Best Buy HDTV Reviews

Samsung LN40A450C

I bought this TV as a replacement for my 37″ Sony Trinitron that I bought in 1999. Alot has changed in the last nine years, such as my expectation that a TV would last longer than nine years…. So I had to buy a flat screen because it appears that tube TVs aren’t manufactured anymore.

I don’t have a HDTV signal from the my satellite dish, so I can’t comment on the quality of the picture using an HDTV signal. I do have a DVD player and DVDs look really nice.

There are a few annoyances with using this Samsung. Compared to my old Sony, the remote control is almost symmetrical along the short axis, resulting in it being difficult to tell which end to point to the TV without having to look at it closely. Also, I could point my Sony remote anywhere near the TV and it worked; not so with the Samsung.

Since the TV is wider than a conventional tube TV, one needs to vary the picture mode–4×3, 16×9, Zoom1 and Zoom2–based on the video source. Zoom1 appears to be for watching shows such as ‘House’, ‘ER’, etc. that broadcast in non-HD letterbox. It cuts off the top and bottom a little, though, so one needs to move the picture up or down (usually up) to center the picture. I am not sure what good Zoom2 is, because it zooms in even more than Zoom1, resulting in a picture with all four sides cropped. Unfortunately, one cannot adjust the amount of zoom. The picture is a little soft as a result, but for me, TV is just TV, so I don’t care.

What does irritate me is that the TV doesn’t remember the zoom adjustments when I change picture mode or turn off the TV. Also, it doesn’t remember that I always want the closed captions ON. It always turns them off when the TV is turned off. To turn them on, I need to turn the captions on, then off, then on again every time I turn on the set. Very annoying.

The captions are presented in a goofy manner as well; there’s too much kerning (letters are too far apart) within words.

The sleep timer presents its messages in “Engrish.” Setting the sleep timer results in the following message: “The sleep timer is set to work in 30 minutes.” (including an extra space between ‘30′ and ‘minutes’.) The messages makes more sense if it read, “The TV will turn off in 30 minutes.” Turning off the sleep timer yields an equally goofy message, “The sleep timer has been released.” (”The sleeper timer is off.” is less awkward.)

Reviewed By : Silverwoodchuck 47       : Sep 28, 2008

Click to see Price Comparison of Samsung LN40A450

Samsung LN37A550

So far, (2 days since the TV and Dish HD installation) the TV is amazing. Lots to figure out. Just wonder if we really have it working to its ultimate capacity??? (See below) I rate the TV a 5-star, but the White Glove service gets a 0-star since we didn’t get White Glove service.

We are senior citizens, living in a rural area, approximately 100 miles from the nearest metropolitan city. For this reason, and because of our lack of knowledge of this new age technology (I can do computers-not TVs), I ordered the Samsung LN37550 from Amazon.com as much for the White Glove delivery and installation service that I had been reading about in the other customer comments, as for the TV itself (size constraints drove our decision for the Samsumg). However, we were sorely dissappointed in the definition of White Glove service in our area.

A young man brought the TV into the house, took only the top off of the box, put the batteries in the remote, asked where the nearest wall socket was, pushed the TV in the box toward the socket, plugged it in, and with the TV still in the box, powered on the set. Then he asked us to sign that the TV powered on and to accept delivery, and he prepared to leave, all happening very quickly. When I told him we expected him to set the TV up, he made it clear that he was just the delivery guy, that he was not technical. We called the only number we had (we got it off of our caller ID), which was the delivery service number, and were told essentially the same thing by the person there.

Being between a rock and a hard place because the TV had already been charged to our credit card, and it was after 5:00pm, we opted to keep the set and try to call Amazon to get our White Glove service. After all, the delivery receipt said ‘White Glove!’ I spoke with the Amazon help desk the next morning, and was given a new telephone number, which was for CEVA, not the company that delivered the TV. I called CEVA the second day after taking delivery of the set and asked when someone was coming to set up the TV. It’s 2 days later now, and I’m still waiting for someone from CEVA to call me back.

