Customer Reviews

Samsung LN26A450 26-Inch 720p LCD HDTV

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

So, despite the poor reviews I re-read them and figured they were by people that didn't know much about HD-TV's or are bitter by one thing or another about the product.

Why will you buy this screen? Well you want a medium sized TV for a bedroom, college dorm, etc that has TONS of inputs.

For you gamers, this is the perfect sized TV that will hook up to your consoles with multiple HDMI inputs and component inputs you will get a bunch of your consoles plugged in to this without additional AV tuners. Note: this doesn't have composite inputs, so you will have to either buy an HDMI cable or component cable for the consoles if you don't have one already.

The contrast ratio and brightness of this screen is also amazing which makes movies and games come to life. Been playing GTA4 over the weekend through my ps3 and everything was amazing and didn't notice any delay (another perk of the 8ms response time).

The speakers for this definitely are it's one weakness, so that review is appropriate, they are in the back of the screen and pointing directly down to the ground. So while that kind of sucks honestly you have to ask yourself, are you going to use the TV speakers or use the multiple outputs to plug into a surround sound anyways?

I would ignore the poster that talked about bad picture plugging directly from cable, that will happen on ANY HDTV because without a cable box you don't get a digital signal (at least not until the digital transition) and because of that ANY HDTV will look bad. The cable box converts the signal.

The picture is perfect, with very lifelike colors and to the point sharpness. The sound is more than adequate for normal living room use. The setup was easy as can be - just plugged it in the cable outlet, ran the auto channel search and that was it.
It also has a gazillion different interfaces - PC, headphones, stereo system ... you basically can hook up anything to this TV.
So, for this price, it is an absolute steal.

Like other reviewers for this product I placed this TV in my bedroom.
I did have an issue with the auto programming, but I traced the issue to the cable (not an issue with the TV).

Once corrected - the TV auto programmed just fine and looks wonderful.
Other choices in this price range had less contrast (this has 5000:1).
In a smaller, darker room (like a bedroom) this TV works well.

It was a difficult choice between this LCD and the Sony KDL 26M4000. I finally choose the Samsung because the colors were a bit more vibrant and the contrast was better (the TV will be used in a bright, sunny room). Also, the Samsung allows for more picture fine-tuning, if you are so inclined. Lastly, the Samsung was a bit cheaper in price and, at the time I ordered it, was available through Amazon. As usual, Amazon's service was outstanding. Amazon also allowed for a price match after I purchased it, since the price had dropped.

We bought this for our main TV. We do not watch a lot of TV and are not interested in having our TV as a focal point in the room. Also, we wanted a set that would double as our computer monitor. This TV is great for what we wanted.

You'll need additional speakers to improve the sound, but I think that's true for any TV.

Also, it does not come with a universal remote.

This is my first HDTV and I must say I was shocked by the terrible rendering of SD channels. But once I landed on a 720p or 1080i signal, I became a believer. You just can't beat the contrast, resolution and brightness. Sound quality is terrible -- you'll need external speakers for complete enjoyment. 'Power on' delay can be annoying, albeit a minor grievance. But if you're after really, really good picture quality, this is the TV to buy.

The verticle viewing angle is miserable -- a deal breaker! If you intend on looking at this TV exactly at eye level then it may work for you. But, deviate ever so slightly vertically and the picture will appear to change (lighten and darken). Not good if you watch the TV on the sofa or in a bed and then stand up and expect the image to look the same. I own Samsung's prior model, the 26" Samsung LN-T2653H and it's GREAT: the image quality appears the SAME when viewed from any viewing angle. The sound on the LN26A450 is adequate but, without question, the LN-T2653H's audio is much cleaner and more robust. Unfortunately, the LN-T2653H is much more difficult to find now so I bought the LN26A450 for my girlfriend, but it's going back. It's really a shame that Samsung released such an inferior product as an "update." BTW, I also have a 32" Samsung TV (LN-T3253H) and the TV died within a year (it's being repaired tomorrow). I also had a 24" Samsung computer monitor fail this year (SyncMaster 244T). Maybe I've just been unlucky with a few lame Samsung products. On the other hand, customer service with Samsung has been a stellar experience.

I was very fortunate to find this TV! I was either going to get this LN26A450 or the Sharp LC26SB24U (as I was buying locally from a Fred Meyer in-store). After doing some research I was persuaded to get the Samsung, and I must say, Samsung = quality. About on the same level of quality as Panasonic and Sony.

This TV has so many picture options, you could spend many, many minutes trying to get it all perfect (there are calibration tables floating around on the net though). The rear video connections are very easy to get to and easily top any other setup by far(side mounted and ESPECIALLY vertical mounted/upside down inputs like on the Magnavox 32MF337B are just an unnecessary nuisance). The well placed inputs are also what convinced me to get this set over the Sharp LC26SB24U.

With this TV being the upper end of Samsung 26'' line, the picture is fantastic and the speakers dont disappoint for regular use. I do have this tv hooked up to an 80 Watt shelf system for movies and music, though.

The digital channel signal is far better than my Magnavox 32MF337B, meaning it cuts out far less with the same HD antenna.

Cons? Yes there are a few, though minor and insignificant.

