Customer Reviews

Samsung UN55C6500 55-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV (Black)

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

First off, I have had an 40" Samsung for 3 years and have been very pleased with it. It has a matte screen so that is what I was looking for. I really didn't want any glare so I actually was looking at LG's since they are one of few companies that make 50"+ lcds with matte screens. CNET reviewed the LG's with high marks as well so I was pretty much dead set on an LG.

So I went to Fry's, Bestbuy, HHgregg, and local TV shop just checking out the products. I definitely liked the pictures of the LG's. The colors are on par with the Samsungs and the washout from off angles is also better. But I couldn't get over the simple fact that the Samsungs just looked better. Every store I went to I was like yeah there's glare, but when the screen is fully lit you don't really see it, plus you know we all were used to CRT glass screens for years. The LG technically had deeper blacks, but in reality the matte refraction light made the screen seem more grayish and the glossy screens appeared to have deeper blacks due to clarity. Also, the clarity of the images in the Samsungs was noticeably better. Just one of those things you just see and say yeah that's better. For a final look, I brought my wife for her opinion and she point right to the Samsung as the better picture.

So as a matte finish fan and all the technical abilities of the LG's I had to go with the Samsung. Beyond the amazing picture the style is so much better. So thin, lighter, and the UN55c6500 has a great thin border, actually charcoal matte, with a nice clear trim. Looks so clean.

I've read where some people have said that the picture is so good that it almost looks 3d. I have to agree, playing some video games and bluray, the picture is so good it does almost look 3d.

I also got the wireless dongle (free with purchase) and it works quite easily. No issue thus far.

There definitely are reflections, but glare isn't really too bad. I also did see the rainbow effect from my ceiling lights, but only if in direct view. The motion plus still makes everything look soap opera, but being able to turn it down helps a lot. Samsung has more settings for this than LG's.

I am very pleased with this buy.

we already had 4 HDTVs when I bought this one on 5/2/10- Sony 46", Sharp Aquos 65", Samsung Touch of Color 52", and Panasonic plasma 58". All but the Sony are less than 2 years old- and all look good. But that Samsung Touch of Color really stood out. The picture has always been a real step above the others. So, we went to Best Buy to look at the latest Samaungs, and ended up buying this one.

I have never seen a picture like it. It looks 3 dimensional- you can really place people and scenery in space. It's almost eerie. Another reviewer has complained of flash lighting- but I can't see any evidence of it. Plus the thing is energy efficient- 190w max- less when back lighting is down (which everyone will turn down I'd expect- it's very bright). It's better at not reflecting light than plasmas for sure- another plus- and looks great when the room is brightly lit. It's quiet when on- no "buzz"- and it's relatively cool.

I've (unfortunately) sent back large TVs in the past- including a 65" (which Amazon was great about). I couldn't be happier with this one- so far at least.

*edited 5/8/10- netflix streaming nor Blockbuster streaming worked initially- but a firmware release in early May corrected this. Apps work fine- and VuDu works great and streams in 1080p/24 with Dolby Digital sound anyway- so it's a better source for great looking content. Currently Netflix still sends only stereo (dolby prologic II) audio...

I had a 53" Pioneer Rear Projection for 6 years now and decided to upgrade to something that was slimmer and nicer.

Simply put, the picture on this set is awesome! I have had it more than a month and very pleased with it. I bought it with the assumption that I would try it and if I didn't like it just return it (since it is so expensive) and get something cheaper. I did a lot of research from seeing it multiple times and Best Buy and PC Richard and Sons to following an Audio Video Forum from actual owners regarding this TV.

Strangely enough there is a panel lottery as to what TV screen you will get. I received a SK03 panel and from what I read and know, the S panels have better off angle viewing than the C panels but more of a tendency to show clouding and spotlighting. I don't notice any real off angle viewing since I am watching it from the front and I am lucky to say that there are no spotlighting or clouding issues (believe me I looked hard!). A lot of the clouding or spotlighting can be significantly reduced with proper settings but there are some panels that just show it more than others. I have tested it in many dark movie scenes with bright foregrounds as well as letter box movies (can be found easier by watching bright scenes with dark edges. Unfortunately this is a problem with most LED Edge lit panels and the higher-end Samsung LED TVs have the ability to dim this.