Bottom-line: Expectations were not met with regard to the White Glove service. However, after much anxiety, some of it for naught, and much reading of the manual, we got the Samsung put in our console, all the plugs inserted in the back in the correct plugins (we think!), and the TV turned on in order to watch what we wanted, and be prepared for the Dish folks to do their bit to get our HD service connected.

If I had it to do all over again, I would just go to a store front and pay a little extra to ensure that a technician comes out to install and explain things to us. As it is now, we’ve got everything but the DVD working, and I guess we’ll have to prevail upon our son-in-law to help with that, and to explain to us what it is we don’t know, and don’t know to ask, about using all of this new technology.

Reviewed By :  V. C. Jones      : Sep 8, 2008

Click to see Price Comparison of Samsung LN37A550

Samsung LN40A550

I spent a few weeks looking at various LCD and plasma television sets in my local BB and CC to get a feel for what was out there. I followed that up with another couple of weeks of research online into the models I was considering. After looking at the feature sets on various models, I decided to go with the LN40A550 and ordered one from Amazon. The delivery service was polite and fast and they were willing to work around my schedule to arrange a drop off time.

The television itself is pretty awesome, overall. The picture quality, from my unprofessional perspective, is at least on par with a large number of the plasma sets I looked at. The blacks are as black as I’ve seen on an LCD and there is no perceptible motion blur. The matte surface is excellent at handling the glare from windows opposite the telivision, which has been a blessing for me as I cannot rearrange the room. I will agree with some of the other reviewers, though, that the sound quality from this television leaves MUCH to be desired. The speakers aren’t too bad, actually, but they are aimed downward and this causes significant muffling of the sound. I’m lucky enough to have also purchased a set of speakers and an audio/video receiver, allowing me to avoid using the television’s speakers entirely.

I am a pretty avid gamer and this screen is excellent for gaming. In game mode there is no perceptible input lag and almost no motion blur at all (some can be detected on occasion but still much better than my older LCD television). I do wish that the different modes didn’t gray out most of the configuration options, though. Game mode is required to reduce input lag but the lack of tweaking that can be done to the picture in this mode is irritating. It gives one the option of either enjoying no input lag and putting up with oversaturated colors or putting up with input lag in order to gain control over the color settings.

All in all this is an excellent television and I would purchase it again. The new Samsung models are pretty appetizing, though, and I’d recommend anyone looking at this model to also take a look at their most recent offerings.

Reviewed By : John Mason        : Aug 31, 2008

Click to see Price Comparison of Samsung LN40A550

Philips 52PFL7403D/27

I dont usually write too much reviews, unless I am really impressed. I did a lot of research to buy a big screen 52 inch LCD from a trusty Sony Trinitron. I first bought a Sharp 52 inch LCD 1080p (non 120hz) after research due to the style, the narrow bezel and frame, and good reviews of the picture quality from experts. However, I had to return 2 sets, one had a white line in the middle, and the second one had no picture after a few uses. Go figure. Then I researched bigger brands such as Sony, Samsung, but this one fit my budget. However, I hesitated, due to the brand Philips, which I was not familiar with. But, due to my budget, I bought it and was a great purchase so far. The set up was easy and I had no issues after installing it. During my research, I read articles by experts that 120hz does not make a big difference and may not be cost effective. However, WOW…I was impressed at the smooth movements it produced. I mean you can really notice it. The only issue I had, if you can even call it an issue, is that since the picture and movement is soooo clear, I felt that home movie theatre experience is now gone. The pictures are too clear and smooth unlike when you are in a theatre. Oh well, Im getting used to it and its super nice and I figure this is the wave of the future.