- DNIe setting is off by default and is not usable, you need to change the Picture Mode to Dynamic to use DNIe. Doing so will disable Detailed Settings. I have heard that DNIe can actually reduce picture quality, so no big deal.

- Standard speaker power is weak (but passable) for some applications.

[The biggest con]- Viewing angle is poor (compared to most other HDTVs). Make sure the TV is setup to be viewed from a direct angle or slightly below eye level. Viewing this tv from above eye level causes a blueish washout to fill the screen (it looks kind of like a picture negative). This tv is set at a low spot on its stand so the problem does not affect me. This viewing angle issue is why i give 4 stars and not 5.

The picture quality, however, beats just about any other 26'' LCD HD set out there. In what seems like a trade-off, the screen type appears to be more likened to that of a monitor than an hdtv, as viewing angles are poorer, but the picture quality is better (likely due to this tv using a S-PVA lcd panel). Just as long as you're not going to wall-mount this tv (viewing angle), I highly recommend this for a 26'' HD set.

I will conclude this review with some decent calibration settings. I have spent a while tweaking and testing to get these results and they are the best for this t.v. (well, for me at least). Just turn the brightness up or down about 5 notches to get the best out of certain content as not all content will look the same with these settings.

Mode: Dynamic
Backlight: 4/10
Contrast: 75/100
Brightness: 54/100 (add or minus 5 for certain content (for best black level)
Sharpness: 30
Color: 45
Tint: G50/R50 (default)
Detailed Settings: (disabled in Dynamic Mode)

Picture Options

Color Tone: Normal
Size(ratio): (personal preference)
Digital NR: Auto
DNIe: On (Despite what has been said about it, I prefer the picture with DNIe enabled.)
HDMI Black Level: disabled (use 'Normal', if using HDMI)
Film Mode: Off
Blue Only Mode: Off

***[UPDATE 12-19]*** With the mentioned settings, black crushing still seems to be an issue. DNIe and Dynamic Contrast do give a brighter and more colorful picture, but black areas get smooshed together. I have come up with some changes for more improved settings, they're worth a try!

Mode: Movie
Detailed Settings
Black Adjust: Low
Dynamic Contrast: Off
Gamma: +2
Color Space: Native
Edge Enhancement: On
White Balance
R-Gain: 30
G-Gain: 25
B-Gain: 12
Picture Options
Color Tone: Warm 1

Flawless....seems like I'm being nit-picky, but heck, I'm a video nut!!

I just purchased my 26" LCD on 6/19/08. Setup was real easy . The first day I hadn't read all the instructions so I was dissappointed with the picture, and the sound quality is still fair at best . This is my first HDTV and the second day , after reading the instructions I got a great pic and hooked the sound to a Yamaha 100W/per channel Dolby 5.1 I had hangin' 'round . In my master bedroom this little puppy blows my old, tube hi-end Sony and Proscan away in picture quality. The others are hooked up to higher -end surround systems so their sound is great .
I do suggest that one turns down the dynamic range, and only use it sparingly as this will use a lot of energy and burn out your TV quicker and other settings have real pic quality in a darker room .
Lastly, the connection options are plentiful with 3 HDMI's and many others . Get an upconverter DVD with this TV and you'll be very happy for a long time . Those are inexpensive . Also don't let them sell you a $89 HDMI's per/1 ! I bought 2 at Target for $60 saving $120 ! No difference in pic quality .
I'm enjoying playing with all the pic options this TV has to offer. Next year I'm upgrading to a large 1080p .Don't know if it'll be a Samsung on a big screen but so far I'm impressed !
The only reason my review doesn't get a 5 is due to speaker/sound quality.Which most people will hook up to external speakers anyway .
Hope this review helps .

This TV is more than I had hoped for. First, it has more features than any other in its class, and I find them well organized. But here's the important thing: the picture quality is fantastic. I don't have high def - I'm a cable customer with a standard definition signal only. I had been warned about how bad standard def might look on an HDTV, but boy was I surprised. The picture quality is so good even with the 480i signal - crystal clear, not grainy at all - that for me the difference from high def is not significant (the relatively small 26" size also makes for a sharper picture). So for whatever little difference there might be, it certainly would not be worth paying a significantly more expensive rental fee for a high definition box. So this TV already saves me a lot of money. And even through a cable connection direct from the wall (no box), the picture looks great.

The review that says this TV has no composite inputs is not accurate. You can have two composite inputs and one component, or one composite and two components - one input doubles as either and you have to choose. HDMI inputs are ample but with my SD cable signal I don't even use them (I would rather have my closed captions), and with this great picture I don't even need them. There is also one S-video, as on most similar TVs.

My progressive scan DVD player looks even better now that I can hook it through a component connection, and the 480p output on DVDs is so good I don't feel any need to buy one of those newer upconverting players. The TV's own scaler certainly does the trick.

It is true that this TV does not have a big sound. The sound is not too bad for a small room, but for general purposes I just connect a pair of decent computer speakers to the earphone jack and get as much sound as I want. Problem solved.

I have had no problems with the viewing angle, which I find sufficiently flexible, but since I don't mount the TV on a wall I have no occasion to look at it from below.

In short, this TV is more than I expected - I am pleasantly surprised.