would not characterize it as a harsh "glare" -- it's still a matte effect). I never had the A650 in my house, but I did do a side-by-side comparison at Best Buy. There, the TVs are sequestered in a dark end of the store, with screens tilted slightly downward. But if you squat down and look up at the TVs, you can see the reflection of the gymnasium-style overhead lights elsewhere in the store, and the difference between the A630 and the A650 was striking: I knew I would forever be bugged by the A650's reflections, despite its slightly higher contrast ratio. If I had a home theater with controllable external light, I'd probably do the A650, but we don't have that option in our house.
The A630's amazing. Tons of menu options for the compulsive tweakers among us, but the default settings have worked well for us so far (and I don't think the default settings are the blast-you-into-buying big-box-store bright ones; for example the brightness defaults to 45%).
Zero-hassle setup: Christmas day, I pulled the old TV, put up the A630, hooked HDMI direct from the new (Panasonic) Blu-Ray player, ran the audio to my receiver, and dropped in the Polar Express Blu-Ray. Absolutely stunning out of the box with no problems, and we sat captivated by this near-theatre experience. Almost ran out of popcorn -- we were ON that train, holding onto the couch arms during the roller-coaster ride!
I need to give a thanks to all who have provided reviews of like models in Amazon -- the A630, A650, and the competitive models to those. These reviews were a significant source of research in my decision-making, and a huge help in addition to some others (like CNET). I'm grateful for those who took the time to provide thoughts on HDTVs; my research was made much shorter than my normal obsessive traits, and I'm extremely happy with the results.
If you're on the fence about the Samsung models, and you have any concern about the glare, grab the A630 and be done with it!
The A630's amazing. Tons of menu options for the compulsive tweakers among us, but the default settings have worked well for us so far (and I don't think the default settings are the blast-you-into-buying big-box-store bright ones; for example the brightness defaults to 45%).
Zero-hassle setup: Christmas day, I pulled the old TV, put up the A630, hooked HDMI direct from the new (Panasonic) Blu-Ray player, ran the audio to my receiver, and dropped in the Polar Express Blu-Ray. Absolutely stunning out of the box with no problems, and we sat captivated by this near-theatre experience. Almost ran out of popcorn -- we were ON that train, holding onto the couch arms during the roller-coaster ride!
I need to give a thanks to all who have provided reviews of like models in Amazon -- the A630, A650, and the competitive models to those. These reviews were a significant source of research in my decision-making, and a huge help in addition to some others (like CNET). I'm grateful for those who took the time to provide thoughts on HDTVs; my research was made much shorter than my normal obsessive traits, and I'm extremely happy with the results.
If you're on the fence about the Samsung models, and you have any concern about the glare, grab the A630 and be done with it!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Samsung LN52A630 Rocks
I bought this tv about 2 weeks ago through Amazon.com. Got free shipping with it. The shipping company was a bit late in delivering it to me as they did not have my phone number and the agent who took my call got confused about the time zone. A freight company that gets confused about time zones is not good! However the TV did finally get to me in perfect condition. The delivery folks do not unpack it for you, but if you get "white glove" delivery apparently they do that and set it up for you. I chose the 630 model as the face of the tv is non reflective--a big difference when you watch tv in the daytime or at night with some lights on. Picture quality is excellent, set up was very easy. I bought a Bello TV stand ( ON amazonBell'O PVS-4218HG Flat Panel Audio Video System (Gloss Black $216))and it is the PERFECT stand for it, I connected my new PS3 to it via an HDMI cable I also bought on Amazon (Cables To Go - 40315 - 2M (6.5ft) Velocity HDMI Digital Video Cable (Blue) $9.99!! )and the games AND blu ray movies are simply amazing. I've heard that the PS3 also up-converts regular DVDs, not sure if true or fable, but they look fantastic as well. Very happy with purchase and overall service!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Samsung LN52A630 My Researched Choice
I reviewed and studied this whole flatscreen tv jungle for over a year and this was the TV I chose. I am obsessive over buying the BEST for what I can afford. So, first I researched the difference between plasma and LCD. Down to the end I just had to choose LCD though if the price was right I would have taken a Pioneer Kuro Elite plasma. That was a big hurdle but allowed me to focus on brand, quality and price. Brand came down to Sony, Samsung and Panasonic. I wasn't going to go with Samsung until I came across the 630 for the one defining feature... the matte screen. All other Samsungs have the "Plasma shiny screen" which is AWESOME if your family room is a movie theater, but I have windows and therefore pointless and actually hurts the quality of your picture. I then saw the 630 (which only came out like in late July or August), which is essentially the 650 with the matte screen and one less HDMI outlet and a few hundred bucks cheaper. No brainer. My mind was made. I've owned it since early October and haven't looked back. Love my purchase and I got a great deal for a little over $1900. At the price I see it now on Amazon (just under 1900), I think it's an EXCELLENT deal.