I don't play games so I can't comment on that but a friend brought over his PS3 to see how it looked playing some of his faster paced games (I read some people had issues with speed and shadow images) and he absolutely loved it. We didn't encounter any issues with lag as others had. He was so please that he is planning to buy the same set to replace his Sony.

If you push the info button on the remote you see a little power meter that shows how much electricity this LED TV is using over a standard set. Not sure how true this simple meter is though...but it is still cool.

A couple words of advice:

Although the Auto Motion Plus looks great on (gives the picture a Soap Opera feel to it making it look a little too real). I personally set mine for Clear (or off if you prefer) as it causes more picture quality problems for me than it is worth and plus I can't get used to it. Maybe once I mount the set I will give it another try to see if I can get used.

Please note that the TV will never display 120 Hz in the TV info bar that appears on the top left corner. This displays the resolution that your TV is receiving from the set-top-box, DVD, etc and will always display 60 Hz rate and the resolution (720, 1080i, 1080p). This is not the Rate the set is processing/displaying. You can be assured that the set is outputting 120 Hz.

I connected a wired internet (CAT5e) cable to the set and downloaded all the widgets and upgrades needed. Youtube widget work perfectly and I wasted a good hour before I was done. (can watch these movies in small window or full screen (although a little pixilated)). I haven't used Facebook or Netflix yet but will down the line as it is pretty easy and convenient.

I haven't used the DLNA feature too much as I have dedicated Media player that connect to my NAS. However I did try it and instantly saw my NAS and PC (had to install Samsung PC Share Manager).

There is also an iPhone app for this series that let's you control aspects of your TV (makes it easier to type words on the screen (youtube, facebook, etc). TV and iphone must be using the same router. Not the greatest thing but kind of cool.

The greatest thing is this TV has SO many settings can you can tweak it to your liking

I advise people when you get this TV to look online for settings and forums dealing with this set and optimal settings as without changing anything I might have returned it. Set is simply breathtaking.

On the surface this is a great TV, excellent quality and extremely thin. However after watching it a while, you will notice whenever your movie fades to black, which is usually quite often, you will notice how poor the backlighting is. You won't see a completely black screen, rather light clouds all over it, that will annoy and spoil your viewing experience. These clouds are evident during regular play, but not so distinctive as when the whole image is black or dark.

I contacted Samsung and they wasted my time on the phone for an hour trying to reset the image settings and playing with the sharpness and contrast, which I obviously knew had nothing to do with the problem. Finally they had me schedule a tech to come and look at it, which I had to take an unpaid day off work just to meet with them because they wouldn't give me a specific time of day. And of course when he did come, it only took him 2 minutes to diagnose the problem as being poor quality panel. Or rather saying it's just the "characteristics" of the panel. He took pictures of it and said he would send them to Samsung to determine if they would replace, and to no small surprise they said no, that's just the "characteristics" of the panel.

I'm really disappointed in Samsung, considering they don't stand by the quality of their products, and offer such poor customer service. This TV was a huge investment for me, and it's really discouraging to spend that kind of money on something and not be satisfied, and have no option but just to live with it. I can't return it because it took so long for them to come look at it, that it's beyond the return period. not to mention shipping would cost so much.

Don't make the mistake I did and count on Samsung being quality.

Well, just like everyone here, we do our own research before we decide on buying one of these expensive items.

For the features and the good price from amazon, this is a steal. In less than two weeks, this is my second TV from Amazon. The first one had a dead pixel out of the box. I called Amazon and as always with their excellent customer service, they sent me another and it arrived in a couple of days after I talked to them. I won't put a bad rating on the TV because of the dead pixel as it is something common on all display devices. The new TV is great and I've had for about 3 weeks now.

I will not talk here about the TV's sound or picture quality as others have stated many things about it. I am here to talk about the features the TV has to offer.

First, my network setup for those who want to do the same thing (and probably avoid buying the wireless stick from Samsung as it is not really worth it):
I basically have my WRT610N wireless router upstairs in the kids room. I had an old router I was about to throw out but I did some reading and I was able to DD-WRT it and used it as a client-bridge router downstairs in the living room. I saved myself more than $150 worth of wireless sticks for this TV and the TiVo Premiere which I got it discounted from Amazon when I got this TV. I get an excellent signal and performance from the DD-WRT build I flushed it with and I am connecting it to the 2.4GHz signal from my WRT610N router. So, if you want to use the internet app I would suggest buying a used router, flush it with a decent DD-WRT firmware and rock'n roll.


