Samsung LA46A550 - brought it home today

[Teja]

Hi All,

Got the Samsung LA46A550 today. Purchase price was 79,000 with free wall installation. I think I could have probably talked down another 1000 or so, but my wife was getting impatient and he sensed it....

Got a factory sealed box straight from the warehouse. Very nice TV, but a bit too bright and vibrant out of the box for my taste. I used some calibration settings I found on avsforum.com and tested it with 1080p rip of "Fifth Element" from my PC and the picture was simply astounding. But every one else felt that the picture was dull and made me reset it back to factory default of "movie" mode. Anyway, I plan to do my own calibration using a Spyder and the DVE calibration disc soon.

a) 1080p HDMI input from Philips upscaling DVD player - very nice from 8ft and farther.
b) 1080i Component input from LiteOn upscaling DVD player - very very nice (to my eyes this seemed better than the 1080p above. Maybe the LiteOn does a better job of upscaling than the Philips).
c)1080i HDMI from Canon HD camcorder - simply amazing. Now all our home movies are theater grade
d) 1920 x 1080 PC input from laptop - excellent. Really superb. I am now seriously considering getting the Samsung 32" FHD to replace my 23" HP as the main monitor for my work PC.
e) 1920 x 1080 HDMI input via HDMI from my PC's DVI port..... lets just say that I am completely satisfied with the purchase. No buyer's remorse here.

A few negatives:
- de-interlacing is not good, I could see zaggies. Good thing I only plan to feed it true HD from a dedicated HTPC.
- No tilt in the stand, only swivel. I would have preferred tilt instead of swivel as horizontal viewing angle is quite wide, but vertical viewing angle is good downwards but not upwards.
- Remote is too glossy, will be a fingerprint and grime magnet.
- Sound sucks.... real bad. Not something you expect in a 1 lakh TV

So that is all for now. I have taken my first step towards building my home theater. Next up is building the HTPC, sound proofing the room and, the most agonizing of all, assembling a good sound system Needless to say I will be a frequent visitor here in the coming months.

Thanks for all your help & advice (past & future).

Cheers
Teja

 

[venkatcr]

Congratulations Teja. Some times it is great fun to look at the sealed box of an expensive it for a few days before opening it.

Keep us informed of your progress in HTPC.

Cheers

 

[adder]

congrats on ur purchace TEJA.


@venkatcr
LOL me too "it is great fun to look at the sealed box "

 

[happy1978]

Hi All,

Got the Samsung LA46A550 today. Purchase price was 79,000 with free wall installation. I think I could have probably talked down another 1000 or so, but my wife was getting impatient and he sensed it....

Got a factory sealed box straight from the warehouse. Very nice TV, but a bit too bright and vibrant out of the box for my taste. I used some calibration settings I found on avsforum.com and tested it with 1080p rip of "Fifth Element" from my PC and the picture was simply astounding. But every one else felt that the picture was dull and made me reset it back to factory default of "movie" mode. Anyway, I plan to do my own calibration using a Spyder and the DVE calibration disc soon.

a) 1080p HDMI input from Philips upscaling DVD player - very nice from 8ft and farther.
b) 1080i Component input from LiteOn upscaling DVD player - very very nice (to my eyes this seemed better than the 1080p above. Maybe the LiteOn does a better job of upscaling than the Philips).
c)1080i HDMI from Canon HD camcorder - simply amazing. Now all our home movies are theater grade
d) 1920 x 1080 PC input from laptop - excellent. Really superb. I am now seriously considering getting the Samsung 32" FHD to replace my 23" HP as the main monitor for my work PC.
e) 1920 x 1080 HDMI input via HDMI from my PC's DVI port..... lets just say that I am completely satisfied with the purchase. No buyer's remorse here.

A few negatives:
- de-interlacing is not good, I could see zaggies. Good thing I only plan to feed it true HD from a dedicated HTPC.
- No tilt in the stand, only swivel. I would have preferred tilt instead of swivel as horizontal viewing angle is quite wide, but vertical viewing angle is good downwards but not upwards.
- Remote is too glossy, will be a fingerprint and grime magnet.
- Sound sucks.... real bad. Not something you expect in a 1 lakh TV

So that is all for now. I have taken my first step towards building my home theater. Next up is building the HTPC, sound proofing the room and, the most agonizing of all, assembling a good sound system Needless to say I will be a frequent visitor here in the coming months.

