Customer Reviews

Samsung LN55C630 55-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV (Black)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I spent hours researching and looking at TVs in the store before buying this 55" monster. I actually returned a plasma I had purchased in order to get this TV and I am very glad I did. This TV will require some playing around in the menu settings and the settings of your input source (HD TV cable box and PS3 for me). Once dialed in though, it shines. The previous reviewers are telling the truth about the glossy screen, it will rainbow on you with heavy light coming in from windows or anything else that's bright and pointed at the TV, however if you plan on putting it in a dark room like I did, its extremely nice. I could have gotten the smaller 46" version with the matte screen to eliminate this rainbow glare but this glossy screen gives deeper blacks if used in the right conditions and that is exactly what I wanted. The only down side to this TV besides the reflective screen is the input lag. It's not as great as some other LCD's out there but to be honest I'd rather have this slighter higher input lag while gaming than give up all the other qualities this TV brings to the table. You are going to be hard pressed to find an LCD out right now that does everything as well as this TV, but with better lag. So as long as you're ok with ~50-80 ms input lag in game mode, a screen that is really meant for a darker room, and can take the time to dial in all the settings, this TV is will make you one happy camper.

Wow, this TV is beautiful. The color, contrast, and brightness is amazing.

Pros:
* Color saturation is just right.
* Darks are very dark for non-full-frame LED
* Price - Amazing for a 55"
* Feature set is awesome considering the price
* Fully transparent glass makes the picture look that much more amazing, especially in the dark.

Cons:
* Fully transparent glass is glossy and can produce lots of glare if you have windows in a bad location. The screen has an ambient light sensor so I just turned up the brightness and at night during movies it automatically dims for the dark conditions
* The viewing angle is perfect for +/- 15 degrees... outside of that, the darks grey out... it's really not that big a deal though
* It's not free?

Notes:
* You MUST tweak the settings on this TV such as the auto-dimming feature. By default, it is set to a backlight level of 0 (zero)!!! I turned it up to 8 and it is super bright while the darks are very dark.
* If you're like me, then you hate the 120/240 hertz smooth motion that is built into TVs, including this one. The first thing I did was turn it OFF. It looks unnatural IMO.

Overall, this is an amazing TV well worth the money. I would suggest it to anyone as long as they realize that the screen is glossy because that could be the biggest issue with the TV. I also got the warranty because my last Samsung died after a year and a half (the warranties are only 1 year).

I've had the TV for a little over a month. The screen is extremely glossy, reflective and has rainbows. (See pics). Black levels are decent, but a little muddy when in a darkened room. I've messed around with most of the settings and just can't get the blacks to show good detail. There is a very tiny flashlight effect in the two lower corners, but barely noticeable. Colors are good, but inconsistent when watching cable so it's probably not the TV's fault. I see occasional lip sync issues, but again I've only seen this watching cable and it's not all the time, so I don't think it's the TV. Off angle picture definitely degrades.

During the day, or with any lights on, the TV is barely watchable due to reflections. I get rainbows if a light is on and faces the TV. The only time I get good viewing is at night with almost all the lights off. If you have any lights on they have to be very low and not face the TV. It's not just the screen that's glossy, its also the frame. It seems like Samsung designs TVs that look better when they are turned off than when viewing. Samsung used to claim on its website for 2010 models that the TV had a special coating that "virtually eliminates glare and reflections". This is a total lie and false advertising. I wonder if they were afraid of getting sued because it seems they have removed it.

I turned the Auto motion plus off because some shows would "jerk" like it was skipping frames. This feature is also false advertising. I haven't seen any advantage to having this turned on and I have viewed sports, movies, concerts, blu-rays, etc. There is no headphone jack at all. If you want to use headphones there is a 3.5mm line out, but you will not be able to adjust the volume. I had to hook up a stereo receiver to the TV just to be able to use headphones. The one area this TV excels in my opinion in that there is almost zero motion blur which I am sensitive to.

