 Samsung LE40 B650T - Outstanding |
| Review Date: September 7, 2009 |
| Reviewer: B. Rennie, where money's hard earned, not spent on tat! |
Like most I did a hell of a lot of research on tv's before buying and thought I had narrowed it down to sony W or panasonic G10. A trip to the local stores to check them in the flesh revealed this set which was clearly the best.
PRO's
Black levels are outstanding
Motion blur reduction for football is outstanding
Connectivity again 5 star - I'm typing this on the PC input and its clear as a bell
Looks - on or off this set is the most pleasing you'll find
Upscaling works well - on par with PS3
Wifi dongle - I bought the one earmarked series 7 and above (Rose Red coloured), well it works like a charm and yes youtube streams effortlessly. (An american site showed this dongle working for their version of the 650 so I took a gamble and saved []).
USB - great it even shows thumbnails of the content
CON's
Well this is like criticising someone who just climbed Everest with your dinner for not bringing the correct fork, but if pushed ... the sound is average. Lets face it only a nut job would spend this amount and not hook it up to a surround kit.
Talking of surround kits there is an issue with ALL LCD tv's in that they do so much wash and wax enhancements to the picture that by the time it shows on screen there is time lag. E.g. watch a movie from your PS3 with the optical coax going direct to the surround kit and the picture will be very slightly behind the sound. This is an easy fix by hooking the optical coax from the tv to your surround kit, hey presto no lag for any input. The downside is no 5.1 surround pass through only stereo, ah well it still rocks on my 5yr old pioneer kit.
Everyone goes on about calibrating the set, well I tried it and it looked so dull and lifeless. The defaults are a little eye popping but there are such a myriad of settings to tune you'll be able to get it just right for your eyes.
In summary
I'm completely chuffed with my purchase and yes LED's are better but only slightly better (2.5 times the price so we're back into nut job territory again). This set in no way lacks anything and Samsung have surprised me by just how good they know they're stuff and customers. Firmware updates (Aug 09) keep the functions cutting edge (same firmware update as LED's). By all means check out the competition after all I did, but don't let big name branding blind you to this set, it is the sweet spot of top spec for the money.
PS - 3 TOP TIPS
1)When checking picture quality in the shops go round the back and check they're all hdmi connected. Unbelievably some are only showing a picture from 1970's RF coax - very naughty to make you buy the more expensive sets. I just swapped the plugs to see the real deal.
2)Buy the rose red dongle - save a few quid.
3)There's a glass LCD stand on this site for [] and it really matches this set to a tee the whole ensemble looks ... outstanding.
Enjoy!
UPDATE NOV 09
Windows 7 lets you stream HD movies direct to your Samsung from your laptop and it works just perfectly with this rose red dongle. You can simply right click on a movie file on your laptop and choose [play to] and the tv auto plays or use the tv menu for dnla laptop and choose the movie from there. Movies HD & SD, pictures and mp3 music all work - yeeha! |
An LCD TV that really delivers
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| Review Date: July 13, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Glenn P, UK |
After spending a good couple of months researching which LCD TV to get (as it's a fair amount of money to part with!), I chose this Samsung Model.
Firstly, it's a stunning looking TV, from it's glass stand to it's shiny black surround, it speaks style and quality.This is matched by an equally stunning performance. Watching a blu-ray movie (using an LG BD370 Blu-ray High Definition Player with YouTube) I was astounded by the picture quality. The level of detail, sharpness, exquisite colours, overall picture quality and the way that it handles blacks really confirmed for me that 1080P full HD is a worth while investment.
I was aware that the larger the LCD screen size, generally, the poorer the standard definition picture quality would be, but was pleasantly surprised by how this TV delivered SD TV programmes through my Sky + box. However, I must add, that I spent a good amount of time adjusting the picture and sound settings as straight out of the box I found the picture to be quite harsh and over exaggerated and the sound to be dull and tinny. Once I did this ( I set up different settings for each source, sky, blu-ray and xbox 360) they all looked fantastic. (The 100hz motion plus is a great feature and does work, however, it needs to be set on a lower or custom setting).