Now to the features:
1- DLNA: I don't use this feature a lot but rather couple of times. My Windows 7 Ultimate PC is upstairs connected via ethernet to the actual WRT610N router and I was able to stream a lot of .AVI and .MP4 and other formats which my PS3 could not play. It will basically show you every DLNA-enabled device on your network and will be able to play. I am not a big-fan or this feature because of other features available.

2- Content (Via USB port): this is the big deal. I had a 2008 LCD HDTV from Samsung (also got it from Amazon) and it had a USB input but it won't read/play videos but rather only pictures or music. I read somewhere on the internet about this TV that says it probably plays .MKV files and I was not sure nor excited.

Let's go back a little bit since I have my fat PS3 (2008 model) and I got a 500GB External HDD connected to it. As you may know, any drive or disk connected to the PS3 must be formatted to FAT32 otherwise it won't see it. The bad thing about FAT32 is that it has a maximum file size of 4GB meaning a single file can't be more than 4GB in size. I had to always find my videos from the internet only in certain formats and must be less than 4GB. I found out that .M2TS files are the best Blu-Ray ripped files for PS3 and this TV won't play such files straight using its USB port.

This TV basically reads both FAT32 and NTFS formats and will read .AVI, .MP4 and .MKV files. I did not test .WMV files but maybe others will confirm.

The real deal which I am excited about here is that .MKV files can't be played on the PS3 nor does FAT32 takes more than 4GB files... The solution with this TV is that now I don't care about HHD space or FAT32. I just download my BLU-RAY movies in .MKV (any file size onto my NTFS drive which takes any file size, no limit) and play them straight on the TV. IT IS STUNNING AND I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. I will certainly just buy the TV for just this feature. The PS3 limited my viewing experience. For those who don't know, .MKV files are mostly Blu-Ray rips and they're AMAZING on this TV...


3- Other internet applications like youtube, netflix or facebook. I use netflix alot on the TV and I am able to stream 100% HD movies because of full signal coming from the bridged router. Youtube in general is also good and has a good interface. Basically there is the app manager which allows you to manage your multiple accounts on youtube/facebook and others here.

4- iPhone App: Oh, this is a SAVER. I don't see why people complain about this free app. You must connect your iPhone and your TV to the same access point or router. In my case, they're and it detects the TV instantly. I may crash at once only at the beginning but it saves you a lot of time specially if you want to type something on the TV like searching for something on Youtube.

BTW, The Multi-language display support on this TV is amazing. From my iPhone, I just type in Arabic on Youtube search and it will show all non-Unicode characters correctly.

5- Game Mode: I play MW2 a lot on the PS3 (PS3 rocks) and I found my character is kinda slow and I experienced what appeared to be lagging. I check my signal and it is full and sometimes I am host and still experience it as well. My previous LCD was great with MW2 as I was used to it and all game settings were in optimal settings for my convenience. I did not change any settings on the game but I was playing really bad on this new TV.....


After reading the manual and a little reading on LED TVs and how the process picture/sound, I am now rocking and rolling with this TV. Basically switch the TV settings to Game Mode. Click on "Menu" then on "General" and then on Mode and set it to Game Mode. I forgot the exact location of this feature from the menu but if you downloaded the user manual for this TV from Samsung, please refer to page 23. It has the instructions there.


I hope this will help the savvies out there since now I've a first-hand experience with this bad boy!!!!!!!!!!

Prior to making this purchase I read varying reviews about the Samsung LED TVs lighting quality in dark scenes. I thought these people were being too picky given there were seemingly just as many people completely happy. In addition, I looked at similar models in stores and they looked great. I ordered this set from Amazon hoping for the best, but unfortunately the lighting on dark scenes is extremely bad.

There are clouds of varying brightness in the dark areas of a scene (some refer to it as flashlighting or searchlights). These are most noticeable in the corners especially at an angle. It is extremely distracting when watching letterbox content or dark movies. It was not noticeable at all when watching brightly lit TV content or the demo content in the stores I went to. This is an SN01 panel running the latest firmware.

My older model CCFL lit LCD TV from Samsung did not have this kind of an issue. I'm really upset by this purchase and can't believe Samsung finds this quality acceptable.

