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Customer Reviews Collected from Samsung US |
Samsung - 55" Class / 1080p / 120Hz / LED-LCD HDTV
Average Customer Rating:
4.8
Rating breakdown 25 reviews
5 Stars
21
4 Stars
3
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
0
1 Star
0
92%of customers recommend this product.
(
23 out of
25)
Customer Reviews for Samsung - 55" Class / 1080p / 120Hz / LED-LCD HDTV
Customer Rating
4
Amazing form factor, poor menus, input limmitation
on April 7, 2009
Posted by: Geoph
from Seattle, Wa
Expertise:Intermediate
Pros:
1- amazing size to performance ratio. This TV is incredibly thin. You will have to see it to believe it. At just over an inch thick (not to mention 55" from corner to corner), this television boasts some of the best stats available, compared to any other brands/models out there.
2-LED back lighting. This feature is what initially caught my eye. When I first saw it I noticed immediately how incredibly deep the blacks were. This boost in depth of the color plate seems to permeate the entire color spectrum, allowing for deeper, more remarkable fullness when viewing all forms content.
3- base statistics. The contrast ratio (although I have read many conflicting, reports, including the manufactures own specification information, which makes it difficult to place an exact quantitative value), 120hz, 1080p, 4 millisecond response time, USB x2 connections, LAN access, ect... They are all there. This television has the capabilities to seamlessly bind your computer or local area network and your home theater into a truly coherent "media center" provided you have the gumption.
4- "Xbrite" like display. I call it this for lack of a better option. The screen itself of this LCD is not matted like many of its predecessors, it is glossy resembling a plasma TV or some of its smaller LCD PC monitor cousins, which allows it a brighter, fuller color clarity. This could be considered as "bothersome" by some because it allows for more apparent reflections of light, casting it back into the viewers eye, but the shear intensity of light emitted by this TV puts this claim to rest.
Cons:
1- Menus. After spending multiple hours removing my previous television, measuring and cutting holes in walls, fuddling with cables, and vacuuming dust bunnies and drywall dust, I found my self at the heart of my disappointment with this TV. Navigating the menu system. Don't get me wrong, it is not difficult, but it is entirely cumbersome. To start off a simple task like switching sources is made time consuming and attracts attention because you have to hit a minimum of 3 buttons on the remote to switch to your closest input. This may seem like someone complaining that you have to turn the faucet on to fill a glass of water but just play with it for a bit and you will see what I am talking about. The menus themselves are all animated and take a moment to load, which adds to the frustration when trying to navigate through them, and when you get to the input you want you have to manually exit the menu by pressing the "enter" or "return" button on the remote. This problem could have been easily alleviated by having shortcut buttons to the individual inputs on the remote, like most other manufactures offer.
2-Sound. The sound quality is greatly deteriorated by the fact that the speakers on this model face the opposite direction of the screen. Reverberation off a wall is not an adequate substitution for direct focus. The sound quality is not bad in itself, such as being boxy, tinny or deteriorating with increased volume, it is just not as full as others that I have heard (but this is to be expected being the form factor that it is). It will be necessary to have a surround sound system with this TV, but you probably already have one if you are seriously looking at this model.
3 Limitation of inputs. For some insane reason, Samsung preemptively decided which inputs (HDMI) you could use for which devices and placed limitations on those inputs as they saw fit. This is entirely lame and a let down. Scrolling through the menu selections on various HDMI inputs you will notice that a good majority or your picture modifications are not adjustable according to what input you have currently selected. Despite changing the labels of the inputs and reorganizing HDMI inputs, you are not able to get the full gamut of picture corrections that you payed a lot of money for. This, for me, is the biggest let down of the television. There is nothing worse than seeing a whole slue of options that are supposedly available, but are "grayed out" for some unknown reason. I expect, at this price and ability, to be able to fully customize each input that the televesion has, regardless of what peripheral I am connecting to it.
This con might not prevent you from purchasing this TV, but you should be at least aware of it. I have a lot of different devices connected at any given time, ie. blue ray, dvd, vhs, xbox 360, ps3, wii, xbox, n64, psx, snes, nes, pc, camcorder, camera, and some flash based devices, like some of the newer ipods/iphones, and it really bothers me that I cannot change the settings to what ever fits my needs best.
This con might not prevent you from purchasing this TV, but you should be at least aware of it. I have a lot of different devices connected at any given time, ie. blue ray, dvd, vhs, xbox 360, ps3, wii, xbox, n64, psx, snes, nes, pc, camcorder, camera, and some flash based devices, like some of the newer ipods/iphones, and it really bothers me that I cannot change the settings to what ever fits my needs best.