Only cons: 1) when you choose your components using only the “source” button, the screen turns black while the source box disappears, and you have to repress the button for the source box to reappear, and so on (this causes an unnecessary lag). An easy fix is just scrowing down the source box with the arrow buttons, but I think it would be easy to just press and repress the source button for changing components. Not a big deal, but on the Sharp you can flick through the sources using only the source button rather quickly; 2) when you turn the tv on, its blue with the “Philips” logo and lags before the picture comes out (waste of time, and feels like a computer monitor not a tv); 3) when you turn the tv off, it goes black then blue before shutting off (ditto #2 - hey Philips, what for?); and 4) asthetically, I feel the Sharp, Sony, Samsung has better looks and packaging, although the Philips looks tough and heavy :(. It is thicker in depth too than Sharp. And whats with that clear plastic frame that borders the bezel. Does this serve a purpose??? Its not like it makes the tv look better asthetically or anything.

All in all, this was a GREAT purchase for the mony and thats what counts! The picture is good and smooth and the unit seems to be reliable for now. I really hope it survives for a long time. I recommend this unit.

Reviewed By : B. Lee       : Aug 25, 2008

Click to see Price of Philips  Philips 52PFL7403D/27

Samsung PN58A650

Before purchasing Samsung PN58A650, I had checked out comparable models from Panasonic and Pioneer. Overall, Samsung had better features and a lower price. Picture quality was comparable to the best. I had also looked at 120Hz LCD. Overall, Plasma had far superior picture compared to LCD (Better contrast, vibrant colors and unlike LCD there was no pixeling)

I ordered the Samsung on Amazon. The price was good. It was at least $600 lower than the best price I could have got from a local retailer. Later, Amazon also matched the price drop on their website (within 1 month of shipping) and refunded the difference. I only had to send them an e-mail request and within 1 hour, the difference was credited back. Can’t expect this from a big box retailer!

The only complaint I have is that- at the time of placing the order, Amazon confirmed that TV was in stock, but they did not ship it out for 5 days. Next, the shipper did not bother to call us to schedule delivery for another 3-4 days while the TV was received in their warehouse. Finally, I had to contact them through Amazon to arrange delivery. Apart from that, the white glove delivery was great as promised.

It took a few hours to get familiar with the menus and setup procedure. Samsung could have made the process easier by including the manual on a DVD. The picture quality is excellent. The TV looks very attractive with the touch of red bezel. Our TV is located right across from a large window. The reflection is not as bad. The TV can be swiveled on the stand to optimize the viewing angle. Overall, it is a great TV at a good price.

Reviewed By : S. Sheth       : Sep 16, 2008

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Samsung LN40A750

This TV is absolutely incredible! I don’t have much more to say then what’s already been said here, but I’ll do my best.

I was trying to decide between this model and the series 6, and ended up with this one because of the built-in subwoofer. I’m glad I did because the sound is definitely excellent! It’s not quite surround sound, but the simulated surround sound is still impressive.

One of the grea things about this TV is that it works so well right out of the box! I went to a friend’s place and he has a 52″ Bravia, but the picture was only 1/2 or 1/3 of the screen most of the time whereas the picture fills my screen like 95% of the time. I went home and watched the same show I was watching at his place at my place and the quality was significantly better on my TV (and we live in the same building, so it’s the same cable). On his TV there were lines and it looked like a CRT, whereas mine was a lot cleaner and, while it wasn’t very clear because the broadcast itself sucked, it was smoother and looked better overall. I tried messing with some settings but couldn’t get it looking as good as my 40″ did. (note: I have my picture mode set to ‘dynamic’, and it truly does dynamically seem to adapt to video games or TV or whatever I’m watching)

This TV is so great that it makes DVDs look better and standard definition video looks great! Sometimes I have to get really close to the TV to convince myself that it really isn’t HD. Of course, when you put on something that’s true HD (like 1080i or 1080p), it puts everything else to shame. In other words, you can tell the difference between standard def and high def, and yet the former is still better than you may expect. I feel like the main difference from far away between the two is how much more vibrant and real the colors are in HD as opposed to SD, but when you get up close you can tell that the SD content is just grainier and more fuzzy around the edges, and you see more artifacts. From a distance of like 7 feet though, you can’t tell the artifacts are there. Of course, this is all somewhat dependent on your cable/satellite provider.