On a positive note, the TV arrived in great condition from Amazon's carrier.

So far this TV has been a spectacular purchase, I'm extremely happy with this choice. The picture quality is the best I've ever seen.

I see little to no light leakage in this TV, even on "credit" scenes that have white text on a black background, and even in a dark room. The blacks are jet black and the picture and resolution are simply unbelievable. I have not yet seen any "flashlighting" or "clouding" that some other reviewers have experienced, though I'm told this can vary greatly by panel so it's a bit of a lottory with any LED.

There are a couple settings you'll want to tweak right out of the box. First, like other reviewers I noticed some problems with the auto motion plus feature. It adds a pretty severe "soap opera" effect, and on some feeds I also noticed significant jitter and dropping of frames. This seemed to be more pronounced if the feed was of poorer quality. I turned this feature setting down to "clear" and those problems all went away completely, so far I have not missed it.

The second setting is the auto dimming (these newer samsung sets can automatically lower the intensity of the backlight based on sensing how bright the room is). This wasn't enabled by default on my set, and I found turning it on reduced the light leakage I can see in dark scenes in a dark room to nearly zero because the backlight is lowered appropriately when I dim the lights in the room.



Despite being extremely happy with the TV, I was extremely unhappy with my experience purchasing this large item from Amazon; If you're buying one, look elsewhere.

Dealing with Amazon's third party freight carrier was absurdly frustrating. They were extremely disorganized. Each day for several days they gave me different information as to the whereabouts of my TV. It finally arrived at the local warehouse 2 days later than promised, and then they called to tell me they'd be unable to deliver it for another 4 days because their last truck going to my area was full and they weren't sending another for 4 days.

This TWICE as long as they promised for delivery, and I'd imagine most people making a purchase like this one are anxious to get their new TV quickly. The frieght company told me there was nothing they could do, but if I called Amazon, and Amazon called them they could usually "work something out" (hinting if Amazon offered to pay extra they'd do a special delivery right away).

After waiting on hold for almost an hour for an Amazon customer service representative, he put me on hold to call the freight company, he came back and told me they would not have a truck for another 4 days, and he did absolutely nothing for me. Eventually I ended up driving 40 miles each way down to the freight company's warehouse and picked the TV up myself.

It was an extremely aggravating ordeal, and I don't know about you, but when I buy an item that is this expensive, I expect a bit of service in return. This is a spectacular TV, but buy it from another retailer.

Just got this. Happy so far.

Here's some info that would have helped me.

- - - The Remote - - -

I uploaded a pic. Sensible. Tasteful. Large, clean markings. Back-light. A little strange that there's a "Yahoo!" button.


- - - The Frame - - -

Why do so many TVs have a GLOSSY black frame that draws attention to warpage and molding flaws and also adds distracting reflections? Seems like they're trying real hard to make an expensive product look junky.

This TV does not have that. Its brushed charcoal frame does not look horrible at all. There's also a clear plastic outer frame extending 3/8"+ on all 4 sides. Pretty harmless. I guess they wanted to keep a toe-hold in the world of tacky bling. (See uploaded pic.)


- - - Connecting Older Devices - - -

One disappointment: The stated "1 Component Input, 1 Composite (AV) Input..." is actually a single combined input.

There are 5 RCA jacks (Audio-L, Audio-R, Pb, Pr, Y) and the "Y" connection also can work as a Composite (AV Low Def - Yellow plug) Video-In. So, if you have a few older Composite (AV) devices (Wii, Series 2 TiVo, VCR...) you can add a switch-box such as Sima SVS-14 (4 Input) and funnel them all into the TV, but if you also want/need to use component connections from an older DVD player, it gets complicated. The TV seems to declare the input AV or Component based on physical presence of a plug in the Pb jack. I'm still trying to figure this out so I don't have to handle cables each time I use the DVD player. This problem is of course temporary, until some older devices retire.

Also, the listed "PC Audio Input" and "DVI Audio Input" are one and the same.


- - - Low Def Viewing - - -

We're watching mostly standard-def (TiVo Series 2) for a while. This TV displays it well. It does not make it "even worse than low def." Consumer Reports gives it "Excellent" for standard def viewing. The P.SIZE button on the remote lets you easily toggle between picture fitting options (crop, stretch, black bar). I prefer black side bars, but the manual warns of uneven screen burn if you do this more than 5% of the time.


