Customer Reviews

Samsung LN40B550 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I was undecided between this 2009 model and last year's LN40A550.
The features are substantially identical, but after figuring that the difference between best prices for the two, which I could find after extensive shopping around, was only $50, I went for newer one for its updated look and lighter weight.
In the reviews, one of the principal complaints for 2008 was the sound quality. I can't directly compare 2009 and 2008, but found 2009's LN40B550 to have perfectly adequate, if not excellent speakers, as far as TVs go.
Picture quality, menus, setup are excellent as expected.
One aspect that I did find puzzling is Wiselink not being able to recognize my old trustworthy USB Flash Drive. I even tried formatting the drive in various ways, unfortunately none of the tricks worked.
Perhaps, it's the ancient drive not being comparable in some way, but it had never let me down before. Anyhow, I ordered a few different flash drives, and will try again, and then post an update.
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Tried four various flash drives, all of them work just fine in computers, all four freshly formatted same way (FAT32). Two of the drives are read by the TV with no problems, the two others are not recognized at all... Go figure... The slideshow functionality is nice, quite limited, but does the job.

Just for the reference, one of the drives that does work in this TV is Kingston Data Traveler 4GB.

Only the second night with this set and I can't unglue myself from it. This is a great sub-$1,000 set that will please all but the most hardcore videophiles. This set is also very light, I tucked it under my arm to move it up and down the stairs. ToC is subtle, almost invisible, so those who don't care for last year's ToC, don't worry, you can barely see it the color on this TV. The swivel stand makes it easy so access the rear of the TV to hook up the cables that it makes you wonder why other manufacturers make stands without the swivel feature.

I had originally purchased an LG, but the off-angle viewing was awful, but from the same seating position, the Sammy shines. As with all LCDs, some color is lost when viewing from off-angle, but this set always displayed a picture that was acceptable.

If there's a weakness, it's displaying standard definition, as in regular cable, but that's a challenge shared by most LCD screens. SD does not look as good as I've seen on some other LCDs, but the picture is more than acceptable.

DVD's showed great... Upconverted DVD even better, I was impressed... Blu ray blew my mind. The color depth, the dark blacks, the crisp picture... I was VERY pleased. I am sure you will be too!
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Update 07/13/09... Almost 3 months and I'm still happy. Had it hooked up to a Samsung BDP2550 bluray player and it's awesome. Currently using the upconverting Samsung 1080P9 DVD player and it's still awesome. I have to sit closer than 7 feet to see any difference between DVD and bluray. Also connected to my PC via an 18ft HDMI cable, streaming Netflix and using Windows Media Center to view the NCIS and Star Trek episodes I have on my hard drive.
Still a GREAT purchase and I recommend this set to anyone interested in a 1080p LCD.
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Update 10/31/09... Hooked up a PS3 Slim last month and started viewing movies on Bluray... it's like I got a new TV! I've never been able to see a substantial difference between DVD and BD, but after a few months of just DVD, Bluray on my 40B550 is blowing me away once more! I think I just picked up another habit... no more DVD purchases, only Bluray. And with prices going down on flat screens, this set is a bargain at $849.

I had been eyeing upgrading to an HDTV of some sort for about three years. I had been researching and dreaming about it for the whole time. Samsung was always on the top of my list, and when they came out with this model, which has a lot of features for a comparatively reasonable price tag I finally decided to take the plunge.

I have the most basic Cable service imaginable, so most of the time I am viewing SDTV (480i) stretched to 1920x1080. Considering this enormous stretch, it looks pretty good. It is definitely a tad fuzzy, it looks as good as any other 1080p TV I've seen. Similarly, my Wii is pretty fuzzy if you get up close, but it looks fine from my couch, especially when I enabled Progressive output. The Wii isn't trying to be a graphics powerhouse anyway.

On the flip side is my DVD player. It has component output and is capable of doing 480p, and holy cow does it look awesome! After watching the SDTV and Wii, I was a little worried my DVDs would be equally blurry unless I upgraded to an upscaling player, but with progressive output, holy cow, I do not feel that is necessary at all. I was very pleased because watching movies is what I do most.

