Review: Samsung 46″ 120Hz LCD TV (LN46A650)

[xrr rating=9/10]

What’s got dark blacks, bright whites and is red all over?  The Samsung 46″ 120Hz LCD TV or as Samsung likes to call it, the LN46A650. I’ve had this TV for about a month now and I couldn’t be happier. With some of the best blacks I’ve seen in an LCD or Plasma, picture quality that will astound you from all angles, and great features, this is definitely a TV that deserves at the very least, a second look.

Design

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The design was not so much a selling point for me, but I’ll admit that it looks really great in my room now that it’s here. The red ‘touch of color’ is perhaps the most ridiculous marketing scheme I’ve seen from a TV manufacturer. I probably lucked out more so than most, because the colors in my room do have quite a bit of red and the accent ended up looking pretty good.

Other than that the ‘touch of color‘, the design is simple and is typical Samsung. What I mean is that it carries the glossy piano black finish that they throw on nearly all of their electronics. A nice swivel base makes it great for resting on a TV stand. I have mine on a stand and not wall mounted because I really didn’t care to buy a wall mount. However, if you were planning on wall mounting this, it comes packaged with a hole cover to protect the hole you’ll leave in the bottom from dust after removing the stand. One thing to note is that with the exception of 1 HDMI, 1 S-Video and 1 Composite connection on the side, all of the connections are rear facing on the back. This means that you will either need to mount this a bit off the wall or else run your cables through your wall – just something to keep in mind.

Features

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With the exception of 120Hz, the features on this set were not the biggest selling point for me, but hey, I’m not complaining.

120Hz technology is largely a selling point to even the gap between LCDs and Plasmas when it comes to motion blur. Plasma screens tend to handle sports and action much better than LCDs (as Plasmas are typically at 420hz) and this technology is intended to lessen the divide.  Like I said, I was interested in the 120Hz technology, however, I found it to be a little bit weird to watch on high or even medium setting. The picture becomes super sharp and the characters appear to have been shot with a digital camera that you were holding. This has the effect of breaking the surreal nature of TV shows or movies. I should clarify that using this setting with TV shows or Movies is not its intended use, with sports however, it’s a totally different story. Here is a genre where you want to be right in the action and it really feels like you are. I’m not kidding, this makes a real difference when you are watching it. So when it comes to this TV I tend to keep it on low or medium for sports and off for all other programming.

InfoLink is another feature that is less marketed on this TV, however, it was one that I found to be pretty cool. While you are watching whatever it is that you watch, you can add RSS feeds, stock updates and the local weather.  The interface has colors that can be customized; my favorite was just the blueish color that came standard.  You can also rearrange the position of each info stream by selecting one of the many preset arrangements.

The remote control is pretty nice, but not always the quickest and most responsive.  Included on the remote is a scroll wheel, which is great, but due to the un-ipod like responsiveness it turns out to be a bit lacking.  It a very long remote and feels pretty good to hold.  I find myself using the scroll wheel and the buttons surrounding it the most, but due to my setup I’m hoping to get a Logitech remote sometime soon.

Performance

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Even though I don’t have cable (more on that later), I’ve got to say that this is one of the best TV’s I’ve experienced and I’m SO happy that I went with the 650 over the 630. Read on to see why.

Black Levels:

The advertised contrast ratio is 50,000:1 Dynamic Contrast ratio which doesn’t mean a whole lot because every manufacturer measures Dynamic Contrast differently.  It works by dimming or brightening the screen depending on how much color or light is being shown.  For instance if most of the screen is black and there is a centered title, the screen will appear very dark, including the title.  Dynamic contrast measures the blacks at the darkest of screens to the whites in the brightest of screens.  I tend to keep my screen on Dynamic even though it can be quite obvious and distracting at times when titles are being shown because I just love seeing black levels so deep.

I went to Best Buy and Circuit City (while it was around) almost every other day to check out TVs for a couple weeks and just examined them and played with the settings.  Walking around the store I decided to just do a check without looking at any brands, prices or otherwise and see which TV I liked best personally from a black level perspective, including off-angle blacks.  The LN46A650 in my opinion beat every other TV, including plasmas on the wall next to it.  Granted, a Kuro would have been much deeper, but in this price range (and even going much higher) and in particular for an LCD I don’t believe you can do better.  

LCD vs. Plasma:

Like I said I was on a mission to find the best TV for me and after ordering a plasma online and deciding that I didn’t want it after further in-store inspection, I realized that I really prefer LCDs.  Here’s why I chose LCD over Plasma:

  • Brightness is just so much better in an LCD
  • I plan on connecting a computer to my TV (another reason I wanted 1080p resolution)
  • Energy savings with an LCD more than make up for the difference in price over the life of the TV for one this size
  • I didn’t know black levels could be this good on an LCD
Glossy Panel:        

The glossy panel is really the main difference between the LN46A650 and the LN46A630 (which has a semi-gloss panel), with the exception of Infolink, some different connections, etc.  
After having a Macbook Pro with a glossy screen rather than a matte screen for many years I have understood the limitations and benefits to glossy screens.  Reflections tend to be severe yet lines are sharper and darks are darker.  In the case of this TV, and because it is an LCD, the brightness of the screen more than made up for the reflectiveness of the screen.  I never see any reflections unless I’m looking at the bezel or the TV is off.  The glossy panel is really what gives this screen the black levels that it has and for that, I’d say putting up with any reflection is might have in dark scenes is worth it.

Here’s my last 2 cents when it comes to the glossy panel.  You aren’t going to see a thing on this unless it’s facing a window (which mine is) and there is direct sun.  Now, if there is direct sunlight, then you are obviously watching TV in the middle of the day when it’s sunny out, there’s really no point in that.  I’d rather be outside on a nice day like that!

Why Not a 10/10?

The LN46A650 scored a 9/10 in my book.  The first question most people are probably asking is, why not a 10/10?

The LN46A650 is a great TV, however, there were a few things that tended to bother me:  

  1. The speakers aren’t that great.  To be honest though, I really don’t care because I have it hooked up to a surround sound system and if you’re shelling out the money for this, then you should too.  
  2. The channel selection for OTA (over-the-air) broadcasting does not default to the favorites, but the full channel list instead.
  3. The remote and the menus can be a little slow at times, which can cause a bit of frustration if you are used to super speedy menus, like those on your computer.
  4. Most of the inputs are rear-facing, which can cause some difficulties with wall mounting.
  5. 120hz technology was pretty unimpressive and I keep it off most of the time anyways.  Don’t use it for anything but sports.

Now, with that said, these are some pretty minor issues (with the exception of 120hz technology due to the price bump) and really didn’t manage to bump this down much due to the overall impressive performance from this TV.

Tech Specs

  • Screen Size: 45.9″  (diagonal)
  • Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (1080p native)
  • Dynamic Contrast Ratio: 50,000:1
  • Viewing Angle: 178º
  • Response Time: 4ms
  • 120Hz Technology
  • Speakers: 2x 10W
  • Sound Effect System: SRS TruSurround XT™
  • Inputs: 4 HDMI (1 side), 2 component, 1 composite (side), 1 S-Video (side), 1 PC (VGA)
  • Infolink w/ RSS, Weather, Sports, Stocks
  • Glossy Panel (see more on this)
  • Red Touch of Color (really, this is ridiculous but looks pretty good) 

Do you have this TV or do you know somebody that does?  What are you thoughts?