4- Dynamic contrast. This feature seems to be a blessing and a bit of a curse. On one hand you get dark, rich colors, and on the other you get much darker whites when the majority of the screen is dark in hue. You only need to scroll through the menu system of the TV on a static, dark background to see this flaw in action. How dynamic contrast works is that it lowers the backlighting of the television when it senses most of what it is displaying is dark, which makes any contrast in hues, i.e. whites to blacks, much darker than they would normally be. This may not be a deal breaker for some, but depending on what you watch, there is a noticeable difference. I personally like to watch a lot of the space/nasa documentaries, and when they show Hubble images of deep space that are for the most part black, with just a few pin points of light, you notice that that you are loosing quality/brightness of image (as compared to other flat panels without this dynamic contrast perk).
5- Lack of inputs. This downfall is the price you pay for having such a small form factor I guess. 4 HDMI is ok, minus them all being individually limited, but there is only one component in, no composite/S video in at all and the stereo out is a 3.5mm jack so you need an adapter, which is not included. The TV does have optical audio out, so if you have a somewhat capable/newer surround sound system you will be ok, provided you spend the money and buy the expensive cabling to connect it (heaven forbid that your receiver is more than a few feet away or else you are going to feel it in your wallet). Another problem that all of these digital connections bring, that is rarely advertised, is that there is a lot more optimization involved to make them work normally. Say "good by" to just plugging things in and having them work. If you don't have a lot of patients for reading user manuals or trial and error, it might be necessary to pay the extra cost for having some "Geek" come to your house and make everything work properly for you.
Another slight annoyance is that this TV does not offer any sort of video out. A slight inconvenience really, but I would like to keep my options open.
Another slight annoyance is that this TV does not offer any sort of video out. A slight inconvenience really, but I would like to keep my options open.
6- 120 hz it more like "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Some people like its effects on movies/games, I personally have turn it off to make the TV look normal to me. You really need to evaluate the feature for your self and make a decision. For me, it looks like it increases the frame rate at times and slows it down in others, which gives the overall viewing quality a "hurky-jerky" feel. Others that have seen the feature on my TV say it gives it more of a 3D quality or that it is more like looking out a window, as apposed to viewing a TV. Its effect is much more noticeable while viewing certain media such as , blue ray, DVD's or video games. I can barely notice it while watching HD/SD content from Comcast (1080i/480p respectively).
7-"Media Center" short comings. What, no youtube? Even my phone has that. I would also like to see WMC connectivity, a flash enabled web browser, and come to think of it, bluetooth, so you can connect a qwarty keyboard to actually take advantage of it all. This would truly bump this TV into an upper eschelon, rivaled by no other device to date.
Summary
All in all, I think this TV is feature rich with a few let downs that could be corrected with a bit of ingenuity (hopefully made possible in the way of firmware upgrades, putting the LAN feature to good use). I would not personally recommend this TV to any of may friends because I would not want to hear them complain, but I would tell them to come over, play with it and decide for themselves if it is the right choice for them. Knowing what I know now it would be hard to say if I would upgrade again from what I had previously (LG 50px4dr) to this TV, but I can truthfully say that the picture quality on most devices (cable, xbox 360 and others (NOT PLAYSTATION 3, I get a weird snowy pixelated effect on the home screen that drives me crazy and was the reason I bought a new TV in the first place)) is vastly superior to most other televisions that I have seen. It may sound like I am knocking this product, but I am actually very happy with it. It is just that almost every review that I have read for this set has given it nothing but praise, without giving any info regarding the flaws. The bottom line is that you should play with it before you buy it.
All in all, I think this TV is feature rich with a few let downs that could be corrected with a bit of ingenuity (hopefully made possible in the way of firmware upgrades, putting the LAN feature to good use). I would not personally recommend this TV to any of may friends because I would not want to hear them complain, but I would tell them to come over, play with it and decide for themselves if it is the right choice for them. Knowing what I know now it would be hard to say if I would upgrade again from what I had previously (LG 50px4dr) to this TV, but I can truthfully say that the picture quality on most devices (cable, xbox 360 and others (NOT PLAYSTATION 3, I get a weird snowy pixelated effect on the home screen that drives me crazy and was the reason I bought a new TV in the first place)) is vastly superior to most other televisions that I have seen. It may sound like I am knocking this product, but I am actually very happy with it. It is just that almost every review that I have read for this set has given it nothing but praise, without giving any info regarding the flaws. The bottom line is that you should play with it before you buy it.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
4
Performance
4
Design
4
Value
4
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
5
MY LED 55
on July 15, 2009
Posted by: redrockpearl8
from Deland,FL
It's the best tv i bought so far,the picture is excellent.The only problem i had is the hook up of the power supply on the back of the tv,because it's very thin,there is not enough space for the power supply cord to the outlet,I have to use the spacer.I think it would be better if they use a flat power cord(90 degrees angle) so that it won't protrude.Overall it's an excellent tv.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
5
Performance
5
Design
4
Value
5
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
5
Fantastic HDTV Experience
on January 10, 2010
Posted by: Deviljax
from Phoenix, AZ
This is the first HDTV I have purchased. I purchased the Samsung 7100 series 55" in Aug-09. The home theater experience is awesome. The TV is better than expected. Great picture from any angle and that includes when the room is dark or in sunlight. I have not had a single issue with the TV since purchase. I did purchase the extended warranty for peace of mind. I paired the TV with a Samsung BD player. Great features when both units are coupled together. I felt the picture quality was better than any of the LCD or Plasma TV's I've viewed. Very little heat and power comsumption verses LCD / Plasma. I don't use the TV speakers, but they sounded good before I setup the 5.1 sound system. I would recommend the TV to anyone interested in a large HDTV. Do yourself a favor and purchase an extended warranty for piece of mind.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
5
Performance
5
Design
5
Value
3
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
5
Returned 2 times.