As for HD picture, my options are limited currently, but I for some reason NBC does come in in 1080i over my plain non-digital cable and I also tested OTA HDTV and I've gotta say, it is GORGEOUS. So in my limited experience, the HD picture on this TV looks fantastic.

My Dell laptop has an HDMI out (video and audio) so I decided to hook it up to the side HDMI connection on the TV. At first it looked kind of terrible and I had to do a lot fiddling. It still didn't look right though. After consulting the manual, I discovered that computers are really supposed to be connected to HDMI 1. Switching to that I also discovered that naming the HDMI 1 port "DVI PC" it disables audio input, so bear that in mind. Once I hooked it up right though, it is fantastic. Videos and games look great and surfing the web with a wireless mouse and keyboard is AWESOME.

There are tons of video options and tweaks so you can get the TV to look perfect in whatever environment it is in. Another great feature is that you can connect a Digital Camera or USB storage device to show pictures at the full resolution intead of 480i all streched out if you do it over composite video. It looks great, but unfortunately my Canon camera uses PictBridge instead of acting like a USB Mass Storage device, so I can't do it. I've tested it with a USB Thumbdrive and it looks great though.

So, here's a recap for the "Too Long; Didn't Read" crowd:

+PROS+

+Great Price/Feature ratio
+Awesome HD Picture (as far as I'm concerned)
+Great DVD 480p picture
+Tons of Video Tweaking options
+USB
+Tons of Inputs
+Digital Audio Output
+Rotatable mount

%Neutrals%

%SDTV Picture is only OK

-Negatives-

-Auto Program takes FOREVER
-Front buttons are practically invisible... and therefore practically unusable.
-No Picture-in-Picture at all

As you can see, the negatives are pretty minor (except maybe the PIP for some people). All in all.... I love this dang TV!!

Well, had the LN40B550 foracouple of days, and must say was very diappointed with the picture quality. I did some more research outside of Amazon, and found this thread on AVSForum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1126988&page=6), where many other users are experiencing the same picture quality issues, mostly blurring and ghosting (using digital cox cable with component connection). HD content looks good, but still grainy for some reason. Also, many other users has had requested technicians to come out and see if they can make any repairs, with most of them replacing the screen itself. But does not quite the fix the problem. My Vizio 32" LCD seems more crisper than this TV. I even upgraded the firmware, and adjusted the pitcure settings, but I'm just not satisfied with this TV. I will be returning it, and shop for another TV. Hope this helps.

I received the TV yesterday from CEVA. No problems in the delivery and set up. He unpackaged it and set it in place and connected the cable and put batteries in the remote. He offered to remove the box but I thought I'd keep it for a while just in case. I had to go get a Comcast HD DVR box. And I had also purchased a Samsung blue ray DVD player. I connected them all up but have not tried the DVD player yet. I still need to program the Comcast remote to control the TV. We got the 40" so it would fit in an existing entertainment cabinet.

The picture is great, almost too bright, especially when there is a lot of white on the screen. And I don't even see any red around the edge. Hate to think I bought the '09 just to get that and can't see it. Maybe you have to look at it from the side or something, which we can't do because of the cabinet. Very pleased with the TV and Amazon so far.

May 4, 2009 Update
If you see the Samsung add on TV with the red around the ouside and buy it for that you will be disappointed. There is 'NO' red visible on my TV.

We have three, yes three of these 40" Samsung TVs in our household. We are rather belated adoptors of consumer technology because we like to wait for prices to drop before trashing our old stuff and bringing in new ones. This was the year to replace all our old TVs. After reading many reviews, conducting online research and talking with salespeople at the "big box" electronic stores, we learned Samsung offered one of the best flat screen TVs in the market today. The B550 series represented the best value for our money. You don't have to be a videophile to learn the basics of what to look for in an HDTV - the dynamic contrast ratio, 720p vs 1080p and 60hz vs 120hz vs 240hz, all relating to picture quality. You will pay premium prices for units that have dynamic contrast ratios of 80:000:1 and above, 1080p which gives you more pixels hence greater picture detail, and response rates [how quickly the images get refreshed] of 120hz and 240hz. Try to get a unit with the highest contrast ratio you can afford, and go for a 1080p over a 720p. As an average consumer, it is hard to see the difference between refresh rates of 60hz and 120hz. This Samsung has just the right combination of a 70,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 1080p and 60hz for a family to fully enjoy the benefits of owning an HDTV. And if you've got cable hook-up, it gets even better! The unit also offers multiple connections for peripheral devices like DVD players, game consoles, etc. The sound quality is also great as it has an equalizer. Plus despite its large screen size, the unit is not heavy. A woman of average height and weight can carry [albeit somewhat awkwardly] this set to the second floor and mount it to its base with little difficulty. Is there something we like better? Absolutely! The 46" version :-)