Thanks for all your help & advice (past & future).

Cheers
Teja

Great Teja, congrats

Iam also looking for it and got the price of 85k here in chandigarh, At 79k its a great buy. Please provide some more information on picture quality. Thanks in advance.

 

[Teja]

I am also looking for it and got the price of 85k here in chandigarh, At 79k its a great buy. Please provide some more information on picture quality. Thanks in advance.

85K is a tad expensive - are you sure that's the absolute final price? Because 83K to 86K were the initial quotes I got on first enquiry. Upon prodding they usually drop it to 80K - 82K. And there are usually some free gifts (junk glassware or headphones or cheapo DVD player etc) and a free TataSky box. I rejected all those and insisted that I just wanted the price for only the LCD itself. I would say hunt around and visit as many dealers as you can. I am sure Chandigarh has better choice than my town. Ask the dealer if he will match my purchase price (no harm in asking), I can scan my receipt and send it you to show as proof.

As for PQ, I already posted my initial observations above. I want to let the set run-in for a couple of weeks at default factory settings before I start tweaking it. I do not expect to watch broadcast TV (satellite or otherwise) on this LCD so didn't pay too much attention to that. But I will tell you that the picture quality of some of the TataSky channels seemed really poor on this TV - on the flip side, some channels were really good too - especially the local Telugu channels. This LCD will be a dedicated screen for my HTPC (currently in planning stage) exclusively for watching movies and other wide-screen content, and in that respect the PQ is excellent. If I had to nitpick, I'd say I would want deeper blacks and less halo-ing (I keep the sharpness at or near 0 to minimise it).

I will post more impressions and maybe, time permitting, a complete review once I have had a chance to spend time with the unit and calibrate it to its optimal performance.

Cheers.

 

[Muthusami S]

Congrats Teja.

 

[psychotropic]

Congrats Teja...tata sky not looking good is tata sky's fault, their channels are all badly compressed......you will notice that the least compressed images are on their own "Help Channel"

Hope you enjoy your really big screen experience

85K is a tad expensive - are you sure that's the absolute final price? Because 83K to 86K were the initial quotes I got on first enquiry. Upon prodding they usually drop it to 80K - 82K. And there are usually some free gifts (junk glassware or headphones or cheapo DVD player etc) and a free TataSky box. I rejected all those and insisted that I just wanted the price for only the LCD itself. I would say hunt around and visit as many dealers as you can. I am sure Chandigarh has better choice than my town. Ask the dealer if he will match my purchase price (no harm in asking), I can scan my receipt and send it you to show as proof.

As for PQ, I already posted my initial observations above. I want to let the set run-in for a couple of weeks at default factory settings before I start tweaking it. I do not expect to watch broadcast TV (satellite or otherwise) on this LCD so didn't pay too much attention to that. But I will tell you that the picture quality of some of the TataSky channels seemed really poor on this TV - on the flip side, some channels were really good too - especially the local Telugu channels. This LCD will be a dedicated screen for my HTPC (currently in planning stage) exclusively for watching movies and other wide-screen content, and in that respect the PQ is excellent. If I had to nitpick, I'd say I would want deeper blacks and less halo-ing (I keep the sharpness at or near 0 to minimise it).

I will post more impressions and maybe, time permitting, a complete review once I have had a chance to spend time with the unit and calibrate it to its optimal performance.

Cheers.

 

[moserw]

Congrats Teja. Have a blast with it.

 

[sgmane]

Hi folks,

This is only to seek an information. Nothing related to tech stuff.
Mod - If its irrelevant do remove this post.

I just got a Samsung LA22A450.

Looking to write a complaint to the customer care head. Its apprx 15 days, no one turned up for installation/demo of the product. Samsung professionals did call couple of times, but never turned up.

