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

I've had my LN40A650 for a week now, and I am very happy with this TV. My 1080i Dish TV HD service looks great, and I've got this unit paired with a Sony Playstation 3 for Blu-Ray DVD playback, and it is absolutely awesome seeing films in 1080P.

The 120 Hz feature makes a difference, and in the first week of watching I've had it on and left it on (set to "Medium") for the entire time. I like the smoothing effect it has, and I rarely I see an objectionable artifact, but by the time you reach for the remote it's likely to have passed. I have not watched any sports yet, and that's the true test of a feature like 120 Hz.

As other reviewers have noted, the remote is a bit frustrating -- the iPod-like "wheel" really does takes some getting used to, but I picked up a Harmony 550 universal remote and it's now the remote I reach for first. I've seen the Harmony 550 as low as $50 on Amazon.

I highly recommend connecting to your video sources via HDMI cables wherever you can, and from what I've read monoprice dot com offers the best quality cables at reasonable prices. I looked at the cheapo cables available here on Amazon, but ended up buying expensive Belkin HDMI cables instead. The cables work just fine, but the reviews I've read on monoprice's cables have all been positive, and they are much cheaper.

The 'Ultra Clear Panel' means that the screen has a clear rather than matte finish. My TV is in a room with lots of windows and a large white paper lamp shade -- probably the worst-case scenario for a glossy, reflective TV screen -- and I still would not trade down to a matte screen. The clear screen gives you such a stunning picture, people are amazed and comment on how "lifelike" the actors look. I should note that my girlfriend is a little disappointed in the high quality only because Johnny Depp looks "less dreamy" in high def... oh well. That's the only complaint I've heard - that the high def does show every wrinkle and blemish...

The TV looks great right out of the box, and while you are offered lots of ways to tweak and adjust the picture, chances are you will be happy with just leaving it alone as well. I do recommend running with the 120 Hz feature on, and also setting the panel to "just scan" mode. These are one-time settings which I suspect I will leave on at all times. The only other adjustment you might want to make is that the picture is really bright and sharp, a bit too bright in a darkened room, and you might prefer switching the TV to "movie" instead of "standard" when viewing in a darked room. The "movie" mode is a bit too dark in a brightly lit room for my tastes, so I do find that I'm switching back and forth once a day.

The "Touch of Color" is quite subtle, and not a detriment in my view, and I run the sound through an external AV Receiver and 6.1 speaker setup, so I can't speak to the sound quality of the TV.

Overall, I'm extremely happy. Shipping took 7 days total which included a three-day Memorial Day weekend, and the set-up guy was courteous and careful.

I looked at a lot of TVs over a 6 month period before settling on this one, and have no regrets. It's a great looking TV.Get more detail about Samsung LN40A650 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color.