The sound on the TV isn't amazing but once it was tweaked, I found it to be not too bad at all (you can't beat a surround sound set up though). The internet TV widgets and content library, for me, are pointless and will not be used.
There are plenty of connectivity options and the media 2 connection feature is great for playing movies, music and pictures directly on the TV which only adds to the wealth of features included in this package.
Overall, I highly recommend this TV. Amazing blu-ray picture, very good SD picture and my xbox 360 looks fantastic on it too. I am really glad I decided to invest in this top quality TV. |
Great screen and features
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| Review Date: April 22, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Che Y. Yeung, UK |
Saw this reviewed on [] and then scanned thru the [] threads. Didn't get this via Amazon but via Richer Sounds.
Everything I've read about this set has so far been true.
The SD picture is upscaled brilliantly. I've played AVI and MKVs off a USB stick and those look excellent.
The upscaler did seem to make some American TV series look abit like the Australian broadcast, the colours seem deeper (but that's just my opinion).
This replaced an older 32" Samsung unit, the difference is great. Definitely highly recommended and well worth it. |
LIVES UP TO THE HYPE!!
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| Review Date: May 27, 2009 |
| Reviewer: M. Ewing, Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
After doing intensive research into the product. I finally decided to go ahead and buy the TV with a Amazons next day delivery service through City Link. Very impressive and prompt. Credit to the company.
The TV itself is huge and very impressive allround. Firstly the internet tv features are good but are the sets only let down and yes I do have it hard wired into a 20mb fibre optic broadband connection! The content, which is stored on the TV is a great bonus... cooking recipes? random, I know!
The TV picture quality is inspiring. Tested it out on my Virgin V+HD box connected by a HDMI cable. Watched the Champions League final on it on SD but it upscales it brilliantly. Pity it could not change the result! Tested it out on HD film and thats where the TVs true quality shines out. The sound aswell when set to Surround HD is very good. The TV does have lots of different settings both visual and audio but had it working very quickly out the box and have also been able to play loads of various media files by external hard drive by a USB connection.
Buy it... fantastic value! 40-42 inch is a perfect size! |
Samsung LE40B650T2 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p Crystal LCD TV with Media 2.0 and Freeview
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| Review Date: July 16, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Alan, West midlands, UK |
Upgrading from a 32" Textron, this TV exceeded my expectations.
Specifically - media and internet functions great. Youtube on TV outstanding but searching for content a little tedious using the handset. When will there be more widgets available, I want Facebook access?
Media 2.00 also great, best from USB (portable drive and USB key both work well (Samsung have really provided a first class interface here/amazing), streaming from the PC using the server option seems a slightly poorer quality, I need to check if I have set this correctly but overall I am blown away by these new TV features. picture excellent,. the blacks are black and sound OK (remember I had a cheapish Textron before this).
Curiously no instructions on the stand assembly, yet half a page on putting batteries into the remote? Still does not rotate?
In certain light conditions the glass screen does set off a reflection but I can live with that.
Before Purchase, I went down Comet and Curreys with USB key to try it out and this sold it to me. Of course they wanted £799. (funny how their prices are often identical). They will not match Internet prices but with their infamous customer service (both Currys and Comet) that was never really an option.
Really wanted to buy from Amazon but £35 cheaper with discount elsewhere. Maybe £20 less and I would have stayed with Amazon (hopefully I will not regret) - my preferred retailer. |
Awesome picture and very good sound!
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| Review Date: June 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: S. Hart, London |
I upgraded from playing games on my Widescreen monitor to this LCD TV and was blown away by how much better my Xbox 360 games were looking. The blacks are the best I've ever seen on a TV and the sound is nothing to complain about (though Audiophiles may argue about that). As an extremely enthusiastic gamer, I can confirm that this set is pretty ace for playing your games on and there's no way you could be disappointed by the image quality.
