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Date: 2008-06-11 Great buy It's been a month of trouble-free, great tv, beginning and ending with plug and play. This has to be the best 37" tv on the internet. Date: 2008-06-11 Samsung LN37A550 Samsung LN37A550 I have had the TV for approximately 1-month. This TV was purchased with the intent of acquiring the "best" 37-inch LCD TV available with one exception. I was not interested in 120 hertz refresh rate. I am not interested in games or sports. The TV is connected to a Direct TV high definition satellite receiver. The picture looks great; however, when I looked at comparable models (e.g., Sharp and Toshiba) at a big box store, in a brand to brand comparison, I could not detect any significant difference in picture quality between the different brands in either high definition or standard definition program viewing. Of course there was a tremendous difference when viewing high definition versus standard definition programs. (Unfortunately, I did not listen to sound which probably would have been impossible due to background noise but more on this later.) I use the TV for satellite reception and DVD playback--no games. The TV has a matte screen and absolutely no glare. It is installed in a location where glare was a problem on a CRT screen. In my assessment, the picture quality deserves a 5-star rating. All reviews indicate that the TV has "plenty" of inputs. My advice is to determine the amount and type of inputs needed. For instance, the TV has only one composite video input which is on the side panel. I know, why would you need a composite video input on a HDTV? In my case, some components, a couple of examples are my video camera and Pioneer receiver, require a composite input. In most cases, the number of inputs is more than adequate but don't assume that there are plenty of inputs. Sound is a horrible disappointment. Again, this was something that I didn't tryout before purchase because I thought anything would meet my sound requirements. For movies, I use a surround sound system so the sound from the TV is irrelevant. However, the TV is frequently used to receive weather and news information. For this type of reception, I am not interested in "quality" sound but I do want to be able to hear and "understand" the audible portion of the broadcast without using a surround sound system. With this set, this is almost impossible. It has plenty of volume, no problem there, but the distortion, muting, echo, and tininess are unbelievable. Yes, it has different sound settings and an equalizer, but the best that you can get is unacceptable by anyone's standards. The sound from this set is far inferior to a single speaker 10-year old Philips CRT TV with a single BNC connector for sound and audio input. I also had an occasion to be in a hospital after the set was delivered and the sound from the pendant for the hospital TV was far superior. Let's put it this way, if I had paid $10.00 for a clock radio that sounded this bad I would return it. Sound rating: 0-star. Overall, I am totally pleased with the picture quality, but if I had it to do over, I would purchase a different brand because of the absolutely horrible sound. I bought the TV via Amazon which was a pleasant buying experience. Date: 2008-06-10 Great LCD TV This is an excellent LCD TV. It was very easy to set up right out of the box. Colors and detail are top of the line for a reasonable price. Wiselink features allows me to view pictures directly from a flash drive to the TV by a simply USB connection. Date: 2008-06-05 Great Value, Awesome Picture! I bought the Samsung LN37A550 from Amazon in mid-May. I comparison shopped for several months, and found that the Samsung is on equal footing as the Sony Bravia XBR-Series KDL-37XBR6 37-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV and Sharp Aquos LC37D64U 37-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV models in performance, but (at the time) was more affordable than either. Here's an in-depth run-down of the top-of-the line models from each of those three brands using MY comparison criteria. Hopefully it helps you. Price These are prices from Amazon.com (not their "marketplace partners" or whatever they're called). I'd recommend purchasing from Amazon itself, as they offer the free "white-glove" delivery, which means that the delivery company will bring the TV into your house, unpack it, and haul away the packing materials. My TV was delivered 3 days after I ordered it, and many others who reviewed on this site have had the same experience. Also, keep in mind Amazon's financing offers if you open an Amazon.com credit account - see below for more details. Samsung LN37A550: Retail is $1200. I've watched Amazon's price fluctuate between $1040 and $1200. Today the price is $1064, which is as good as I've seen. In addition, Samsung TVs often have financing deals - mine was 1-year, no payments and no-interest financing, and I've also seen 18-month specials. Sharp LC37D64U: Retail is $1400, and the fact that it was selling for about $1350 a month ago strongly influenced my decision. Today the price is $1016, which may have changed my purchase based solely on the size (Sharp is slightly narrower - see below - and the Samsung is a REALLY tight squeeze in my space). I have not seen ANY financing deals on Sharp TVs through Amazon - pay it all up