I have a PS3 so I can attest to how incredible games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Rock Band look AND sound! MGS4 will have you thinking that they’re real people and the gorgeous environments really shine on these TV. The otherwise mundane backgrounds in Rock Band look really real on this TV. I watched some Seinfeld episodes from DVD on my brother’s TV (he has a 46″ series 7) and it’s like a totally new show! I also have a couple of Blu-ray movies (Kill Bill 1 & 2), which output 1080p with PCM 5.1 sound, and it seriously felt like when I first saw the movies in the theater. Obviously, the screen isn’t as big, but the experience with the picture quality and the sound made me forget that I was even watching it in my living room at times. I really flipped for how perfect the colors were, which proves how great Blu-ray is and how well this TV can handle it. (note: I have my PS3 connected via HDMI, which is really the only way to go)

I do have a couple of gripes though. The whole dlna thing does not work for me at all. I have Vista Home Edition and whenever I try playing video on the TV using their crappy software from my computer, it always errors out (it doesn’t crash the TV, just that application). The remote is not the best. The button layout doesn’t always make the most sense, and the clickwheel is terrible. Fortunately, it is a clickwheel so you don’t have to spin it around, which is really painful. The remote feels kind of cheap, but at least it has a backlight.

As you can see though, those are pretty minor things. The Info Link feature is pretty neat and lets me see what the weather is every morning so I can dress appropriately. The TV looks very stylish, and I don’t even see the “touch of color” around the edge (though the picture refracts a bit around the edges). It has a TON of options if you really want to tweak it to your liking, but it’s not always easy navigating through these menus.

Overall, this TV is ridiculously high quality. It was my first real TV purchase ever and I’m so glad I made it. It was a lot of money for me to give up, but I reasoned that it was better going with quality than a cheaper TV that I’d have to replace a couple of years later. This TV will last me a long time (after all, not everything is in 1080p now, so even if they end up with something better later I don’t think it’ll be very popular until after this TV has outlived its usefulness). I work hard so it’s really nice to come home and relax and know that no matter what I watch on this TV that it’s going to look great and I’ll be treating myself. I know it’s just a TV, but after a hard day it’s still a nice perk.

Reviewed By : Elton V. Pinto “Eptiger”         : Sep 21, 2008

Click to see Price Comparison of Samsung LN40A750

Samsung LN32A450

I was really impressed with the picture of this TV in the store, and after buying from amazon, I was glad to see it looked great in my bedroom. The detail is very good, there is no quality loss with any signal format. I was also impressed with the settings for the picture. You can fine tune pretty much everything about the picture.

The TV itself looks great. It has a nice piano-black finish with a good stand. The speakers are hidden so the frame is not unnecessarily large. The look of the TV wasn’t one of the things I was looking for when I got it, but if you are, this is perfect.

I had my doubts about the speakers since they are hidden, but the sound is more than decent. I use external speakers from the audio-out but the internal speakers are fine.

The internal tuner is pretty good with lots of settings to change around, including the ability to name the analog channels and set up favorite channels which are accessed through the “favch” button on the remote. It also changes channels quickly.

The remote is good. It follows the piano black theme, and has pretty much all the buttons you would expect.

I did have two small complaints with the TV. When you press the power button on the remote, you have no confirmation from the TV that you have actually pressed the button until a few seconds later when the red led on the front of the TV starts to blink. The overall turn-on time is around 6 seconds. My second complaint is with the tuner. It gave my digital channels all strange names. Instead of just numbering them from 1-1000 like on every other TV, it gave them weird numbers like “80-2″ and “83-3″. It also doesn’t let you rename digital channels. It is kind of annoying to try to punch in a number like that, but I just added the ones I usually watch to the favorite channel list.

