First time HD TV buyer needs help...

[admin_exported]

I'm saving for my first adventure into HD and Blu-ray and I've been researching a hell of a lot of TVs and BD players. But I keep coming back to the Samsung LE40B550A5 because the reviews all seem to be fairly great. Also the BD Player I have been eyeing up is the Sony BDP-S360. For a budget buyer are these pieces of tech the best I could buy for the price? They seem to have all the spec I need, aside from the Samsung being only 50mhz. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

mmvm

 

[laserman16]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

You will not go wrong with the Sony BDP-S360, it gets very good reviews and can be had very cheaply now. Here for instance.

I don't know anything about the TV but I'm sure someone will be along soon who can advise.

 

[Anonymous]

mmvm:

I'm saving for my first adventure into HD and Blu-ray and I've been researching a hell of a lot of TVs and BD players. But I keep coming back to the Samsung LE40B550A5 because the reviews all seem to be fairly great. Also the BD Player I have been eyeing up is the Sony BDP-S360. For a budget buyer are these pieces of tech the best I could buy for the price? They seem to have all the spec I need, aside from the Samsung being only 50mhz. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

mmvm

Do not buy a TV with less than 100hz or you will notice a fair bit of motion blur. If you could tell us what size screen you would be after and what sort of budget you will probably get a lot of helpful suggestions. Once you have a few suggestions go and compare a few of the screens and see what you think. Also bear in mind the big players in the TV world will all soon be releasing 2010 models. Might be worth being a bit patient if you can.

 

[Anonymous]

Well the spec for the Samsung is pretty much everything I wanted in a TV but if I were to be picky I'd have to say: between 37 and 42 inches, Full 1080p, True 24p playback, minimum 100mhz, high contrast ratio. I know for the price I want I'm asking for a lot but you never know what prices might drop in the next couple of months...

 

[Anonymous]

mmvm:Well the spec for the Samsung is pretty much everything I wanted in a TV but if I were to be picky I'd have to say: between 37 and 42 inches, Full 1080p, True 24p playback, minimum 100mhz, high contrast ratio. I know for the price I want I'm asking for a lot but you never know what prices might drop in the next couple of months...

What is that price mmvm?! It really would help to provide suggestions and comparison screens of a similar price.

 

[Anonymous]

On Amazon that's £508 which is pretty reasonable, but as you say I'm willing to be patient and wait for a little while so the prices of other models go down as manufacturers release their new year models. But any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

Daveee:mmvm:

I'm saving for my first adventure into HD and Blu-ray and I've been researching a hell of a lot of TVs and BD players. But I keep coming back to the Samsung LE40B550A5 because the reviews all seem to be fairly great. Also the BD Player I have been eyeing up is the Sony BDP-S360. For a budget buyer are these pieces of tech the best I could buy for the price? They seem to have all the spec I need, aside from the Samsung being only 50mhz. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

mmvm

Do not buy a TV with less than 100hz or you will notice a fair bit of motion blur. If you could tell us what size screen you would be after and what sort of budget you will probably get a lot of helpful suggestions. Once you have a few suggestions go and compare a few of the screens and see what you think. Also bear in mind the big players in the TV world will all soon be releasing 2010 models. Might be worth being a bit patient if you can.

Not sure I agree with this statement, most people with LCD TV's and reviewers suggest turning the 100 Hz and other processing off, or they can't notice any considerable improvemnt with it on.

I certainly have, and have not noticed any increase in blurring.

I believe the 550 series gets an excellent review for it's price by the WHF team, the only way to reslove this I suggest, is to go and get a demo before you buy and see if you notice any blurring with sports etc.

I have a 6 month old 32" 50Hz samsung in my conservatory (can't remember the model) and I certainly have no problems with gaming or football in HD.

 

[Anonymous]

markjaspi:Daveee:mmvm:

I'm saving for my first adventure into HD and Blu-ray and I've been researching a hell of a lot of TVs and BD players. But I keep coming back to the Samsung LE40B550A5 because the reviews all seem to be fairly great. Also the BD Player I have been eyeing up is the Sony BDP-S360. For a budget buyer are these pieces of tech the best I could buy for the price? They seem to have all the spec I need, aside from the Samsung being only 50mhz. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

mmvm

Do not buy a TV with less than 100hz or you will notice a fair bit of motion blur. If you could tell us what size screen you would be after and what sort of budget you will probably get a lot of helpful suggestions. Once you have a few suggestions go and compare a few of the screens and see what you think. Also bear in mind the big players in the TV world will all soon be releasing 2010 models. Might be worth being a bit patient if you can.

Not sure I agree with this statement, most people with LCD TV's and reviewers suggest turning the 100 Hz and other processing off, or they can't notice any considerable improvemnt with it on.

I certainly have, and have not noticed any increase in blurring.

I believe the 550 series gets an excellent review for it's price by the WHF team, the only way to reslove this I suggest, is to go and get a demo before you buy and see if you notice any blurring with sports etc.

I have a 6 month old 32" 50Hz samsung in my conservatory (can't remember the model) and I certainly have no problems with gaming or football in HD.

I had a Samsung 40 LCD that was 50hz and it really did struggle with motion blur. You couldn't really tell with sports but fast moving text across the screen looked awful. I wouldn't advise anybody going to invest in a new screen to buy a 50hz model when there are 100hz models out there at the same price. Surely the fact all new screens seem to have a minumum 100hz suggests the manufacturers agree the 50hz sets weren't all up to scratch with motion?

On the other hand if this guy gets a demo of the 50hz screen and is happy with it then why not go for it at that price? It's probably down to personal preference but when I buy a new screen soon I wont demo any 50hz sets

 

[Anonymous]

i have the samsung le40b550 i feed it hd from sky and blu ray from ps3 i dont notice any problems with motion and have been watching a lot of the winter olympics .It is good for playing games no noticible lag and the black levels are really good for an lcd tv.

 

[Anonymous]

Received my LE40B550 on the strength of recent reviews and it is superb and absolutely cracking value for money (£525)! watching the rugby over the weekend, the close up views were very good and it only suffered from a lack of definition on wider shots. I think this is ultimately down to the quality of the signal and SD resolution rather than refresh rate. Feed it a HD signal (as it was designed for) and the picture is top notch, in my opinion. depending on the programme and channel, some of the SD images are a match in terms of quality to the HD over the airwaves content.

I got the Samsung along with my first BluRay player (BDP-S360) and the picture is excellent. everthing is so clear and vibrant. there is none of that 'blocking' and skin tones and dark shadowed scenes are faultess. Again, for only £95, it is difficult to find any issues and can see why it has been the WHF Best Budget BluRay for so long.

its interesting that in the recent Supertest, the the LE40B550 outperformed other sets with upto 200Hz motion processing. it appears that the WHF experts do not think that a lack of 100Hz on the Samsung hindered its picture performance. Looking on numerous AV websites, it seems that alot of the reviewers find the picture better with the motion processing 'switched off'.

http://www.another site/reviews/Samsung-LE40B550-LCD-HDTV-Review.html

if budget is a big consideration, you cant go far wrong with the LE40B550.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys,

Whats the diffrence between the LE40550 and the LE40B550A5 ?

Thanks.