Customer Reviews

Samsung LN46A530 46-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The LCD panel on this TV is the same as the one on A550 model. Several people have confirmed with Samsung. The difference in contrast ratio versus A550 is a typo apparently.

What I like about this tv:
-great picture quality (search avs forum for professionally calibrated settings for this TV. It made a significant difference in picture quality
- good sound for everyday tv watching
-good quality ATSC/QAM tuner ( I pulled in channels that I didn't I had)

comparison vs A550:
+ better sound because of side mounted speakers
+ cheaper (though amzn had A550 for less than A530 at one point last month :)
- does not have wiselink (view photos/mp3s from usn thumb drive)

I dont care about viewing photos/mp3s too much so I went with the A530.

Update:
TV died on Jan 9 2009 (less than 5 months). The red power light keeps blinking and there is a flickering sound every few minutes. Amazon.com would not help after >30 days, so I called Samsung. They took down the info and sent it to a local repair shop (Precision TV in SF bay area). They still have not called me about it after 3 days <sigh>.
Now I wish I had purchased it at a local B&M shop with an extended warranty. I would have got a loaner at least. Now I am stuck with bad customer service. Pretty disappointed with Samsung quality.

Hi Everyone,

We recently purchased this TV, and I have to say it is GREAT. We got it primarily for our photography business - basically, to use it as a giant monitor for editing and to show photographs to clients. It is the exact look and feel we were going for.

So far, everything has worked out perfectly. Particularly, it looks wonderful with our iMac putting video out to it at 1920x1080 @ 60 hertz via HDMI (mini-dvi to DVI to HDMI). It looks great as well with our Compaq PC laptop hooked up through VGA - again at 1920x1080 @ 60 hertz. I honestly don't see a difference on this model through VGA vs. HDMI, but I haven't run any comparison tests yet.

The sound is really decent on this TV. We can set it at a volume to comfortably here it at 30 feet away without maxing out the volume. Though, we can also hook it up to our sound system to put out more sound / bass. It does have optical sound out which works just fine for this (or you could use the standard RCA red & white audio out).

The display itself is absolutely crisp. We haven't tried customizing it yet, but there are a good bit of options for that as well. To give you an idea, a photograph on our 20" iMac looks just as good (if not better) on the 530 Samsung. There's no loss of color, blacks, or details. Originally, the images on the TV seemed to have a sharpening affect applied - we took down the sharpness on the Samsung and it is now spot on.

I'd easily recommend this TV to anyone. It has all the inputs and outputs you'd need. The display is absolutely great (on par with an Apple screen - which is saying a lot). It has a nice, sleek feel to it (even the buttons are recessed and don't poke out). It is easy to use.

Oh, one note: it is a 60 htz tv, not 120 htz. For us, we didn't want or need the 120 htz as we're primarly working with photographs. Really, movies and TV are still at 24 fps and 29.97 fps ... it'll be quite a while before they go higher than that (to 60 htz or 120 htz) ... at the moment I believe 120 htz movies are actually at 24 fps and then the 120 htz tv displays 5 frames per actual frame to make the movie appear smoother. Just some tech talk there.

- Spencer

Samsung LN46A530 46-inch 1080P LCD HDTV

I was a little apprehensive about ordering an item like this online. Amazon's price beat out the local places that I checked out so I went for it.
I must say it was delivered earlier than expected and the guys set it up for us. This tv is great. Very clear picture. No complaints at all. There was a little band at the top like white pixels on the picture and I had read a review on some tv complaining about it so I was a little nervous. We read the manual and it told us how to tune the tv so the problem disappeared. Just an adjustment problem, not a problem with the tv. We bought a JVC a few months ago and were very happy with it till we got this one. This one is a much clearer, more vivid picture. I would highly recommend this tv, amazon, and their delivery service. This was a very good purchase experience.

(note: I bought this TV elsewhere, but I am grateful to the Amazon community for its reviews, so I wanted to add one)

I found the process of researching and buying an HDTV to be overwhelming, but I am thrilled with the end result.