I compared all the 55 inch models over the past 3 years (expect Vizio TruLED. Couldn't find one anywhere) and was never happy with any of them. Plasmas are too hot, burn in, etc. LED inconsistent backlight, expensive. Strange bezels (TOC red?). The picture on this TV is 99% as good as the Samsung LEDs. Who cares about thinness? I don't look at it from the side.

So why didn't I return it? I just can't find anything I like. All Samsung 55 inchers are glossy now. I looked at non glossy Sony and LG. I don't like the Sony bezel and I see more grain/motion blur on Sony's than Samsung. LGs look nice, but the picture doesn't seem to pop, black levels look worse and I see a little more motion blur than Samsungs. The LG 8500 model has the glossy screen as does the new high end Sonys. Maybe LG 55LD650, 55LE5400/5500 would have been a better way to go but the prices fluctuate and I didn't feel like going through the hassle of returning, getting a new TV and risking not being happy with that one and starting all over again. I am just tired of looking. My solution is to get a 40 or 46 inch version of this TV for my bedroom to watch during the day, because those models are non glossy and watch the big one only at night. If anyone knows of any type of large black screen I can place behind my couch to block reflections it would be greatly appreciated.

Here are my current settings. If anyone has calibration suggestions, let me know:

Mode: Standard
Backlight: 14
Contrast ratio: 100
Brightness: 45
Sharpness: 50
Color: 52
Tint: G50/R50

Advanced settings:

Black tone: Off
Dynamic contrast: Low
Shadow: 0
Gamma: 0
RBG only mode: Off
Color space: Native
White balance: Factory setting
Flesh tone: 0
Edge enhancement: On

Picture options:

Color tone: Normal
Size: 16x 9
Noise Filter: Auto
MPEG noise filter: Auto
HDMI back level: Low
Film mode: Auto 2
Auto motion Plus 120 Hz: Off

The following is not directly related to the TV, but to those just jumping into HDTV:

I've had several HDTVs over the years and always returned them. At first there was a lack of HD content. Now that's fixed, except cable TV still hasn't gotten their act together. You'll be watching a show in HD, then the commercials in SD. Sometimes they just stretch SD and distort the picture. Sometimes the HD channels have terrible HD quality.

It drives me nuts that movies are in all different aspect ratios that create bars on the top, bottom and sides that transform your TV into a much smaller set. You will have bars on the top and bottom with 1:85, 2:20, 2:35 and 2:40. You will have bars on the side watching remastered classics like Gone with the Wind in 1:33. Also bars on the sides with IMAX content. Can you tell I hate widescreen? Panavision is a gimmick that movie theaters came up with when people started getting TVs in their homes to attract them to the movies again. Does not translate well in the home. Especially 2:40. James Cameron is the only director that will admit this and is why he insisted that Avatar blu-rays be in 16:9 to fit the whole screen. A much more satisfying and immersive viewing experience than watching an "anamorphic" 2:40 widescreen "sliver". I wish they would include two versions on the disk. Original widescreen format and 16x9 full screen version.

Also, blu-rays having 4 and 5 disks just to watch one movie, like Blade Runner? Director cut, extended cut, etc. Just drives the price of the DVD up.

Whenever I am going to spend a lot of money on something (and sometimes, even when I will be spending very little on something), I like to do as much research as possible. I look at Consumer Reports, read as many reviews as possible, and ask around. While doing that, I found this television here.

I initially came across this TV because my husband and I wanted a big screen, and this one was on sale at Best Buy at the time. It came highly recommended by the gentleman at the store, and by most reviews I found online agreed. In the store, there seemed to be some skipping in the picture - parts where the movie or show seemed to speed up for a second and then slow to regular speed - that made me nervous. I was so annoyed by it in the store, that I almost went with a smaller TV by Samsung until I learned that the "skipping" can sometimes be caused by your connection speed. I was HUGELY relieved to get our TV, hook it up, and find that everything was fine, no skipping at all.

