Samsung LN46B650

• Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 17 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

• 1
• 2
• next

• Sort by: Most helpful Highest rating Lowest rating Most recent

• 8 stars

  Massive Positives, Big Negatives But still a winner

  by k1ngk on December 5, 2009

  Pros: See below for details

  Cons: See Below for details

  Summary: Just as many of you have spent plenty of time researching your purchase I did too, almost two full months. I?m sure if your anything like me you?ve ...

  Read more

  Summary: Just as many of you have spent plenty of time researching your purchase I did too, almost two full months. I?m sure if your anything like me you?ve already read the reviews so I won?t bore you with stuff you already know. Secondly, I?m very particular about my electronics. I pick them apart early and learn everything about them. After two solid weeks of deliberation, back and forth, testing, tweaking, and retesting I am happy to say I?ve decided to keep it and here?s why in all its detail, both my likes and dislikes.
  
  P.S I have the 40in, but they are exactly the same except for size.
  
  Best reasons to buy this TV:
  1) First and foremost this TV has AMAZING picture quality when set correctly.
  2) Superb contrast! Deeply detailed blacks (Caveat) and clear bright whites = AMAZING PQ!
  3) 120hz processing! I know some have said it?s a gimmick, but I guarantee you I won?t ever buy another TV without it. What you will find is that some programming is better seen with it on while some are better seen without it and still others will be better half half, but that will be up to you to decide. 120hz processing has a 3D effect that it is awe inspiring when seen with select HD programming. When you have it on I can?t think of any other way to describe it other than what others have called ?hyper real.? It?s a must have in my book.
  4) Clean & crisp as a computer monitor but ONLY through HDMI @ 1080P (with a caveat.)
  5) Very sleek design. The red is not very noticeable and even when it is it still looks great.
  6) You can upgrade your firmware via USB drive and Samsung just released a new one NOV.
  
  Other pluses:
  1) The remote design is pretty good. It is sleek black, easy in the hand, and is backlit.
  2) Glass stand swivel is something I didn?t think I needed but has come in handy.
  3) Plenty of picture adjustments and each source remembers its own separate settings.
  4) Quiet, there is zero buzz noise like my outgoing LCD.
  
  Reasons not to buy this TV:
  1) Huge smearing Problem. Took me two full weeks to realize I wasn?t the only one. It really only makes itself shown under certain circumstances but can be reduced by adjusting some picture settings. Here is an example I recorded.
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC2xSGXrZWU
  I was going to return it just because of this, but after working around it I am willing to give a little bit, because it only happens during fast, dark scenes with certain colors and when it does happen it?s not TOO bothersome. I?m a gamer and 75% of the reason I bought this was to game better and I?m somewhat satisfied.
  2) Slow on screen menu. Its painful sometimes how unresponsive it can be.
  3) Here is my caveat for the computer display. Everything is super sharp until you get certain color text on certain color backgrounds. There are too many variables to explain here but red text is the biggest offender.
  Macro shot down to the pixels on my display of the problem here.
  http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-3/1247168/CROPPED1.jpg
  Keep in mind those are single pixels that are shot really close up and magnified.
  4) This is my caveat for the good black levels. After researching online via forums galore I came across something interesting that some people call a ?Panel lottery.? Apparently, Samsung out sources some of the work to other panel manufacturers and some have ?bluish blacks.? If mine had this I would return it immediately. I think if you are interested in buying one I recommend doing some research on this.
  
  Other small dislikes:
  1) I have tried contacting Samsung via email and their responses were not helpful and slow to get back. I have not tried to call them.
  2) The shiny bezel is a dust magnet. I constantly clean it because it looks so much dustier than everything surrounding it.
  3) VGA is not an option as a PC connection. Absolutely, invest in a DVI to HDMI cable/dongle.
  4) Buttons on the TV itself are touch sensitive and are hard to see and press.
  
  Other thoughts:
  1) With all these different adjustments take your time to find your perfect settings and write them down somewhere.
  2) I registered mine online with Samsung and they extended my warranty by 3 months
  3) The screen is slightly glossy and WILL reflect direct light. But, it helps with the black levels.
  
  P.S. I will post this on a few other places so don?t be shocked if you see it elsewhere.
  Hope this helps!
  
  Updated on Dec 30, 2009

  To be entirely fair I decided to update my review. I have since been able to correct the blurry red text. Samsung mandates that if you connect a PC to your TV you must do so using ONLY the first HDMI slot. Then, you must change the label/name of the input to "PC" or "DVI PC." Initially I thought this should have no effect, because all I was doing was labeling the input so that I knew what was connected to it. But, apparently this enables "PC Mode" and by using this mode the red text is now PERFECTLY clear. Even though I feel this was a poor implementation of such a mode, I'm very happy that it corrected the issue.
  
