Samsung LN40B650 40 Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color

Samsung LN40B650 40 Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color

39.9″ screen (measured diagonally) * widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio * Touch of Color high-gloss finish — black with red accents * built-in digital (ATSC) and analog (NTSC) tuners for over-the-air TV broadcasts (antenna required) * built-in QAM cable TV tuner receives unscrambled programs without a set-top box (cable service required) * Ultra Clear LCD panel (1920 x 1080 pixels) *

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Excellent TV!
I have had this TV for about a month. It is absolutely great. I have to admit that my son-in-law did all of the heavy lifting regarding researching what TV to buy. He is a computer guy and really into electronics. He researched a TV for himself and chose Samsung A630 (46″) that he got last year. So when I decided to buy I focused on Samsung and decided on the 40″ B650.

This is my first HDTV so I can’t compare it to other HDTVs. But the picture is beautiful, nice vibrant colors. I made no adjustments to the settings (actually I don’t know how to change those!) and the picture is perfect. The 40″ size is ideal for our use in our mid-size family room.

The delivery worked well. I tracked the shipping through CEVA’s website once I got the tracking number. It was supposed to be delivered on June 3 and I found that it had arrived in St. Louis on June 1. I noted in some of the previous reviews that CEVA was a bit slow to make contact to set up delivery, so when I hadn’t heard anything by noon on June 2, I called CEVA. The person I talked to was very friendly and helpful; delivery was setup for the morning of June 3.

About an hour after that, the person who actually does the delivery (in an SUV) called and asked if he could make delivery that afternoon (June 2). He said he would be here by 5 pm, and he arrived a little after that.

He unpacked the TV, put it on the stand, plugged it in and turned it on. He said the “White Glove” delivery required only that the red light on the front goes off when the TV is turned on, and that there be a white screen. He said they did not do cable hook-ups.

The only hard-copy instructions was a one page diagram for attaching the cables (as a previous reviewer mentioned, the manual is contained in a memory stick). Attaching the cable from the cable box to the TV was no problem, but then I didn’t know how to proceed since this was my first HDTV. I played around a bit and finally found the “Source” button on the remote and then was able to get a picture.

Pretty minor inconvenience, I suppose, but I had heard the White Glove delivery included getting the set completely functioning.

Regarding the cable, I actually ordered the wrong cable. I have an older cable box that while HD does not have an HDMI connection but a DVI connection. The cable I ordered from Amazon had two HDMI connections. Fortunately I was able to locate the correct cable (DVI to HDMI) at a local St. Louis dealer (Show Me Cables).

So in the end it worked out. We are completely satisfied with the TV and highly recommend it.

5 Stars Fan-freakin-tastic TV
I am a photo retoucher and look for visual imperfections and color inaccuracies for a living. The picture on this TV is pretty much flawless, def. the best of all the TVs I compared while shopping. It has a great set of tools for adjusting the picture to your liking as well, including custom white balance. It also works flawlessly with a Samsung Blu-ray player (the BDP3600 is a great value!) and HD DVR. Couldn’t be happier with our purchase.

Only flaws I can find: Dust magnet, it comes with a dusting cloth for a reason. In “Natural” picture mode, some advanced settings (like black level)are not adjustable, not sure why. The picture is so good that you can really tell when the source material isn’t of the highest quality. Blu-ray discs and high quality TV shows (like HBO) look incredible, but a lot of the ‘HD’ channels don’t measure up. So far haven’t gotten my flash drive to work with it, maybe because it’s old and formatted for a Macintosh? Not really necessary, just wanted to try it to view photos from the Mac.

5 Stars Excellent TV
This Samsung TV has a stunning picture.

I love the Motionflow feature which I normally keep on the “standard” setting. The picture is crystal clear and almost looks 3D.

Also, I’m using the “natural” picture setting and turned down the contrast a notch and increased the brightness 2 notches.

Overall this set is A plus.

5 Stars great TV
Didn’t spend a lot of time researching, but was told my many people to look at Samsung. Could not be any happier with this TV! Set-up was so simple and the picture quality is terrific. I don’t watch TV much, I’m not a gamer, so for more technical reviews read elsewhere. But in my eyes, this is an outstanding TV that you’ll be more than happy with.

5 Stars Picture this
Oddly this is my first Samsung product and am impressed since day one. It took 3 weeks for me to pick the LN40b650 over the B6300 and Sony v5100, it just came down to what my eyes like and that was Samsung 650. 120hz was the minimum feature I wanted in a new HDTV. I noticed that 120hz really pops the image out more than regular 1080p set. Some people think the unnaturalness is bad, but I find it pleasing and create a sight 3D effect. The disadvantage of this is that you get a halo effect and some blocking, mainly around the actor when they move. This happen when you set the dejudder and smoothing to max level, but is unnoticeable on mid to lower level.

650 pros:

+The 120hz makes the movie pop out.

+One of the best black level and contrast out there.

+Colors are vivid and really pop-out.

+Yahoo widget works. I can check the weather sport score, and flickr images (not fast, but good)

+There seem to be some kind of auto scaling that my old TV didn’t do. You can also adjust the screen size/ proportion too.

+The extra content: cook menu, games, picture screen saver is ok, but I don’t use it much

+Media player actually works, it stream thing just like my PS3. (DNLA)

+Glossy screen enhances the colors more than the matte b630 version and Sony v5100, but keep it away from direct sunlight.

+There is a gaming mode, which turns off your 120hz and some extra effects for the faster response time. (It is also fine when you turn it on, but it looks very 3D, with some blocking)

Cons:

-I found Sony V5100 image to be a tad sharper, I saw more detail in the face and depth of field in a landscape. The Sony v5100 is placed next to the 650 in many stores.

-Sony 120hz, I think is a tad better, less halo, but you can adjust Samsung’s dejudder and smoothing independently.

-Glossy screen does creates some reflection, sometime with the lights on and a dark scene, I can see my reflection.

For Blu-ray movies, PS3 games this is an excellent set that will shine, pop the newer movies out. I found the DVD movies a little flat, but it still looks good. I sit too close to the set at 4-5ft, but when you move back between 5-10ft this is where the TV viewing is at its best. I think the picture is a little soft when I watch antenna broadcast , where the Sony was a tad sharper.

I calibrated my TV from the settings of this site: televisioninfo.

But I end up just using the standard settings the most. Got this set at Fry’s for 1199, but it dropped to 999 a week later and got the refund different so it was priced similar to the v5100 and cheaper than the b630. I am excited and glad I purchase this set. I like the B750 color trim and rectangle set a little better then the red and V tapper bottom, but it is not a deal breaker.

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