The picture quality is extremely good. Even compared with an LED LCD (the latest HD craze), there wasn't that much of a difference, at least not enough to pay the hundreds more for an LED LCD. Compared with others, I liked Samsung the best, and if you're going to go for a bigger TV, I think the 55" is perfect. I would have been happy with the 46", but my husband wanted bigger, and we compromised on this one. In the end, it turned out to be just right. Had we gone bigger, say to a 57" or 60", that would have been too big, but I think a little bit smaller would have been fine, if needed.

The only problem we have had is when my husband plays video games that are really dark. HD's in general have a harder time rendering black colors, but we found an easy fix is to adjust the brightness in the game, and then the picture is perfect again.

Overall, you can't beat the price on Amazon. Even with this exact same TV being on sale at Best Buy, it was still at least $400 cheaper on Amazon. Adding sales tax, delivery charges and all that, it was almost $650 cheaper than Best Buy.

If you are looking for a really good, somewhat larger, high-quality HD at an extremely good price, I would definitely recommend that you buy this one.

Bought this TV in June. Got it fine but of all of things not to be right - the actual stand. There are two different types and they have the wrong one in the box. Hard to believe but without the right stand, cannot stand it up to watch. Called customer service and told them the issue. They said no problem and they needed the TV info (serial #, etc.)and they would send the "other" type. Sent them the info waited the 2 weeks they said it would take. Called them back and asked where it was. They said they did not get a serial number (of course I gave them that the first time). I ask then why someone did not notify me that they needed it. No answer. Gave them the serial number again and they said the 2 week clock starts again. Two weeks later, called back and asked where the part was (of course we could not use the TV in the mean time without the right stand (different hole configuration). They said that they did not have the serial number in the transaction number they set up. Gave them the serial number the third time and asked again why someone did not call to inform me of the holdup. No answer. Two weeks later, I called again and again was told that the request was sent to the wrong department and it should have gone to the No Charge department and again they did not have the serial number on my transaction. I again gave them the serial number and warned them that it would not be a pleasant call if I had to call again. It is now the end of August and guess what I called again and surprise same song, fifth verse (it must be a script they read). The part cannot be more than 5 or ten bucks and it is apparent that they do not want to send the part and rather p***ed off the customer. I am out $1500 and need to mount the darn thing to watch it. Another $150. I would not assume the quality of the product because I have not been able to use it but the CS is for the birds. If negative scores are available, I would give it. If you got the right stand, you're one of the lucky ones. I've had better luck with Sony - overpriced but looks to be worth it. Never thought the non-electronic part would be the one that I would have to complain about. Samsung's long list of complaints on CS is all over the web. I should have trusted my brethren. Never again.

Initially I found this TV while shopping around at Wal-Mart. The Samsung model was setup next to comparable Sony and LG TV's of the same size. In my opinion the picture on the Samsung was noticeably better than either of the competitors. I noticed the richer colors and better contrast, so I was sold on the Samsung model. Rather than buying from Wal-Mart I went online to find the best price, and pulled the trigger.

Design 9/10

The TV has a simple but very nice looking design. I like the fact that the chassis surrounding the TV's picture is smaller than most. The stand was pretty easy to put together and the clear part of the stand looks very nice, plus it swivels.

The touch sensitive buttons for power, source, channel, and volume at the bottom right are nice but it's easy to press them when cleaning the TV (not a big deal though).

Picture 8/10

This TV has a beautiful picture, but I personally recommend some small adjustments.
This is a personal preference, but I found skin tones to be a bit too red. A quick adjustment to tint and some of the other advanced color settings and I was happy.

The Auto Motion Plus 120Hz feature will need adjustment. Out of the box it's just set too high and results in jerky, unnatural looking motions. You can turn it off completely to resolve the issue. However I recommend setting it to Custom, and then adjusting it to your liking. Problem solved.

The real problem with this TV is the highly reflective screen which is not for everyone. Fortunately, my living room does not have a lot of windows or natural light so this is not a problem for me. I would not recommend this TV for people with heavily lit rooms or a lot of windows. The reflections will just be too distracting. This TV is better suited for a theater room type setting.

Like the previous reviewer mentioned, rainbow effects are present, but I have not found them to be noticeable much at all. I only see them when the TV is off, or if the screen is completely black. Again, I think this just depends on how much light you've got in your room.