  Because of this I would rate this TV 4 1/2 Stars. (It spends a majority of the day in PC mode)

  Show less

  5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  i am in love with a tv

  by CarbonScooby on October 8, 2009

  Pros: PRICE! i got this for only $1,099 at Frys!! and amazing picture, 24f 1080p mode with my samsung bdp1500 bluray player, AMAZING color and contrast, yahoo widgets, 120hz, FOUR HDMI inputs!

  Cons: the ToC red bezel is bothersome because it doesnt really match anything, but when youre watching something you dont even notice it

  Summary: for the price this is the best deal i couldve gotten, i also am a huge samsung fan and they make top notch displays, the colors are great, easy to ...

  Read more

  Summary: for the price this is the best deal i couldve gotten, i also am a huge samsung fan and they make top notch displays, the colors are great, easy to calibrate on my own with the DVE bluray hd essentials disc, the contrast and colors are awesome, 120hz is perfect for everything i watch, i'm seriously in the process of watching every bluray movie i own over again because it just looks THAT good in 1080p on this set, and even 1080i sources like Netflix HD instant watch look great from my xbox 360, the brightness and contrast also make it easy on the eye to watch, plus it has widgets! even connecting my macbook pro to the display looks great, and it has FOUR hdmi inputs! also my living room is pretty bright and i dont catch glare that easy as long as the window behind me is dark, light from the side doesnt effect the tv too much, i'm glad i waited for the price to go down, i still cant find it cheaper anywhere, and buy your hdmi cables at MONOPRICE!
  
  the showroom and the settings they use at a store does not do this tv justice, it is twice as good in your living room, trust me

  Show less

  2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 10 stars

  Amazing Picture

  by jlh130 on May 13, 2009

  Pros: The picture is exceptional. I enjoy the ability to change the levels of the 120hz.

  Cons: The e-manual on a flash drive, as opposed to a traditional paper copy, makes it a little difficult to navigate through when looking for a specific item. The sound could be better, but it's not a stereo, it's a TV...

  Summary: I'm not a techie, but this is the 3rd LCD television in my home. Compared to my Sony W series and Phillips TV, this TV hands down has the ...

  Read more

  Summary: I'm not a techie, but this is the 3rd LCD television in my home. Compared to my Sony W series and Phillips TV, this TV hands down has the best picture thus far. I am completely sold on Samsung's from this point on.

  Show less

  2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 2 stars

  Manufacturing defects

  by GauravsReview on October 27, 2009

  Pros: Contrast Ratio
  Cool Looks
  USB connectivity
  4 HDMI

  Cons: Manufacturing defects
  Abes Of Maine return policy
  Bad Customer Service

  Summary: Generally the reviews I write are limited to mentioning pros and cons. The reason that I am giving this review so much value because I do not want other folks ...

  Read more

  Summary: Generally the reviews I write are limited to mentioning pros and cons. The reason that I am giving this review so much value because I do not want other folks to go through what I am currently feeling. Coming to the point,after a lot of research and window shopping, I bought a brand new TV(Samsung LN46B650) from Abes of Maine a couple of weeks ago. It came on time and undamaged (physically). I (fondly), hooked it up to power and turned it on. It felt fine with just stars on the screen(as expected) and I turned it off. This would have taken a minute or two. I called the Cable guys and got it installed urgently but only to see that after a couple of minutes the TV shows really annoying flickers. I checked everything and the cable guy also tried everything he knew but to no avail. We called Samsung and the call center lady spilled the beans by saying that there is a fault with the video card on this TV model (may be on few sets and not all) which is known to samsung. When I asked her as to why they are still selling the TV without the fix, she had no proper reply. Not only the TV showed flickers, after a few more minutes the entire screen was white with colors floating around. I called Abes Of Maine and they asked me to contact Samsung as they cannot do anything about it. They have a no return / exchange policy on TVs (I have also sent an email and I am awaiting their reply). It has been almost a week and Samsung has done nothing about it. I have called them 4-5 times and in the subsequent calls they have denied that there was any preexisting issue with the TV. Well, regardless of if was preexisting or not, samsung service is not professional or courteous. They were not even apologetic about my frustration due to their product.
  
  The return policy of AbesOfMaine for TVs is not customer friendly at all. I cannot comment about the product quality yet but seeing their customer support, I am not going to buy any more samsung products.I can certainly request potential TV buyers to buy TV from stores who have a good return policy (Costco etc.) and avoid buying TV online.
  
  Its been more than 2 weeks and our case with Samsung is still unresolved. Their engineer showed up and stated that he can possibly fix it but more problems show up later in most of these cases.

  Show less

  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 2 stars

  Was great for 2 months

  by wiibort on October 24, 2009

  Pros: Great picture, until it goes bad.

  Cons: Guaranteed to go bad.