I purchased this TV about a week ago and have used it everyday since. It has an amazing picture and really stands out in the room I have it in. With that said, I did do a TON of research before I bought this TV as I was upgrading from another Samsung about 2 years old. I really had to decide how important 120hrz was to me and I decided that it is not necessary for the extra $300. CEVA was amazing as well. Get this TV, you will not be disappointed.

I have had this HDTV for a week and I really enjoy watching it. Delivery was supposed to be by Monday April 27th but I got it on Friday April 24th. Delivery man brought it inside but did not offer to wait and set it up. He asked me to sign a paper saying I waived plugging the set in to see if it worked. I asked him about it and he said I had to contact Amazon for a return anyway so I agreed setup wasn't necessary.

I have two complaints about the set. First, I get a lot more glare on this screen than me previous HDTV. I don't know enough about this and maybe the picture wouldn't be as sharp if it was more glare resistant. Second, I have had two previous HDTV's and both were able to accept PAL along with standard U.S. progtramming. For most people this wouldn't be a problem but if you have region free DVD players they won't play programming from England on this TV. I wasn't even looking for it on my other HDTV's but when I discovered I had it I started using it quite a bit.

I agree with another reviewer that the red touch of color is almost invisible.

UPDATE on 6/20/2009 - I would change this to 5 stars but I couldn't find a way for this site to let me. I have discovered that, even though this TV doesn't have a PAL tuner, a lot of region free DVD players will convert PAL format to NTSC format and plays fine on the HDTV monitor.

This TV has really great HD quality. Hopefully this TV will last many years.

First of all, this LCD TV is by far the best in its price range. The 70k:1 ratio on this monster is beautiful!!!. It conveniently has 4 HDMI ports, which is plenty of plug-ins for your video game consoles, BlueRay players, DVD players what ever you plug for HDMI. The Game mode does wonders for your gaming experience. It makes your games have less of a motion blur. If you are an online gamer or a casual, Playstation 3 or Xbox360 gamer this one is for you. Both consoles look amazing.
The buttons on the remote are very straight forward and easy to use, menus are easy to navagate. there are plenty of features that are in the menus that i dont know what they do.
It also has an energy saver that you can set to different setting for your room lighting.
I can go on and on about this television. I would recommend this to any one who likes to play games, watch movies or has HD satellite channels.

I would buy another one just like it if i could.

P.S. I have looked at many reviews for this T.V. and i can see my TOC just fine. I think it has to do with the way the light reflect off of the T.V's black finish.

Hi Everyone,
This is my first HD and flat screen TV. I've been drooling for one for years. Chose this one after too much research because of the great reviews. I wanted top shelf technology at a low price. 1080p, hdmi inputs, the clean look, and the swivaling base sold me.

Just received this tv from amazon on Friday, May 22. Attatched Direct Tv HD receiver and Playstation 3. Tv is very light. Truely simple setup. Played Iron Man, and an NBA HD game and they look perfect. To justify the purchase to my wife, I turned off all of the lights and played the True Blood BluRay and she was impressed. Also, did the common trick: "here is the standard channel, here is the AMAZING HD version!"

We wanted to avoid a tv would look too high-tech/show-offy, but this one blends in nicely because there are not glowing buttons or huge logos.

I will be adding some sort of surround sound system to beef up the viewing experience. The sound is fine, just cannot keep up with the great picture.

Watching standard tv channels is no fun compared to HD. Get HD and probably BluRay (have not watched a normal dvd yet).

Lastly, I might have gone bigger if I could have afforded it. I sit fairly close, maybe 6-7 ft. But this is so close to replacing the movie theatre experience, that a 46-incher might have done it. I say might, because I am not sure if it would have been too much. This tv does seem to "fit" perfectly in the room.

Get it already!