front. Sony KDL-37XBR6: Retail is $1500. Today's price on Amazon is $1400 - a major consideration (about $350 price difference), but there's also a 36 (read it again, 36) month no interest offer on this TV right now. Minimum monthly payments are required. Contrast Ratio, Response Time, and Frame Refresh Rate Keep in mind that different manufacturers use different methods to measure these specifications, so they can not be simply compared using numbers. All I can say is that I viewed them in a couple of different retail locations, and there is little difference in picture brightness / blurring between these models. All are capable of 1080p picture. Samsung: 15,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and 5 ms response time. 60 hZ refresh rate. Sharp: 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and 6 ms response time. 60 hZ refresh rate. Sony: 25,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and unpublished response time. 120 hZ refresh rate. The refresh rate is where the Sony has an advantage over the others. I'm not going to get into it here, but here's a great article from CircuitCity.com explaining refresh rate in clear, simple terms (http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/cat/-12869/edOid/208448/rpem/ccd/lookLearn.do). All I'll say is that, in-store with a BluRay disc, the 120 hZ setting on a 46" screen looked AWESOME. Some have complained that it produces a "soap-opera" effect. Not being a big fan of soap-operas, I have no idea what they are referring to. Personally, I don't think it's enough of a reason to spend the extra $300+, because of screen size. With a bigger 50"+ screen, your eye will catch blurring across the screen, but on a screen of this size I have never noticed any blurring with my 60 hZ model. High-Def Inputs These all have the HD connections below, along with Digital Audio outputs, and other (S-video and composite video, and stereo audio) inputs. Samsung: 3 version 1.3 (latest) HDMI Inputs (2 in rear, 1 on side), 1 USB input (for viewing JPGs and listening to MP3s), 1 PC input, and 2 component video inputs. Sharp: 2 HDMI Inputs (Amazon and Sharp's website don't say they are version 1.3, which is supposedly faster and therefore better quality), 1 PC input, and 2 component video inputs. Also has side inputs. Sony: 4 HDMI Inputs (3 in rear, 1 on side; again, Amazon and Sony don't say version 1.3, but I would think it's GOT to be..... don't know why they wouldn't publish this, though), 1 PC input, and 2 component video inputs. Sound Most reviews I have read complain about the Samsung's sound quality (most common in complaint is that the speakers sound "tinny"). I turned off the speakers before I ever hooked the TV up to an input (I've got a surround sound system), so I can't speak to this. I bought the TV for the picture, not the sound, but if that's important to you, read other reviews. I've read a couple of complaints about the Sharp model, but they didn't seem quite so angry as the complaints regarding Samsung, so I'm guessing it's acceptable sound. Size Size can be a consideration for many in purchasing a TV of this size. I was space constrained only in width. If you've got space constraints and 37" in width, you might also consider the Toshiba REGZA 40RF350U Super Narrow 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV Super Narrow Bezel, which measures just 36.77" wide. I have not seen it in action, so I can't speak to it's performance, but other Toshiba LCDs that I HAVE seen did not compare to these 3 TVs in picture quality. Samsung: 36.1 inches wide and 40 pounds with stand (32 pounds without) Sharp: 35 and 23/64" wide (yes, some people really squeeze that tight) and 45 pounds with stand (39 without) Sony: 36.3 inches wide and 47 pounds with stand (40 without) Warranty All of these TVs have 1 year parts / 1 year labor manufacturer warranties. Additional features: Each brand offers their own graphics processing engine that claims to be the greatest thing ever, as well as other features. One interesting feature which is really more of a marketing ploy is connecting other devices made by the same brand to this TV and just being able to use the TV's remote to control that device. For example, buy a Sony TV and a Sony Blu-Ray player, and you can control the Blu-Ray player without reprogramming your remote. Good if you don't want to buy a Universal Remote, but I see it more as a way to get you to buy more components from that brand. Your choice! So there you have it. I can say with a lot of certainty that you will be pleased with any of these three models, and it's more a matter of preference for a certain brand, pricing sensitivity, and the sound issue that you have to make up your mind. As for me, I couldn't be happier with my Samsung purchase. Date: 2008-06-01 A Great TV Several weeks ago, we finally traded in our old 32inch tube for this 37inch flat screen HDTV. I did some research before buying and the specs on this TV for the price is why I chose it. It has a sharp picture and a wide range of inputs. It has a beautiful piano black finish which we really like since we are a family of piano players. One note about the finish - it collects the dust quite fast. So be prepared to clean it very often. The delivery was very professional - they set it all up for you. Overall, we love the TV.
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