Samsung LN46B550 46" HDTV LCD TV

Samsung 46 in HDTV Television Model LN46B550

This is the new television I got for Christmas after shopping and comparing the various offerings in the marketplace using Epinions, other electronics sites, and audiophile and videophile friends I trust. 

I have been a top movie reviewer on Epinions for a number of years and have viewed countless VHS videos and DVDs yet by marketing standards I must confess I am what is known as a technological laggard.  The only thing or maybe I should say one of the major things that got me to even consider buying a new television was the change to digital broadcasting standards and the fact that my old analog TV would no longer tune in programming through the rabbit ears. From this you can probably derive that Blackberries, smart phones, IPODs, daily business minders, electronic organizers, and other electronic gizmos have little to no place in my daily scheme of things - and you'd be right.  But I do love to watch movies; that is a real joy to me.

This television became the one I was watching and I was waiting for a price drop that would appeal to my sense of fair price for the item.  I have long shopped at Amazon.com and I put it on my wish list sometime in October.  The price was $1299, as I recall.  I thought, "OK - that is a good drop from what it was a year ago when HDTVs were above $2,000" but the late adopter in me wanted to get the best bang I could so I watched the various emails I got from Amazon showing the latest prices. 

On Black Friday after Thanksgiving, Amazon offered this model for $899.  After a short consideration 12 - 8 = $400 savings - I pulled the trigger and sent in my order.  The order included free delivery and set up too, for the listed price - I love Amazon.

Within a few days, I was contacted by the carrier and a delivery time was agreed upon. The carrier brought the box in by himself and it was not a whole lot larger than the television - about 10" thick and slightly larger in size than the outer dimensions of the television case.  The box was made of sturdy cardboard reinforced by large pieces of Styrofoam so there was no doubt the unit was well protected.  It weighed about 60 pounds all packed up in its shipping carton. 

He uncrated the TV and assembled it with its stand that inserts into the bottom. The television would then stand by itself on the armoire I had waiting for it.  Wiring up the television was quite simple with my usual DVD and VHS boxes wired in with the standard cables I had removed from my old analog television. 

The television fired up and all the boxes turned on.  The LN46B550 television is complete with digital tuner and internal speakers so there is nothing extra to buy if you don't want to.

I didn't have a blue ray player yet, but that is coming.  The television has a chip that up scales the signal from the old fashioned DVDs to the 1080p digital standard.  I understand when I get a blue ray player up scaling will occur in the player so the standard will be better as I am still hindered by the analog circuitry of my VHS player whose tuner still "fights" for supremacy with the digital tuning circuitry of the television. That was obviated by getting a tee connector to hook two signal cables into the antenna input on the television and the electronic rabbit ears to obviate the need for cable. Voila! Did I mention I am a technological laggard already?

Anyway, the LN46B550 television went through the warm up sequence and I learned about the remote control which looks about as complex as something out of Star Wars. 

When I popped a standard DVD in - no blue ray, remember - it looked far better than I remembered it and it was familiar.  The colors were much improved and more varied and colorful than I had ever seen. The movie, by the way was El Cid, which has some of the most gorgeous landscape and building photography I've ever seen and the colors were literally jumping off the screen with the various red and browns of the Spanish countryside.  Not to mention Sophia Loren, one of the most beautiful women ever to grace the screen - ah the flesh tones - the arms, armor, pageantry, and battle scenes are really something to see in 1080p!

The digital audio comes through internal speakers and I also have a home theater system that makes pretty decent surround sound so the improvement in picture and sound was impressive.  Of course, watching some Warner Bros Looney Tunes cartoons will give your color circuitry a good workout and show you the colors you have been missing on your regular TV.  There are input jacks for any peripherals you may wish to add. This TV is well appointed and will be useful for quite a while as the inputs will accommodate any known enhancements or you can run it as received because tuning and speakers are built in.

The Samsung LN46B550 is energy star compliant, which means it consumes less energy than a non compliant model and comes with a 1 year in home service warranty.