The viewing angle is not great, I would call it average. Colors do wash out when watching at an angle, several feet from the front center of the TV.

Once more, I don't think this TV is for everyone because of the reflective screen. After some quick picture setting adjustments this TV has an absolutely amazing picture. The black levels, contrast, and amount of detail is amazing when watching HD movies and TV shows. Sometimes when I am watching a blu-ray movie I feel like I am there!

Sound NA/10

I can't comment much on the sound of the TV. I had it hooked up to surround sound within 5 minutes of getting it out of the box. If you are going to get a TV this big, go get a surround sound system!!!

Overall 8/10

I would give this TV a 9/10 if it weren't for the reflective screen. It's a simple but great looking TV. The picture is amazing if you take the time to adjust it to your liking. I don't think the rainbow effects or reflections should scare you away unless you've got a lot of natural and artificial light.

Review for the Samsung LN55C630. I was one of those folks that qualified for the Sony upgrade replacement of the old sony rear projection tvs under class action litigation. I had upgraded to the Sony kdl-ex500 and used the tv for 6 months before I had a little accident requiring me to purchase another tv. I thought things were pretty good since I moved up to the 55 Sony at little cost. However, when it came down to replace the cracked tv I started out re-evaluating all the options since I was going to pay out of pocket instead of just repurchasing the same sony 55ex500.

Choices ran the gamut of 3d, non-3d, sony, samsung, sharp leds and lcd tvs. After giving 3d another look over it was quickly removed as an option. I don't feel the technology is ready for prime time with all the cross talk, ghosting effects and the cumbersome glasses. Evaluating led full array, led backlit, and lcd ccfl I really felt that all have their strengths and weaknesses. My choices quickly narrowed down to samsung 6300 in the 55 inch and the ln55c630, finally going with the ln55c630.

3 weeks and going and I am extremely pleased with the samsung. I'm realizing how much I was missing out in the ex500. The Sony 55ex710 was a consideration but these matte sony tvs are really dull and uninspiring. The samsung in comparison has much better visual effect. The quality of the tv over the sony is like night and day. Where the Sony has a cheap plastic feel and lighter. The Samsung is encased with aluminum backing and a thick screen layer. The stand is much much better as well. There is definitely a pop effect when viewing content and although the gloss screen is something I usually prefer against Samsung has done a great job in utilizing it towards a better viewing experience. As an aside, I have nothing but matte screen displays for work (dual monitor HP zr24w), dual monitor HP zr24w at home, matte screen thinkpad X201T, and a few others. So, I have an appreciation for matte screens for professional work. On the otherhand, I know a few folks that prefer the same for their television sets (myself included up to this point). And I believe an adjustment is necessary to not hold onto conventional wisdom when evaluating these tvs. There is definite some mirroring but the sony had blooming and reflection of the interior lights although it was a matte screen.

The picture is fantastic especially at this price range. If you're not in the market for 3d tv I would say this tv is your best bet. It's just a whole another level of viewing experience if you're coming from some of the comparable sony ccfl lcds. I experience virtually no audio lag through my denon 3310ci. The lag on the sony was horrible. Off viewing angle could was better on the Sony but not a big compromise considering how beautiful the picture looks up front. I suspect the lcd layering and coating emphasize on projecting the light on the surface normals resulting in greater image quality so the viewing angle attenuation of the light is not a defect but an integral design decision.

FYI, I have one of the AA02 panels. There's some discussion on the forums about the various panel substitutions that are used. As long as you're not getting one of the CN panels I would say it's a fair deal. In comparison, other industries have been substituting parts and components out in the middle of the equipment model life for years. The computer server market is a prime example (Dell is notorious for this).