  Summary: The Samsung LN46B650 has an amazing picture as long as it is working correctly. Problem is, it probably won't last very long. Had mine for 2 months and the ...

  Read more

  Summary: The Samsung LN46B650 has an amazing picture as long as it is working correctly. Problem is, it probably won't last very long. Had mine for 2 months and the screen developed a series of black horizontal lines that covers the right half of the screen. Replacement screens are on back-order, which means there is no guarantee that it can even be repaired. Now looking at Sony for better build quality.

  Show less

  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 10 stars

  $1298 at Brandsmart! Purchased based on reviews.

  by Michael Sosa on July 17, 2009

  Pros: Good price! $1298 at Brandsmart in Miami, FL. Lightweight, nice remote, I actually like the red coloration which is only visible in daylight (matches furniture), and have not noticed any issues with glossy screen as my living room is not too bright.

  Cons: Included software CD is PC only! I'm a Mac user, and it appears I won't be able to stream movies and pictures directly from my computer to the LCD due to lack of Mac support by Samsung.

  Summary: At $1298, not worth paying $500 more for the 750 or $700 more for the LED 6000, although I was tempted, since the quality difference was visible even to my ...

  Read more

  Summary: At $1298, not worth paying $500 more for the 750 or $700 more for the LED 6000, although I was tempted, since the quality difference was visible even to my untrained eye. Still, the LCD 650 looked better than most other LCD I saw at Best Buy except for some Plasmas and Samsung's higher models (750, 6000, 7000, 8000).
  
  Updated on Jul 17, 2009

  Internal memory at 189 mebabytes a bit low, especially since memory is so cheap. TV should have had at least 1 gig. My external hard drive for computer use is Firewire, so I can't connect it to the TV. Do I have to purchase a flash drive and permanently affix it to the TV? I need more memory for some of the media content available which I enjoy. My favorite is the Art, but the children entertainment programs are also nice.

  Show less

  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 10 stars

  Samsung makes great TVs... 5 stars for this model!

  by Cadssdac on May 28, 2009

  Pros: -The picture quality is awesome on this model
  -The "auto-motion plus" (AMP) feature is improved over the 2008 model by allowing you to fine-tune the settings more.
  -The swivel base is nice, too.
  -Game mode" helps eliminate the lag when playing games.

  Cons: -The sound on the TV is a little flat, and doesn't have much bass.

  Summary: I need to start out with my favorite feature on the TV: Customized Auto-Motion Plus. For those of you not familiar with the feature, it's what Samsung calls their ...

  Read more

  Summary: I need to start out with my favorite feature on the TV: Customized Auto-Motion Plus. For those of you not familiar with the feature, it's what Samsung calls their 120hz capabilities. If you look at older LCD TV screens you might find that the picture tends to look blurry or judders in fast motion sequences. This technology, found in most middle and high-end LCD HDTVs in 2009, adds in extra frames to smooth out the motion.
  
  http://review-samsung-lcd-tv.blogspot.com/
  credit

  Show less

  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 2 stars

  Dead out of Box

  by mikeodean on September 19, 2009

  Pros: Picture looked good in the store

  Cons: Had to take back NG

  Summary: will try a replacement

  Summary: will try a replacement

  1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 4 stars

  Wish I had purchased another brand

  by payedog on November 7, 2010

  Pros: Based on owner experience not a lot I like about this product

  Cons: After warranty expired a Dish network tech working on Dish equipment noticed that the picture on this Samsung TV had some very noticeable scan lines that should not have been there.

  Summary: Correct scan line problem....replace screen....cost $1065. Not Samsung problem as product was just over one year three months old and out of warranty. Repair tech says problem was ...

  Read more

  Summary: Correct scan line problem....replace screen....cost $1065. Not Samsung problem as product was just over one year three months old and out of warranty. Repair tech says problem was probably there right out of the box, but comsumer would not have know there was a problem by looking at picuture. My advice....look at other brand TV's as you aren't going to get what you paid for with a Samsung product.

  Show less

• 4 stars

  Nice looking unit, problem with Power Supply inside TV!

  by alw200768 on June 19, 2010

  Pros: Great Picture! Nice looking LCD TV.

  Cons: Samsung has a defect in this LCD TV. I have had this product for one year and it doesnt get used much. It runs 2 hours a night in bedroom. I have had repair man here twice already and is coming back a third time to replace the power supply.

  Summary: If your unit flashes then goes black but you can still hear programming! guess what? It's the Power Supply inside the TV. Repair man said he has had the ...

  Read more

  Summary: If your unit flashes then goes black but you can still hear programming! guess what? It's the Power Supply inside the TV. Repair man said he has had the same problem with other units like mine. After replacing the Panel he now has to comeback and replace the Power Supply a big waste of my time for the price of this set!!!!!! I will buy a Sony next time, never had a problem with a Sony.

  Show less

• 1
• 2
• next

See pricing