ooh, if I were to add one thing that I don't care as much about, it's the 120HZ. Cool if on sports or nature shows, but for regular TV or movies I don't like it and leave it on the 'low' setting.
ooh, if I were to add one thing that I don't care as much about, it's the 120HZ. Cool if on sports or nature shows, but for regular TV or movies I don't like it and leave it on the 'low' setting.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Samsung LN52A630 Perfect for bright rooms. Fantastic picture. Excellent TV.
One thing that always helped me make a decision between plasma and LCD sets was the fact that LCD's used a matte screen to reduce or eliminate reflections and glare. When I began shopping for a 2nd LCD for the home I wanted to go with Samsung as we had excellent experience with our 40" LCD. I was surprised and disappointed when the Samsung models I was interested in had a "new" glossy screen. The LN52A650 and LN46A650 were both sets I was looking at. I really wanted a bigger screen than the 46" but didn't want to spend too much money.
Our TV room has windows on every wall and a gloss screen was just not an option. After an obsessive amount of research I found reviews for the Samsung 630 line. I bought our first set at Ultimate Electronics in Minneapolis and thought I would go again. They didn't even carry the 630 line. Its seems the 650 line is being pushed by most retailers. Had it not been for the reviews on this site and others I would not have known the 630 line was out or that it had a matte screen.
Onto the set. The picture is one of the best I've seen on any TV. Just fantastic. There are a lot of adjustments that can be made to tweak the picture. Many sites I've seen on tweaks actually recommend using standard settings and backing down back lighting and brightness. The idea being real life isn't viewed in dynamic or sport settings on the TV. That's up to the viewer and I haven't found the perfect setting yet though I'm getting closer.
The HD channels are beautiful, crisp, clear and sharp. Most of us still have to deal with some of the standard DEF channels. These channels are OK but a lot depends on the signal you get from your service. We have some that are better than others. If you watch HD channels and switch to standard, you will notice how good HD is. But the standard channels are still good and look good on this TV. Hopefully HD will become the norm soon. Movies are excellent both standard and of course B/R.
The 120 HZ is great. The "auto motion plus" is great for sports. Its a matter of personal taste for movies. It gives a somewhat 3-D appearance to movies, making them look like video instead of film in certain situations. Some cinema experts would say the Auto Motion Plus detracts from the film feel. I turn it it off for movies because I don't like it, but again this is personal taste. NOTE: 120HZ is NOT the same as Auto Motion Plus. The TV will always run at 120HZ. There are a lot of sites where 120HZ is explained. Just remember this TV is 120HZ no matter what and Auto Motion Plus is an anti judder feature that can be turned on or off or set at different levels. The reason the display usually says 60HZ, is because its the signal coming in, but the TV process rate is 120HZ. It up-converts to 120HZ. "Mr. Samsung" on C-net explains a lot about the two. This link shows the set processes 120HZ with AMP turned off. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=997138&page=9
I also confirmed this on a "Live chat" with a Samsung tech on their web page.
Some reviews really slam the sound of this TV. In general TV's alone don't usually have concert hall sound. That being said I think the sound on this set is very good with some adjustments. We are hooked up to a big sound system but for every day use the set's own sound works very well. If you look at the slim depth of the TV you really shouldn't expect punchy, deep bass. If you are looking for cinema sound, you really should consider a system to enhance the experience and not depend on this or any flat screen set to take the sound beyond what's normal for most sets. Bottom line here is that for basic viewing the set is just fine and the sound is good.
Set up is easy, the remote is nice and lights up at night. The "Touch of Red" they talk about is hardly noticeable. I had to look hard to see it in the right lighting. Its not like the 650's. The color does appear if there is some backlighting behind the TV. I personally like it but its very hard to notice. It is there though.