Not an expert in anyway to tv technology these days..i am an run of the mill tech geek and moved into a new place and new i wanted to buy a flat screen and really wanted to push the size because of the location i had in mind for the tv...after about 2 months of searching, i came across this model and did the typical youtube search to see what others had to say..again most of it was some technical lingo that really goes in one ear and out for me...i ordered the tv and on the day of arrival the delivery service was run of the mill (amazon, really needs to do ghost shops of this service) my appt time was 9-12 and they arrived at 12:30 after i called at 11:50 to see if all was cool...anyhow it arrived and i set-up (for a tv this size you definitely need two people to help put on stand or wall, i used the stand)..setup was a since and i connected it to my ps3 and watch a few programs..i still have to wait two weeks for hd cable so im roughing it now with standard definition, which isnt terrible and i want to say because some stations must have only switched to a HD output the quality of some shows definitely seemed a bit more clear than the others...next day a friend and i strike up the ps3 and play an HD episode from 30 rock..i think netflix isnt full HD 1080p or whatever but more on that later..so we initially start the episode and it started off so pixelated that i was bummed by the quality because i thought the tv was just to big to play anything other than HD stuff..but i digress..we let the show continue and it was as if we both had lasik surgery..all of a sudden the picture became SO CLEAR that the show had a 3D quality to it..I can't describe it..the picture was nothing less than spectacular and the speakers on the tv are more than enough for me..im not in a huge space and im a borderline minimalist so really didnt want a 9 piece theater system in here and i dont need it..anyhow long story short..if you are reading this, you are potentially in the market for a tv..words of advice..one - click add to cart and check out so that you finally can mark it off your list...two - when the tv arrives and you 1st turn it on..come back to amazon and read one of the previous reviews where someone listed there settings for a better quality..i did that immediately and i dont know what the tv looks like out of the box with standard settings..that guy/gal is a genius and thank you for the heads up...

hope this helps

One of the simplest tests for how good a high-definition picture looks is if it makes viewers feel like they're looking through a window instead of a TV screen. The LN55C630 is the closest I've come to that experience.

I was looking to upgrade my 2008 model Samsung LN46A550 with a new set with a larger screen size and a higher contrast ratio. Having had a good experience with the A550, I was inclined towards getting another Samsung but also considered Sony's Bravia TVs. After much research and in-store comparisons I narrowed it down to the LED-backlit UNC6300 series and the standard CCFL-backlit LNC630 line. Considering the premium price of LED TVs and the small difference in picture quality compared to a CCFL TV, I settled on the 55-inch version of the C630 as it has the Ultra Clear Panel I prefer.

SCREEN
Glossy and matte screens are a matter of personal preference with each type having its own advantages and disadvantages. The Ultra Clear Panel produces the best blacks I've seen on a CCFL-backlit LCD TV while every matte screen I've seen only dulls the black levels down. Since I can control the lighting in my viewing room to a good degree, reflections, glare and rainbow effects aren't a problem at all. The clear panel also enhances clarity and color compared to my matte-screened A550.

PICTURE QUALITY
When calibrated properly the picture quality on this TV is close to perfect. The image is lifelike with depth and dimension. Standard 1080i HD programming looks great and high-quality 1080p HD looks even better. Blu-ray discs often produce that looking-through-a-window experience. The extensive picture controls allow you to customize the picture to your liking. I used CNET's dark room picture settings for this model as a starting point and, for comparison, used Digital Video Essential's calibration disc which called for slightly different settings. Either calibration method produces good results but I prefer the calibration disc's contrast/brightness/color settings which seems to be more dialed in to my particular set. Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics [Blu-ray]

AUTO MOTION PLUS 120 Hz PROCESSING
The de-judder effect is also a personal preference. The experts at CNET are split on anti-judder with one against it and two in favor calling the effect more "true-to-life". I agree with the latter. The Auto Motion Plus settings include 3 presets and a fourth custom preset which allows the user to adjust the level of blur and judder. The effect can also be turned off completely.

ECO SENSOR
The Eco Sensor is a nice feature as it allows the picture to adapt to different light levels. This is the first TV I've seen which has implemented this feature successfully. Older TVs with light sensors made the screen look too dark. What's nice about Samsung's version is that the minimum/maximum backlight level can be set so that the screen never looks too dark or bright. While some users may not like this feature it does work well and produces a brightness level appropriate to a room's particular lighting conditions.

