40" TV help please...

A

-=Antimatter=-

2[H]4U
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Feb 8, 2005
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Hey all,

I'm looking for something in the 40" range for PC use (blurays and gaming), I will be keeping my monitor for normal desktop work so text quality isn't an issue.

LG 42LG50
http://www.amazon.com/LG-42LG50-42-...3?ie=UTF8&s=audio-video&qid=1239369048&sr=1-3

Samsung LN40B530
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN40B...?ie=UTF8&s=audio-video&qid=1239369048&sr=1-10

Samsung LN40B550
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN40B...5?ie=UTF8&s=audio-video&qid=1239369048&sr=1-5

Samsung LN40A550
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8749465&type=product&id=1202649424827

My main dilemma right now is the A550 vs. B530, which are very close in price. The B550 is a bit of a stretch for price, I'm not sure if it's worth the additional $200 just to get a 2009 model. I'm not a big fan of the red accents on the case either. I'm cool with glossy screens in case people want to make other suggestions. I know Toshiba has a cheap 40" for $699 right now, but it doesn't seem to compare to the samsungs.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
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I'm happy with my LN40A550. I got it for $1090 shipped from Amazon back in August. Great set for the money. A couple drawbacks are that the remote has to be pointing directly at the receiver, and the set takes about fifteen seconds to show a picture once it's turned on.
 
A550 or suggestion A650 samsung

input lag wise the A550 is about 30ms all the time on HD inputs

the A650 in special modes can be brought down to 15ms lag otherwise its about 30ms as well with normal game mode on

picture quality is much better on the 6xx series samsungs vs 5xx plus you get 120hz w/AMP for your movies though if you put the a650's into HDMI2/PC mode or use VGA input (these are the 2 ultra fast input modes) you will not get the same picture quality as using game mode on an HDMI input.

if you want to take a look at input lag results of these displays check this thread out here

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1131464
 
None of the 650s really fall into my budget though.

The B530 has a game mode, I don't see any BXXX models in that thread for comparison purposes. Right now the only difference I can see between the B550 and B530 is the rated contrast.
 
The A650 offers 120Hz, right? I think 120Hz looks unnatural. Doesn't seem to be ready yet.
 
GJSNeptune said:
The A650 offers 120Hz, right? I think 120Hz looks unnatural. Doesn't seem to be ready yet.
Click to expand...

yes it's 120hz

you can turn off the AMP (Auto Motion Plus) and that will take away the soap opera effect that many dislike about motion processors, most people prefer it set at low to achieve good smoothing without making the image look unreal
 
On some of the 2009 Samsung's, the static contrast has gone from 3000 to 5000 to 1. (Per company spec of raw panels sold as such. Who knows how they got the measurement, but it presumably translates into some increase in real world contrast...)

Just something to throw in with regard to some of the 2009 models anyway...
 
SH1 said:
On some of the 2009 Samsung's, the static contrast has gone from 3000 to 5000 to 1. (Per company spec of raw panels sold as such. Who knows how they got the measurement, but it presumably translates into some increase in real world contrast...)

Just something to throw in with regard to some of the 2009 models anyway...
Click to expand...

the 09 samsung's have been reported by end users to have better blacks than the 08' so it is prolly true.

I'm just glad you didnt start quoting dynamic ratios ;)
 
Alright, so I tried out an LN40B550, my local BB didn't have any B530 in stock, so it was either that or the A550. I've come to the conclusion that it just doesn't fit my needs...I don't have enough space in this apartment to modify my setup so that I can have a proper viewing distance and still be able to use my keyboard and mouse without getting headaches.

Great TV, pretty awesome blacks and text was very readable. Input lag was noticeable but halved with the Game mode on. Color, white balance, flesh tones, scaling, and dozens of other settings are readily adjustable.
 
-=Antimatter=- said:
Alright, so I tried out an LN40B550, my local BB didn't have any B530 in stock, so it was either that or the A550. I've come to the conclusion that it just doesn't fit my needs...I don't have enough space in this apartment to modify my setup so that I can have a proper viewing distance and still be able to use my keyboard and mouse without getting headaches.

Great TV, pretty awesome blacks and text was very readable. Input lag was noticeable but halved with the Game mode on. Color, white balance, flesh tones, scaling, and dozens of other settings are readily adjustable.
Click to expand...

yeah its a good TV, maybe go to a smaller size? how do you have it setup? sitting on your desk and when at the computer your right in front of it? if that is the case I think 32" is the size to go with, I use a Sony 32XBR6 as a monitor and love it. brightness is not an issue you just need to crank that backlight down and calibrate the display so its not in super un-realistic store torch mode

on the input lag front what is interesting is that most HDTV exhibit major input lag without setting game mode like 60+ms lag but sony's on the other hand are around the same in any mode/input and are around the same as most other TV's in game mode with or without game mode turn on. in my tests the average response only drops by 10 ms and its usable either way without me noticing the lag (tested around 20-40 ms lag average is about 30ms in game modes, 40ms out of game modes)
 
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