We have the set of our dreams. Big but not too big, nice looking and well,,,, the picture is unreal! After reading a number of reviews, this set specs out nearly identical to the 650 line. The dynamic contrast ratio is slightly lower 40,000 to 1 compared to the 650's 50,000 to 1, but that is said to be related to the 650's glossy screen in part. C-Net reviews rated the 650 as a "similar product" to the 630 and the 650's picture received an outstanding review. The 630 costs less too. The picture is on par with some of the best plasmas and as good as any other LCD out there according to the review and from what I've seen. The Samsungs have been getting high marks on picture quality and the LN52A630 is at the top. Again don't sweat the contrast ratio in comparison with the 650. The matte screen of the 630 is PERFECT for bright rooms! I stood in the store comparing reflections off of the 2 sets and found that we needed the matte screen. Don't let people tell you the 650's gloss isn't noticeable it is very reflective, As far as features go, I found them to be adequate. The series 7 and 8 seem to have more inputs and outputs and some other things that don't deal with picture quality. The price jumps and to me is not worth it, but they are very nice. The key to the 630 is the matte screen. Though I should say its not a completely "sandpaper flat" matte finish like some of the older models. It has some gloss that doesn't reflect and by no means is a glossy screen. Side by side with the 650 the picture of the 630 is about equal. Add sunlight or in house lights and any advantage of the 650 is lost.
Some of this review has been updated since our purchase. I hope it helps people decide between models within in the Samsung line, they are all nice, or between Samsung and another brand.
If you need a matte screen but still want the 120HZ and new technology the Samsung 630 line is the way to go. Its one of the nicest pictures amongst ALL flat screens to date.
Our TV room has windows on every wall and a gloss screen was just not an option. After an obsessive amount of research I found reviews for the Samsung 630 line. I bought our first set at Ultimate Electronics in Minneapolis and thought I would go again. They didn't even carry the 630 line. Its seems the 650 line is being pushed by most retailers. Had it not been for the reviews on this site and others I would not have known the 630 line was out or that it had a matte screen.
Onto the set. The picture is one of the best I've seen on any TV. Just fantastic. There are a lot of adjustments that can be made to tweak the picture. Many sites I've seen on tweaks actually recommend using standard settings and backing down back lighting and brightness. The idea being real life isn't viewed in dynamic or sport settings on the TV. That's up to the viewer and I haven't found the perfect setting yet though I'm getting closer.
The HD channels are beautiful, crisp, clear and sharp. Most of us still have to deal with some of the standard DEF channels. These channels are OK but a lot depends on the signal you get from your service. We have some that are better than others. If you watch HD channels and switch to standard, you will notice how good HD is. But the standard channels are still good and look good on this TV. Hopefully HD will become the norm soon. Movies are excellent both standard and of course B/R.
The 120 HZ is great. The "auto motion plus" is great for sports. Its a matter of personal taste for movies. It gives a somewhat 3-D appearance to movies, making them look like video instead of film in certain situations. Some cinema experts would say the Auto Motion Plus detracts from the film feel. I turn it it off for movies because I don't like it, but again this is personal taste. NOTE: 120HZ is NOT the same as Auto Motion Plus. The TV will always run at 120HZ. There are a lot of sites where 120HZ is explained. Just remember this TV is 120HZ no matter what and Auto Motion Plus is an anti judder feature that can be turned on or off or set at different levels. The reason the display usually says 60HZ, is because its the signal coming in, but the TV process rate is 120HZ. It up-converts to 120HZ. "Mr. Samsung" on C-net explains a lot about the two. This link shows the set processes 120HZ with AMP turned off. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=997138&page=9
I also confirmed this on a "Live chat" with a Samsung tech on their web page.
Some reviews really slam the sound of this TV. In general TV's alone don't usually have concert hall sound. That being said I think the sound on this set is very good with some adjustments. We are hooked up to a big sound system but for every day use the set's own sound works very well. If you look at the slim depth of the TV you really shouldn't expect punchy, deep bass. If you are looking for cinema sound, you really should consider a system to enhance the experience and not depend on this or any flat screen set to take the sound beyond what's normal for most sets. Bottom line here is that for basic viewing the set is just fine and the sound is good.
Set up is easy, the remote is nice and lights up at night. The "Touch of Red" they talk about is hardly noticeable. I had to look hard to see it in the right lighting. Its not like the 650's. The color does appear if there is some backlighting behind the TV. I personally like it but its very hard to notice. It is there though.
We have the set of our dreams. Big but not too big, nice looking and well,,,, the picture is unreal! After reading a number of reviews, this set specs out nearly identical to the 650 line. The dynamic contrast ratio is slightly lower 40,000 to 1 compared to the 650's 50,000 to 1, but that is said to be related to the 650's glossy screen in part. C-Net reviews rated the 650 as a "similar product" to the 630 and the 650's picture received an outstanding review. The 630 costs less too. The picture is on par with some of the best plasmas and as good as any other LCD out there according to the review and from what I've seen. The Samsungs have been getting high marks on picture quality and the LN52A630 is at the top. Again don't sweat the contrast ratio in comparison with the 650. The matte screen of the 630 is PERFECT for bright rooms! I stood in the store comparing reflections off of the 2 sets and found that we needed the matte screen. Don't let people tell you the 650's gloss isn't noticeable it is very reflective, As far as features go, I found them to be adequate. The series 7 and 8 seem to have more inputs and outputs and some other things that don't deal with picture quality. The price jumps and to me is not worth it, but they are very nice. The key to the 630 is the matte screen. Though I should say its not a completely "sandpaper flat" matte finish like some of the older models. It has some gloss that doesn't reflect and by no means is a glossy screen. Side by side with the 650 the picture of the 630 is about equal. Add sunlight or in house lights and any advantage of the 650 is lost.