Reviewed By : Scott K. Warren     : Sep 28, 2008

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Panasonic TH-50PZ85U

I have been the proud owner of the Panasonic TH-50PZ85U plasma TV set for about a month.
This is my first flat-panel television and I switched from a 27 inch CRT Sony Trinitron. 

Installation:

I didn’t use the stand provided with the television. Instead, I mounted the display on the wall over my fireplace using a Sanus bracket.
Initially, I was going to use the Sanus VMPL50B but, because of the position of the studs behind the wall, I decided to exchange it for a longer, adjustable one. I picked a Sanus VMPL3B which is basically the same, with the difference that the plate is 10 inches longer, when fully extended.
This way, I was able to mount the bracket using 4 studs instead of just 2 studs if I had gone with the VMPL50B. It gives me a peace of mind and I know that I am not going to find my plasma television broken into pieces anytime soon.
The installation was fairly easy and took about one hour total. My wife helped me carrying the display and securing it on the wall bracket since it is pretty heavy (approximately 80lbs).
The display sits only 2.5 inches from the wall but it was actually hard to tilt because of the HDMI connectors in the back. The problem is that the panel in the back where all the connectors go is not recessed enough. I just wish there was an extra 1/2 inch of space.
What I did is that I purchased a couple of HDMI “right-angle” adapters (from an excellent Internet store called MonoPrice). This way, the HDMI cables run along the back of the plasma set and it is way easier to tilt the display.

Operation and Picture Quality:

I am truly impressed by the TH-50PZ85U. Not only it performs well but it looks great on the wall.
The only connectors I have are HMDI. I have one HDMI cable running from my digital cable box (Time Warner - Scientific Atlanta) to the TV and one HDMI cable coming from my SONY DVP-NS3100ES DVD player (up-converting DVD player, not Blu-Ray).
HD channels are simply outstanding, even in Standard mode. It is such a pleasure for the eyes to watch anything. I surprised myself at watching a full hour of an animal documentary on Discovery HD, even though I have never been a fan of animal TV show.
The level of details is amazing.
Standard cable looks very good too but obviously not as good as HD. My only concern is that currently I only have 22 HD channels (and 3 or 4 of those don’t even have regular programming). Time Warner can’t beat satellite in my area but I am not ready to switch yet. There are some reports that new HD channels will be added soon so I just need to be patient.

The remote control is easy to use and it can also operate other devices such as a cable box, a DVD player and more. With my configuration, this is pretty much the only remote I use now.

I like the fact that there are some extra video inputs (including HDMI) located on the side of the display. I use them to plug my video camera.
Several settings for the sound can be adjusted as well (balance, treble, bass and some other effects I am not really familiar with yet). Overall, the sound is excellent but when watching a DVD movie, I use my home theater system (I have a 5.1 speaker system with a SONY STR-DA3100ES receiver).
The great thing about HDMI is that it only takes one cable for both video and audio signals. I can always use the TV speakers while playing a DVD or watching a cable program. When I switch to the receiver, all I have to do is mute the sound from the TV.

Note on “break-in” period:

I know there are many forums talking about the 100-hour “break-in” period. There is no mention of it anywhere in the user’s manual. So I went on the Panasonic website and I found some info. Basically, for the first 100 hours of operation, it is advised to watch television in Full Mode or Zoom Mode only (to avoid black bars on the side) and to avoid prolonged period of time of static image or channel logo.
Since I had read many threads dealing with playing a “Break-in” DVD, I called Panasonic Technical Support direclty. The person told me that it was not necessary as long as the above rules were followed for the first 100 hours of usage and that it wouldn’t make any difference in the end.
SO I watched different shows in Full format mode as well as DVDs. Whenever I would watch a channel with a logo on the bottom-right corner for over 30 minutes, I would use the “Anti-Static Retention” feature for a few minutes (accessible with the remote in the Main Menu). What it does is that it displays a scrolling white bar over a black background.

