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Member since:
08-Jul-2008 |
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Samsung Series 6 LA40A650A1F a beautiful thing
Category: User experience of Samsung TV
Posted by: 9-Jul-2008
People told me to look at Samsung before but I thought I'd always go for Sony or Panasonic. But then I decided to just have a look. I visited Clive Peters a couple of weeks ago and after comparing a Sony X-series LCD TV, a LG LCD TV and a Panasonic Plasma TV, I decided that the LG was best among those three. Clive Peters did not have a Samsung on display so a few days later I went to a Harvey Norman store where I saw the LG Scarlets, lots of LGs and Panasonics. The salesman came and asked if I have seen the latest Samsung. I said no, so he took me around the corner where a Samsung Series-6 40' LCD TV was displayed side-by-side next to a Sony X-series of the same size, both showing the same broadcast HD TV signal.
It took me less then a minute to see that the Samsung beats the Sony on picture clarity and detail. I don't know whether Sony has overdone its contrast-signal processing but it shows people's skin tone with too much pixelation (tiny dots on faces where there should be smooth skin). On certain outdoor scenes with grass or trees as background the Sony clearly showed a lack of detail where the Samsung displayed much more shades of green and well defined shapes of tress/branches and surrounding grounds. At the same store I also compared the Samsung Series-6 with the same-size LG Scarlet LCD TV. Again, the Samsung beat the LG in picture quality. The Toshiba I saw in this store didn’t exactly excite me either.
A few days after that, I decided to buy the Samsung 40’ LCD TV, model LA40A650A1F. I have had it for 2 days now, and here is some specific comments about it:
Look: what can I say, This LCD TV is beautiful to look at, whether powered ON or OFF.
Picture quality: great particularly around the front. As soon as you are more then 45 degrees off front centre, depth and colour starts fading away.
Picture modes : I tend to avoid 'Dynamic' mode as I found this too bright at night. In 'Dynamic' mode, you only have certain picture adjustment, such as BackLight/ Brightness/ contrast/ Sharpness/ Colour. If you choose 'Standard' mode, you have control of more adjust such as BlackLight/ Gama/ Fleshtone/ DynamicContrast/ DynamicContrast/ Edge Enhancement.
Picture options: Samsung put the adjustment for 'Colour tone', 'Screen size', 'Digital NR', 'DNIe' (Digital Natural Image Engine), 'HDMI Black Level' and '100Hz Motion Plus' under this menu. According to the handbook, DNIe hepls with 'High visual quality', and the '100Hz Motion Plus' is used to remove drag from fast scenes where there is lots of movement to provide a clearer picture. I have a quick fiddle with these and found that they work best for some scenes but not suitable as a default ON for all. A little experiment is needed to know how much to set them and for what kind of scene. Samsung has done an excellent job at facilitating this : they design a 'Demo' mode for each of the trickier settings, where the screen is split into 2 halves so you can compare two different settings and decide the best option yourself.
An enhancement wish List:
1. Remote control : All the key features are there. I just wish the 'CH LIST' (channel List) key was made bigger and positioned more prominently.
2. A short-cut key on the remote to access 'Channel Signal Information' , 'Detail Settings' and 'Picture Options'.
Overall : a great LCD TV to own and enjoy, beat the current model Sony X-Bravia, Panasonic and LG in the most important aspect : picture quality.
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Comments
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| Julianne Suanders |
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Hi, I think I dont agree with you on the fact that Samsung is better than Sony. You can call me biased or whatever you like, but the fact still remains that Sony Bravia series is superior than any of the Samsung ever will be. The reason I can say it so confidentally is due to the fact that I have both the televisions in my house! the Samsung does look a bit more modern than the Bravia but the Bravia manages to fit into any room without sticking out like a sour thumb whereas the Samsung looks all bling. There is a remarkable difference between the blacks of the two televisions as well and the Sony black tones are the winner in this case. I am sure that you might have felt otherwise at the store but with such close comparisions....I am sure that the issues mentioned are quite on the spot. Bravia review can be referred to at www.myshopping.com.au/PR--256598_Sony_Bravia_KDL37S3100_37_S_Series_Digital_Bravia_LCD where the television has got a 5 star rating!
Posted by: 17-Jul-2008
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| Tactly |
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Hi Jul, thanks for the comments. As I said I have always held Sony in high regards and was very surprised, and later disappointed, to see Sony LCD TV 's quality as bad as they were, not just at one store but at 4 different stores (2 Harvey-Normans, 1 Clive Peters and a JB HiFi store). At first glance Sony seems bright and have a deep darkness as you wrote. This gives it a high contrast and an impressive visual impact at first glance. But after some prolonged viewing (I was at each store for hours) I started feeling tired looking at the Sony.
Further analysis and comparisons convinced me that the Sony is behind the Samsung Series-6 in detail reproduction, shades differentiation, skin tone and smoothness. Put simply, the Sony is like a 50,000 tonne bomb with all powerful impact upfront, whereas the Samsung is a little ahead on style, detail and precision. Yes I am aware of other 'experts' giving Sony 5-star over Samsung at 4-star.
I guess the biggest mistake for me with Sony X-Bravia is that on certain scenes its picture appears to have been covered by a thin layer of very fine dots which destroy the finer detail underneath. Whereas the Samsung appears 'crystal clear' in most scenes, when viewed side-by-side with both TVs showing the same HD signal.
I am interested to hear from other's opinion on the comparison of these TVs. Thanks.
Posted by: 23-Jul-2008
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| MRMagoo123 |
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I have bought this exact samsung for my ps3 use because i wanted an lcd tv thats known for its picture quality with games and have found that it is better than any other brand i have tried LG i think comes second although i am a sony product fan and would love to have a sony everything i have chosen the samsung because i and alot of ppl i have talked to about them feel they have the best picture.I have compared the tvs numerous times because i dont take spending over $2000 on a tv lightly and the samsung in my opinion is better.i think you made a good choice getting the samsung and hope you enjoy it as much as i do all i need now is sound system to match.
Posted by: 24-Jul-2008
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