Some of this review has been updated since our purchase. I hope it helps people decide between models within in the Samsung line, they are all nice, or between Samsung and another brand.
If you need a matte screen but still want the 120HZ and new technology the Samsung 630 line is the way to go. Its one of the nicest pictures amongst ALL flat screens to date.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Samsung LN52A630 Great TV
For a long while I couldn't decide between the A630 or the A650. I finally went with the A630 because I tend to notice the glare on really glossy screens.
I'm the one with the customer image of the crazy "monitor" setup... I've had this TV for about a month, use it quite a bit every day. Every day I'm changing between source inputs... I use this Samsung for TV (not much), some movie watching (DVDs), a lot of xbox 360 and quite a bit as the secondary monitor on a dual computer monitor setup.
I'm quite happy with this purchase. The clarity is awesome, and the glossiness of the screen is just right for me ~ it's not totally "matte", I'd call it semi-gloss. The contrast is excellent, colors vibrant, and I would highly recommend this TV for any of the purposes I currently use it for (TV, movies, video games, computer monitor).
As for the "touch of color"... I'm actually not sure what that means for my set... I don't see any red or any other color for that matter.
The 120Hz is... interesting. I think it really helps TV and movies. I can't quite explain it... it's almost like it's so fluid that it just looks abnormal, I don't know. Some people say they don't like it, or it makes the video footage look like poorer quality... but I actually like it and use it except for fast paced video games (when every millisecond of video processing delay counts). You can adjust how much of the 120Hz processing you want, including turning it off.
I bought straight from Amazon and the delivery was extremely quick and painless. Overall I couldn't be happier with this purchase.
****
UPDATE
****
It's been almost 11 months and I just wanted to say - I'm still very happy with this television. It's great for High Defintion TV, movies, Netflix over Xbox360, and video games. I'm quite relieved that my first expensive TV turned out to be so nice!
I'm the one with the customer image of the crazy "monitor" setup... I've had this TV for about a month, use it quite a bit every day. Every day I'm changing between source inputs... I use this Samsung for TV (not much), some movie watching (DVDs), a lot of xbox 360 and quite a bit as the secondary monitor on a dual computer monitor setup.
I'm quite happy with this purchase. The clarity is awesome, and the glossiness of the screen is just right for me ~ it's not totally "matte", I'd call it semi-gloss. The contrast is excellent, colors vibrant, and I would highly recommend this TV for any of the purposes I currently use it for (TV, movies, video games, computer monitor).
As for the "touch of color"... I'm actually not sure what that means for my set... I don't see any red or any other color for that matter.
The 120Hz is... interesting. I think it really helps TV and movies. I can't quite explain it... it's almost like it's so fluid that it just looks abnormal, I don't know. Some people say they don't like it, or it makes the video footage look like poorer quality... but I actually like it and use it except for fast paced video games (when every millisecond of video processing delay counts). You can adjust how much of the 120Hz processing you want, including turning it off.
I bought straight from Amazon and the delivery was extremely quick and painless. Overall I couldn't be happier with this purchase.
****
UPDATE
****
It's been almost 11 months and I just wanted to say - I'm still very happy with this television. It's great for High Defintion TV, movies, Netflix over Xbox360, and video games. I'm quite relieved that my first expensive TV turned out to be so nice!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Samsung LN52A630 Better Than The 650's! See For Yourself!
I have had the LN52A630 for a week now and I have to tell you that it is clearly the best overall choice for an LCD TV with 120hz. I recently wrote a similar review for the LN46A630. I chose to replace it with the 52" only because our livingroom is too large for the 46".
I'm not sure why more people are not going for the 630's over the 650's just for the glare issue alone. My friend has an A650 and in my opinion the reflections are just as bad in his living room as they were in the showroom of the big box stores with the 650. I have two windows directly opposite the TV and a large bow window to the right. My concern was how little control I would have with that much natural light hitting the TV. So far, my 630 has past the evening lighting test with flying colors. With all of the possible lights on in this large room, there is absolutely no reflecting light visible on the TV. During the day with the Sunlight filtering directly into the back windows hitting the TV, there is no reflections to speak of. Awesome, consistent picture on the "matte" screen.