- - - In/Out Connections - - -

All connections are on the LEFT side of the TV. (If looking from the back, the connections are on your RIGHT). Except the power cord connects near the middle.

Nice high-contrast black/white labels are a far cry from the raised black-on-black lettering we all learned to hate over the years.

Inputs & Outputs as stated on Samsung's site:

- 4 HDMI Inputs (Rear)
- 1 Component Input
- 1 Composite (AV) Input

- 1 PC Input (D-sub)
- 1 PC Audio Input (Mini Jack)

- 1 Ethernet Port

- 2 USB 2.0 Ports

- 1 Optical Digital Audio Output
- 1 Audio Output (Mini Jack)

- 1 DVI Audio Input (Mini Jack)

- 1 RF Input


- - - Glare - - -

Seems like the anti-reflection design is about as good as it could be...better than I expected. Also, we get some direct sunlight in the late afternoon, which it handles surprisingly well. I'm glad I went with this glossy model vs matte. But if you have windows or bright lights in the wrong place, glare could be quite noticeable.


- - - Sound - - -

Better than I expected from such a thin TV. Consumer Reports gave it "above average" (March 2011).

Audio output to cordless headphones works fine. I needed a $2 adapter like this: RiteAV - 3.5mm to RCA Stereo Female Cable - 6 inch. Use "Mute" to kill the TV speakers, the audio-out connection still works.


- - - Owner Manual - - -

The 61-page English-only manual only scratches the surface. For example, how do you disable the annoying melody that plays each time you turn the TV on or off? I had to Google it. This and 300 other things are not covered. The manual is like an organized string of true-isms that is not really concerned with full explanations or full understanding.

You can download the manual (available in 4 languages) from Samsung's site to answer some detailed questions before buying.


- - - Pricing & One-click Price Check - - -

I got it on amazon for 1500 in January 2011. Seemed to be low tide at the time.

See first comment of this review for recent price trends.

The excellent "Online Price Alert" (Google it) does not work for hidden-price items like this. But if you keep it in your cart as "Saved Items--To Buy Later," price checks are easy. A yellow message box at the top of your shopping cart shows any price changes. No "proceed to checkout" necessary. Just bookmark your cart and check it whenever. (Also check the product listing for added or deleted special offers, such as Free LinkStick.)

I've had this TV for about 3 weeks now. Honestly, I was expecting better...

Pros:
-Excellent picture quality when viewing HDTV
-Excellent picture quality when viewing full screen 16:9 ratio content (without black bars)
-Excellent viewing in bright scenes
-Good viewing off-centered
-Plays almost any known video file from USB flash or USD external drive (mkv, avi, wmv, you name it), also music and images. Probably my favorite feature.

Cons:
-Light leaking from the two bottom corners, really annoying when watching a widescreen movie with black bars on tops and bottom
-Dark scenes are not that good, a lot of "clouding" and the problem stated previously becomes even more obvious
-Some ghosting. You can sometimes notice a red/brown blur when a person moves i.e. Also more noticeable when playing videogames (hooked it up to a PS3). I have not found any option to improve this.
-Limited zooming/ratio options for 4:3 viewing.

That's my most honest opinion. I'm not entirely happy with my purchase, but not super disappointed either. I just expected a lot more from Samsung. I still don't know if I'll keep this TV or return it.

Pros: Great picture and features while it worked

Cons: Broke after three months, power supply and/or control board, Customer Service

Bought this tv near the end of April. It was great and I loved it. Then one day it just turned itself off. I contacted Samsung and described the problem. They told me that a tech would contact me within 48 hours. No call. I called back. I was approved for an exchange and told it would happen within 5-7 business days. I waited and called them back on Day 8. At that point I was told I was misinformed and that it would be 7-10 business days. I waited. Day 12 came and I called them. I was told that the department that handles these things is SO backed up currently and that was the reason I had not been contacted.

First, Samsung did not honor and follow through with what they had told me.
Second, if the department is so backed up with exchanges and repairs, then that tells me something about Samsung quality. I will never buy another Samsung product again. I recently upgraded to a new cell phone, I had been looking at a Samsung phone, but once all this happened, I decided on another brand.