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This was a Christmas gift for the wife. After much research I went to Best Buy today to pick up one of these along with a wall mount to replace the aging 32" LCD in our bedroom:

Samsung LN40A650 40" 1080p 120Hz Flat-Panel LCD HDTV
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 2649424760

Curiously we got it for $100 cheaper than the website price. It's on sale on the website for $1499 but at the store it was $1399.

Let me tell you, this is a stunning LCD. The 120Hz refresh makes a BIG difference in fast action scenes. I decided on this TV after hearing it praised on the Extreme Tech podcast by Robert Heron from DL.TV. Flat out he says Samsung makes the best looking LCDs right now for the money. The black levels on this TV are incredible - once I adjusted it using a THX calibration DVD, the blacks were the purest blacks I've ever seen.

It has nice intuitive controls, lots of inputs (4 HDMI, 2 component, 1 s-video, 2 composite, 1 VGA). I'm using the 2 component inputs.

The remote control is one of the best I've ever seem - very ergonomic, big buttons with large lettering that's easy to read.

I would love to get the 52" version for the livingroom, but the bank is busted for now.

This is a review of the 52" version which is otherwise identical to the 40": http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/ ... 87597.html

Walmart, if you have one in your area might have had a better price.

This is what I found on Walmart.com
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... d=10333895

Older model though it seems. Samsung makes some good TVs, but the price makes them a little bit steep in that regard. How does Standard Def channels look on the TV? That is usually the issue with many cheap LCD TVs.

By the way, from Amazon's website:

Samsung A650-Series LCD HDTV Auto-Off Firmware Update: A small number of Samsung A650 series LCD HDTVs (model numbers LN40A650A1F, LN46A650A1F, and LN52A650A1F) have been reported to be turning off automatically. Samsung has released a firmware update that corrects this problem. Samsung recommends you install this firmware update on your TV only if you are experiencing this particular issue.

If you have a USB memory drive, you can download the firmware update for this model from http://www.samsungsupport.com/650 and transfer it to your set via the integrated USB port. If you do not have a USB memory drive, Samsung can send you a drive containing the firmware. Call Samsung Customer Care at 1-800-SAMSUNG (1-800-726-7864). Please have your model and serial numbers on hand when you call.

Just giving you a heads up so you can check yours.

That's not the same model, Zyfer. That's the cheaper LN40A530 that's not 120Hz refresh and lacks some other enhancements. It sells for the same price at Best Buy. I looked at it originally, but sitting side by side with the LN40A650 I bought, the visual quality is like night and day.

Thx for the Firmware info. I'll make a note of that in case it occurs.

Oh, and it'll be a cold day in hell before I buy anything at Walmart. I refuse to give them my business.

samsung has been my favorite for years. at work, i have installed about a dozen 46" LCDs...over two years old now and never an issue. just ordered a 52" sammy for another room. excellent choice, fp!

I bought the 46 inch samsung last spring and have been very pleased with it. When you run a blu-ray movie thought it, it boggles the mind. I watched a lot of the nba finals last year. You could see so much more, even what people in the stands were eating!

I never did anything with the color adjustment except put it on cinema

For reg def stuff you have to shrink the window a little.

FlyingPenguin wrote:That's not the same model, Zyfer. That's the cheaper LN40A530 that's not 120Hz refresh and lacks some other enhancements. It sells for the same price at Best Buy. I looked at it originally, but sitting side by side with the LN40A650 I bought, the visual quality is like night and day.

Thx for the Firmware info. I'll make a note of that in case it occurs.

Oh, and it'll be a cold day in hell before I buy anything at Walmart. I refuse to give them my business.

Yeah I know, Walmart tends to carry older models longer than most other places. Amazon tends to keep updated with newer models while slashing the older models prices and selling them at the same time. But for things like TVs, it really isn't that great of an idea to buy them at places other than local ones.

As for the price you got on the TV, I think Best Buy was preparing this week's sale, as it is on sale for that price this week. Price matching is nice too. Even if you paid the higher amount, within 30 days, you could have went back there and got the money back for the difference in price. If any local competitor has it on sale within the time, it counts too. You might see even cheaper prices within 30 days, so I would keep an eye on the ads.

I don't think I'll see it any cheaper. My TV was priced $1399 on sale for the weekend only - it's already back up to $1599 online, and $1699 at the store. Yeah Amazon is selling it for $1263 but BB only price matches local retailers (and I would never have ordered something like an HDTV from a mail order site). The only competition around here is Circuit Sh!tty which is selling it for $1799, and Target and Walmart which don't carry that model. But I'll keep an eye out.