Thanks to the reviews of the 650's about the reflections, I took a chance with the 630 with the "matte" screen and am I ever glad that I did. The difference is significant and because of this reason, I truly believe that the 630 has a better overall picture. It's all about personal preference. Sure it's got one less HDMI and slightly less contrast ratio because of the screen but there are more than enough settings to compensate for this.
I am still making adjustments and learning just what this TV is capable of, but I got to tell you that the Celtics/Hawks game in HD was nothing less than orgasmic. I was in awe switching between that and the Hockey game in HD. Unbelievable!
This TV is the way to go if you want all of the features of the 6 series but not all of the reflections. Get this TV, you will be happy that you did!
I'm not sure why more people are not going for the 630's over the 650's just for the glare issue alone. My friend has an A650 and in my opinion the reflections are just as bad in his living room as they were in the showroom of the big box stores with the 650. I have two windows directly opposite the TV and a large bow window to the right. My concern was how little control I would have with that much natural light hitting the TV. So far, my 630 has past the evening lighting test with flying colors. With all of the possible lights on in this large room, there is absolutely no reflecting light visible on the TV. During the day with the Sunlight filtering directly into the back windows hitting the TV, there is no reflections to speak of. Awesome, consistent picture on the "matte" screen.
Thanks to the reviews of the 650's about the reflections, I took a chance with the 630 with the "matte" screen and am I ever glad that I did. The difference is significant and because of this reason, I truly believe that the 630 has a better overall picture. It's all about personal preference. Sure it's got one less HDMI and slightly less contrast ratio because of the screen but there are more than enough settings to compensate for this.
I am still making adjustments and learning just what this TV is capable of, but I got to tell you that the Celtics/Hawks game in HD was nothing less than orgasmic. I was in awe switching between that and the Hockey game in HD. Unbelievable!
This TV is the way to go if you want all of the features of the 6 series but not all of the reflections. Get this TV, you will be happy that you did!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Samsung LN52A630 Review
From the Manufacturer
Samsung 630 model HDTVs offer an ecxellent value in a full-featured 1080p LCD HDTV, offering a substantial price savings compared to their sister 650 series, with only a moderately lower dynamic contrast ratio (40:000:1 compared to 50,000:1 on the 650 series) and one less HDMI port (three, as compared to four on the 650s). But the 630s offer the same blazing-fast 4ms response time and rich connectivity features as the 650s, Seris 7, and Series 8 LCD HDTVs, as well as the same stylish "Touch of Color" color-infused bezel. Enjoy MPEG and JPEG files stored on external devices by connecting through a side-mounted USB 2.0, turning their LCD into a full-scale home viewing gallery, or connect their MP3 players for a dynamic audio experience.
Samsung 630 model HDTVs offer an ecxellent value in a full-featured 1080p LCD HDTV, offering a substantial price savings compared to their sister 650 series, with only a moderately lower dynamic contrast ratio (40:000:1 compared to 50,000:1 on the 650 series) and one less HDMI port (three, as compared to four on the 650s). But the 630s offer the same blazing-fast 4ms response time and rich connectivity features as the 650s, Seris 7, and Series 8 LCD HDTVs, as well as the same stylish "Touch of Color" color-infused bezel. Enjoy MPEG and JPEG files stored on external devices by connecting through a side-mounted USB 2.0, turning their LCD into a full-scale home viewing gallery, or connect their MP3 players for a dynamic audio experience.
Samsung LN52A630 Features
Features
- Touch of Color design with narrow width bezel
- HD-grade 1920 (H) x 1080 (V) pixel resolution
- Auto Motion Plus 120Hz�
- Widescreen aspect ratio
- 40,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
Samsung LN52A630 Product Details
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #20197 in Consumer Electronics
- Color: black/red
- Brand: Samsung
- Model: LN52A630
- Dimensions: 30.70" h x 50.00" w x 4.20" l, 59.30 pounds
- Display size: 52
Samsung LN52A630 52-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color
Product DescriptionSamsung's 630 Series is a perfect way to step up to Full High Definition 1080p resolution with Auto Motion Plus 120Hz. A fast 4 ms response rate produces smooth-motion scenes for sports and action movies, and a dynamic contrast ratio of 40,000:1 makes for deep blacks and crisp lines . Superb connectivity and networking with 3 HDMI 1.3 ports. Turn your LCD into a full-scall home viewing gallery and watch your favorite photos in a slideshow and listen to your MP3�s with WiseLink (USB 2.0).
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