The picture quality has been nothing short of stunning. I'm sure that the black levels could be better on a high-end Sony, but for me they are excellent. NBC's coverage of the Olympics has been luxurious to watch. The colors are fantastic.

There are a few times when I notice artifacts, such as with water polo and with the Olympic logo that flashes through between replays, but I can live with it. I actually think that the reason is NBC's 1080i signal, because Fox's 720p signal for football and baseball has been flawlessly smooth.

I am typing this on the TV screen, using it as my computer monitor, which has worked great through both the VGA port and the (DVI-to-)HDMI port. Movies on an upconverting DVD player have looked great, and the big screen is lots of fun with the 480p component signal from our Nintendo Wii.

Sound could be better, with the speakers being in the back as well as the sides, but it's as good as any other TV I've owned. I would get a separate sound system if it really mattered to me.

I found the setup to be easy, and it was a pleasant surprise to see that the TV could pick up the HD local channels through the cable, even though I just have basic standard-definition service. The standard channels are much less attractive than the HD ones, but I'm willing to accept that in order to enjoy the HD.

Knowing that 120hz technology and other features will be coming down in price, I think that this was an excellent purchase in terms of getting a good deal on features that are mature enough to enjoy right now.

The picture on this TV was great but a few days after arrival I noticed a stuck pixel. I did not want a brand new TV with defective pixels, so I called Amazon. They took the TV back and issued a full refund. Amazon has taken the risk and hassle out of shopping on the internet.

WE REALLY LIKE THE QUALITY OF THE PICTURE AND LARGER THAN LIFE FEELING THAT YOU GET WHILE YOU WATCH IT. IT WAS SIMPLE TO HOOK UP ONCE MY EXPERT OF A SON-IN-LAW GOT A HOLD OF IT. THE CABLE MAN WAS LOST AND SO WERE WE, BEING OF AN OLDER GENERATION = 65+. NONE OF THE DIRECTIONS ARE MEANT FOR A PERSON WHO HAS BEEN LEFT BEHIND ON THE ROAD TO PROGRESS!! WE ENDED UP WITH 4 REMOTES FROM THE CABLE MAN AND ONLY ONE FROM MY SON-IN-LAW. HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING OR HAVE SOME ONE WHO DOES. GOOD LUCK! NOW EXCUSE ME, I HAVE TO GO WATCH A MOVIE. =)

Samsung has a great product in this big screen LCD. It has been great during this football season. A lot better than my team has been. This big screen LCD is everything it was advertised. It has a much better picture than the Visio for not much more money. The LCD reduces glare incredibly over a previously owned projection HD TV.

Excellent product in all respects. I researched many 46 inch sets and I believe this was the best buy. Very satisfied.

This is a nice TV when it works. Before buying one, I'd recommend you Google search "Samsung TV Clicking" There is a problem with the Samsung TVs made recently. They put in cheap capacitors that do not last.
My TV just started acting up a few day ago. It makes a clicking sound for about 5 minutes before the picture comes on. I called Samsung today and they admitted that this is a common problem with their TVs and agreed to send a local tv repairman out to me free of charge and if it is the defective capacitors, Samsung will pay to have it fixed. But they will only do this once. So... Hopefully they don't put the same cheap capacitors in.

Only gave it a four since this is my first large tv, but am very pleased with it. My biggest concern was not having to buy additional eqpt such as a sound system (next xmas). The sound was better than expected based on other reviews of other TVs that scared my decision process along with features. The sound is just as good as any stereo TV I have had, the volume can be quite loud without losing quality, and the in-tv surround does add a little upgrade when watching DVDs. I did spring for a cheap HDTV DVD player and yes indeed there is a difference as to picture quality. Almost bought a 52" and glad I didn't would have been too big for the space. LR was 18'X 22. For the price $1100 including inside delivery cannot complain. If you are going to mount on wall do buy the swivel ($$$) as you don't want to have to take the tv down just to hook things up. Most tv's are rear connections.

p.s Do not use mount kit bolts unless they are graded and not cheap knock offs. Mine snapped and had to start all over.