Bottom Line:

The TH-50PZ85U is an incredible set for the price. I have been reading reviews and comparing with other existings sets (including LCD sets) for the past 6 months almost and I think that, for this size, this is the best option in terms of price and quality.
Panasonic is a reputable manufacturer and no one can go wrong with this display.

Reviewed By : John Ringler         : July 15, 2008

Click to see Price Comparison of Panasonic TH-50PZ85U

Philips 47PFL5603D027

I’ve been selling this particular model for about three months and I’ve been very impressed with how well it has held up against not just constant demo usage but from customer feedback as well.

First off I must warn all potential customers that with any high definition television you MUST HAVE A HIGH DEFINITION SERVICE if you want your channels to look as awesome as those televisions on the show room floor. Televisions do not magically take a cable signal from a coaxial cable and make it high def. That said, with the 1080P picture quality you can also enjoy the high definition if you have an up conversion DVD player, a Playstation 3, or an XBox 360 Elite/Halo 3 console so long as you have an HDMI cable to transfer the signal. Sadly, the Wii console only sends out a maximum signal of 480 which is not high def.

To compliment the 1080P picture quality is the 29,000 contrast ratio. Most economy-class televisions under $2000 sport around a 2000-8500 contrast ratio, which is OK but let’s face it; like the song by Queen you want it all and you want it now. Samsung A3 series typically sport around 8500 contrast while economy-priced Sony Bravias are even less, making the Philips 29,000 far superior.

On top of that, the quality and endurance of the Philips 47 is top-notch. In my eight years of selling screens, Philips is one of the longest lasting if not the longest in the economy-class. They don’t use cheap parts like Emerson, Sanyo, or RCA but have the same (if not better) picture as a Samsung or Sony. I hardly see any Philips returned and if they did, it’s usually because they want to upgrade to the 52-inch.

The sound isn’t bad for a big screen but, like any other, it is designed to be complimented by a surround sound. Nonetheless, depending on the acoustics of the room this model can operate fairly well without one although don’t expect a true Pro-Logic II experience.

All-in-all the Philips 47 does something few other screens can; give the economy-class shopper a screen that dominates in picture quality making it affordable to all who want to experience true high definition.

Reviewed By : Kyle Slayzar     : July 28, 2008

Click to see price of Philips  47PFL5603D/27

Sharp LC46D64U

First off, yes I do see banding on vertical and horizontal pans with solid bright back grounds. Its not that bad and if I had never gone on to the AVS forum I would probably never had noticed it. If stuff like that bothers you then don’t buy this TV or any other LCD TV in this price range. They all have some sort of artifact type issues. If you don’t want any artifacts or motion blur then go plasma. You can go 120hz on a LCD but your going to pay a lot more money for the same TV with a higher refresh rate.

The good…
I think Sharp has the best overall HD picture and color compared to any other TV in this price range. The colors are fantastic and I like the fact that you can fine tune the TV to your hearts desire. Black levels look good as well. The TV cabinet is well designed and the sound quality is good. SD channels look alright, better then most of the sets that I have seen out there. There is some motion blur on sports but not near as bad as the entry level Sony and Samsung TVs.

The bad…
As I stated before it does having banding. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you will get one with out it, they all have it. I mostly notice it when I am watching football and the camera does a fast side to side pan. I have read that a lot of people have problems watching hockey because banding that is caused by the ice. The remote is not very good. It wont control my Phillips DVD player or my Sony receiver. For some strange reason it does work with my Motorola cable box.

If it weren’t for the banding this would be a 5 star TV. I have had it for about 3 weeks now with no other technical issues. I will update this review if any think changes

Cheers

Reviewed By : C. Miller “spaze man”      :Sep 29, 2008

Click to see Price of Sharp Aquou LC46D64U