Lowest Price Samsung LN40A650 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color

I preface this by saying that, while I am not a videophile, I did do quite a good amount of research re: Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and Sharp. Like most everyone else, Samsung and Sony are well ahead of the pack, and between those two, I just could not find any reason to pay the extra money between this and the Sony Z series. I think I would end up taking the 650 over the Z series for even money.

First, do not be afraid of the TOC. Everyone who has been over has commented they like it. Second, despite this TV being near a large picture window, I notice no glare. Third, the picture is stunning. My prior TV was an HD Wega, great tube picture. When I first hooked this TV up, I only had rabbit ears (I was between cable companies), I got the network channels in HD and they looked excellent. Next came the Blu Ray player and I was amazed. This TV doesn't look great compared to other TV's, it just plain looks great. Just this week I got my new cable hook-up, and all the HD channels look fantastic.

The menu system is fairly easy to pick up on. Once you play around with it a bit, you can fly right through. I will say the picture adjustments are a bit overwhelming. I would encourage you to Google "LN40A650 calibration" and try a few of the settings other people have selected as a starting point and go from there. While there are some good suggestions, it ultimately does come down to personal preference, and you just have to play with it a bit to get a feel for the effect the various settings have on the picture. There is no "perfect" set-up.

It is very nice having some of the inputs on the side. Very accessible, not all TV's have this.

If you are going to drop this kind of coin on a flat screen, I can't imagine not having a decent home theater set-up, even if it's just something like the Polk Audio RM6750 5.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker System for $250. Nothing special, but excellent video deserves at least passable audio.

I am glad I picked this over the LN40A630. I almost got the 630 just because of the matte screen, but glare has been no issue for me and I do think the non-matte screen does help the colors "pop" just a little bit more.

This is probably the best $1,100 I ever spent, and I don't have a single regret. Since I got mine, two of my friends have purchased the same TV simply from watching mine.Get more detail about Samsung LN40A650 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color.