The set in general has given me no trouble - the menus are pretty easy to navigate and are quite in-depth. Playing your movies via an external HDD (thanks to the USB port on the side of the TV) is really handy too, and again the TV does an excellent job of upscaling the image.
I highly recommend this TV, but I can understand that if you're really picky and perhaps a little indecisive that you might be a little reluctant. If you're considering this set though, it's like you're choosing between a Ferrari or a Porsche. They're both great, and there's no way you'd be dissappointed no matter which decision you make! |
simply stunning
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| Review Date: September 26, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Palmyra, UK |
Not much one can add after previous reviews, but a few key points:
- SD performance is truly as every review and magazine said... simply amazing for this price point
- black levels and contrast is excellent, again I doubt anything comes near it in this price range
- fully customisable, I really recommend a custom mode for standard calibrated image (although may look weird at first, because we are used to horribly detuned images where even colour temperature is set to 3000K or more above the normal)
- user interface is very intuitive and don't let big complex remote scare you: it is very logical and intuitive
- media play functionality and the quality from AVI files is simply astounding, looks much better than PC with media player. Its codec support beats many media boxes on the market! and upgrade is dead easy from USB stick, if need arises in future
- sound is so-so for gamers, but for normal use I find it highly sufficient in 'body' and volume, slightly fiddly equaliser, though
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Staggering Quality
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| Review Date: May 15, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Mr. N. Robins, United Kingdom |
| The the only way I can describe the quality of this TV is staggering, I was in absolute awe when I switched it on. PS3 images were awesome, my son shook with excitement when Killzone came on. I played an old DVD through PS3 HDMI cable - Gladiator & I was dumbfounded by how good the picture was in some scenes it seemed like you were there - sounds corny I know but it is honestly how I felt & I am nearly my 50th birthday; maybe a 'senior moment'. I have not tried all the internet options to date as my USB dongle (Additional £40 for beyond TV) is winging its way to me nor have I tried Blu-ray discs but quite frankly if the Gladiator DVD is anything to go by I am prepared to be stunned. Sky HD + also being installed today & again the quality of Std Sky signal was awe inspiring so HD can only blow me away again. If you want a quality picture & a 'boys with toys' plaything go out & buy one - you will not be dissapointed. Google reviews of this models & to date I have not seen a negative review. I don't normally bother reviewing items I buy but after extensive research looking for a gem I think I found a diamond. |
Amazing TV
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| Review Date: November 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Lee Hill, |
I have owned this TV for a month or two now, and am absolutely thrilled with it. Picture is superb (after calibration http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/Samsung-LE40B650/Settings.htm), menus easy to navigate, and the whole TV looks amazing
Was going to purchase the Sony W5500 but after finding out it only plays limited video formats via its USB, opted for the Samsung which has played everything i have thrown at it so far, and i am SO glad i did. I LOVE this TV, BUY IT !!
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samsung led tv
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| Review Date: October 26, 2009 |
| Reviewer: S. Stubbs, u.k. |
I don't usually bother reviewing stuff I've bought,but...
I love this t.v.
why pay more for the series 7 or 8..
the internet stuff is just a gimmick but could be expanded upon..I watched a couple of you tube vids..
the usb port works great, I downloaded some hd vids and trailers ect.. works great.
the most important thing though is the picture which is fantastic. The wife thought the screen size was too big??? (only 40") but after acouple of days even she loves it.
get this t.v. |
i highly recommend
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| Review Date: August 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: jackson johnson, Ireland |
| i put a lot of effort into choosing this tv and i thought it deserved an appraisal. i couldn't be any happier with it. it plays all kinds of video files. a 700mb avi film on a flash drive or hard drive will look amazing. the remote control is very big and i like it also. it illuminates if need be. i've heard louder televisions but the sound when high doesn't distort at all, excellent sound. the picture is as good as any i've seen. |
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