I calibrated the "Standard" preset for daytime/afternoon use. Setting the backlight maximum at 10 is a good starting point for daytime viewing and can be adjusted up or down according to actual lighting conditions. Using a minimum backlight setting of 4, the light sensor adapts very well to room lighting from day to night. For nighttime use I again followed CNET's calibration settings as a starting point to adjust the "Movie" preset for dark room viewing, but used a backlight setting of 4 instead of the 5 they recommended. I found that 4 is more than bright enough for a dark room with 5 being a little too bright. CNET's calibration was done on the 46-inch model. At 55 inches, this is a big TV which puts out a lot of light.

SCREEN UNIFORMITY
So, while this TV's picture quality is outstanding it isn't quite perfect. Viewed straight on the picture's great. Move several feet off-center and the colors and black levels deteriorate noticeably. The off-axis viewing on my two year-old A550 was quite good and I expected the same from the C630. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case with the C630 which has a narrower viewing angle. As this is a bedroom set this isn't much of a problem as the viewing position is fixed for the most part. Both my A550 and C630 has the AA02 panel so panel type isn't the issue. I looked at other current Samsung TVs with both glossy panels and matte panels which had better viewing angles so clear or matte coatings doesn't seem to be the determining factor. Consumer Reports reviewed several Samsung models with some receiving a good rating for off-axis viewing while others did not. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason why screen uniformity varies from one TV to another.

A very minor issue is the left and right edges of the screen are just slightly darker than the rest of the picture. This is subtle and doesn't present much of a problem.

AUDIO
The sound from the A550's built-in speakers is really bad with not much dynamic range. Adding external speakers were necessary to get decent sound. While the sound from the C630 is by no means great, it's definitely an improvement as the sound is fuller and not quite as tinny. Adequate for watching the news but not much else. Again, adding a good speaker system is necessary for most other programming. One last nit is the exclusion of the headphone jack found on previous Samsung models. In its place is an audio out jack which doesn't allow use of the TV's volume controls when the "external speaker" setting is selected. The volume level for the high-quality 2.1 system I've been using can no longer be adjusted with the TV or remote control. Too bad. This is not an improvement in my case.

While this TV has its drawbacks, the pluses outweigh the minuses. I would have given it a 5-star rating except for the issues noted above. Considering price, performance and design, this TV is a great value. A high-quality, 55-inch HDTV at around $1200 is tough to beat. Amazon's pricing and delivery service made the buying experience a positive one.

Before I get into this particular item, let me just say that I was deciding between this TV and a 46" LED at a similar price point. I ultimately chose size over picture quality and let me tell you- I have ZERO regrets!

While researching this item I came across many complaints about the glossy screen and the glare associated with said glossy screen. I currently have 3 lamps within 10 feet of this TV as well as 6' wide sliding glass doors and I have absolutely no issues with glare. The picture is so vibrant and I find light to be no more off-putting on this TV than it is on my 37" LG (which has a matte screen).

Another complaint I'd like to debunk is the purportedly "horrible" audio. Keep in mind that this unit is only a few inches deep, so there is only so much real estate to work with regarding speakers. That said, I think the sound is about on par with any other TV out there. Granted, this would not be sufficient for an audiophile. Nonetheless, the audio is fine for the other 95% of people out there.

I just can't get over how beautiful this picture is! I was worried about losing some HD quality on a TV this size, but to my amazement I feel as though the quality is WAY better! My only complaint (if you can even call it that) is getting used to the 120Hz refresh rate. My previous TV was 60Hz and is much more natural for the human eye to process. 120Hz gives everything that "soap opera" effect that I'm sure many of you have either experienced or read about. I got used to this after only a few days of use. I find that it makes for much crisper viewing of sporting events, which is what I mostly watch anyway.

I highly recommend that anyone who is in the market for a 55" LCD strongly considers this black beauty. As gorgeous as she is when she's just sitting there on top of your TV stand or on your wall mount, she's that much better when she's turned on doing her thing!