on January 1, 2010
Posted by: twoshirts
from New Jersey
Expertise:Intermediate
My first set had a damaged left speaker. I returned it that evening. The HDMI ports on the second set went bad after 1 month. Only port 2 worked. All other ports replicated content in port 2. Exchanged the set for a new one and 2 months later I have the same HDMI issue. Only port 2 works. It is replicating port 2 into ports 1,3, and 4. Now I have to wait for repair.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
5
Performance
1
Design
5
Value
5
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
5
Excelent
on January 7, 2010
Posted by: peter247z
Amazing picture. I do not have any problem with dark corners. Elegant design, outstanding performance.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
5
Performance
5
Design
5
Value
5
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
4
HIGH EXPECTATIONS- one big issue
on January 31, 2010
Posted by: CLIPPERPARK
from Baltimore MD
Expertise:Intermediate
Great TV. Sleek, light weight. Has a great picture! Sports are great with Auto Motion Plus but turn it off when watching movies or you will feel like you are on the set with the film crew!
I do have one problem with the Screen going black for 1-3 seconds through out the day. Working with Samsung to resolve.
I do have one problem with the Screen going black for 1-3 seconds through out the day. Working with Samsung to resolve.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
5
Performance
3
Design
5
Value
3
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
5
best led hdtv
on April 22, 2010
Posted by: boppinbob
from upstate new york
Expertise:Intermediate
I puchased this led hdtv after many days of research online to replace my rear projection hdtv which had broken down. I thought the picture quality on my old rear projection hdtv was great until i watched this one at home. Wow what a difference! I had read some negatives on this tv along with many positives and i can only say that the negatives were really nit picking. I haven't experienced any of those issues. The picture options provide excellent results on the biult in settings for those not inclined to tweak the settings. Also the speaker quality is better than i expected from this tv. Even so i will be adding a home theater set up as i had one before. Overall the energy savings along with a super picture with an abundance of options including internet access make this a must have tv. I am totally happy with this purchase.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
5
Performance
5
Design
5
Value
5
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
5
Super-thin, great picture, great options
on April 2, 2009
Posted by: Filo
from Heartland, USA
Expertise:Intermediate
My only beef with this TV is the speakers (4-star performance, could be 3 stars). Regardless of audio setting, if the volume is turned up over 9 or 10, the speakers will buzz on certain harmonics in voices. A Samsung LN46A750 in the house doesn't do this. I understand this is probably a trade-off for being ultra-thin and I'm sure some speakers would correct this...and possibly a future firmware update as well.
That being said, it really is the only drawback and with that out of the way, I will easily say this TV is awesome. If you're used to watching LCDs of yore, it may take some time to adjust to the super crispness of one of these. I can say it is hard to beat the picture of the LNxxA750 Series 7 TV though!
The best feature of this TV to me is that it will apparently connect to Samsung's website and update it's own firmware instead of having to download to USB stick and then manually updating. I say "apparently" because I have my Samsung LinkStick plugged in, connected to my network and have tried to command the TV to update itself but all I get is a "102" could-not-connect-to-server error. Although I can connect to other sites over WiFi with the TV just fine. I suspect Samsung just doesn't have their end set up quite yet.
The other wildly amazing part of this TV is how thin it is. It seems less than 1" thick to me. This makes it very light and easy to manage. It also helps greatly with being suitable for tilting and ultra-close mounting on walls.
All in all, I would highly recommend this TV to anyone. And recommend adding a sound system...but that has always been the case since the DLP days!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
5
Performance
4
Design
5
Value
4
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US