Neverthless, i had myself done the installation. But i want to point the dereliction of duty on the part of samsung professionals.
(A "World Class Company" is what they advt, but even does not turn up
for the first step of installation/demo)!!!

Can anyone give me the email address for the customer care head? Calling customer care is only the first step. I want it to take it to the higher level.
Not worth-while to keep calling customer care professionals!!

(NOTE: Earlier i had problems with one of the banking institutions, and i mailed directly to the VP of the bank, and the next 5 minutes i got a call from bombay and issue was resolved in 2 days).

thanks

 

[sgmane]

Hi folks,
Thanks.
The samsung pro came in today.
You can ignore my earlier post.

 

[moserw]

Hi folks,
Thanks.
The samsung pro came in today.
You can ignore my earlier post.

Nothing against Samsung as such, but I would still make sure a complaint was registered and the higher ups notified. I mean who wants to buy a new TV and yet wait for over 2 weeks before its installed and a demo given? I believe you should pursue this matter and lodge a strong protest/complaint so that their services are improved. Just selling products does not absolve Samsung or anyone of their duties/responsibilities.

Just my thoughts...

 

[Teja]

Hi folks,
Thanks.
The samsung pro came in today.
You can ignore my earlier post.

Good for you. Did he have a reason on why it took so long to show up?

I bought the TV on 8th (Saturday) and the Samsung guy showed up on 10th (Monday) morning. I didn't need a demo but wanted a wall installation - Only he had a smaller wall-mount bracket as he misread the 46" as 40" on this task list. So he came back on Tuesday with the correct size bracket.

But by this time we had decided against wall-mounting the TV as the current room turned out to be a bad choice for a HT (poor acoustics, lot of light & ambient noise). We are still debating about where to move it. So I kept the bracket & install kit and told him I will give a ring if and when we decided to put it on a wall. Apparently installation is free if you get it done within 1 month of purchasing the TV, else they charge Rs 500/-.

BTW, the wall-bracket is quite sturdy and well-built. Would cost a pretty penny if bought separately. Made by a company called SwivelTV. But it doesn't swivel at all

Cheers

 

[sgmane]

Teja - Oh!! As usual silly reason. The guy who called me first giving an appointment on particular day did not turn up. After which another buy turned up and his reason "the call sheet" was with the first guy so it took considerable time to get it!! Infact i did show my frustruation when he came in. But this guy was ok!

Oh!! yes.. may be i shall also go for the wall mount. But, i stay in rented house and would not want the walls to be pierced so that later my owner starts fuming!!
Can we get the installation kit/bracket now, and then later we can install ourselves? (Or is the kit only available for certain model number and beyond. As i have only 22"). The kit is free, right?
Oh!! Well even i dont require the demo (as i have already installed and made some caliberation). I was only looking to their duty which they failed!!

Neverthless, i had written a complaint (strong) to customer care. A "World Class Company" is what they advt.. and i dont see any "class" in them!!

 

[doors666]

Congrats Teja,

Enjoy your new TV. I know the pleasure of a new TV as I bought mine last month (PV8).

Good luck for your HT hunt.

 

[Teja]

Can we get the installation kit/bracket now, and then later we can install ourselves? (Or is the kit only available for certain model number and beyond. As i have only 22"). The kit is free, right?

Yes, in my town the dealers are offering free wall-mounting kit with installation on all LCD TVs of all brands - I don't think there is any size limitation, but I can't be sure.

The installation is pretty simple - if you are modestly handy with a drill & screwdriver you can do it yourself. The Samsung guy explained the steps clearly and the wall-bracket also came with a small sheet with illustrations detailing the installation process.

Ask for and take the free bracket even if you are not going to wall-mount it immediately.

Cheers.

 

[Teja]

Congrats Teja,

Enjoy your new TV. I know the pleasure of a new TV as I bought mine last month (PV8).

Good luck for your HT hunt.

Congrats on your TV too. Panasonic Plasmas were my first choice. I almost bought a 50" PV70 till I realized that he was trying to push a year old store demo on me. The price was quite attractive, though.

 

[Akshr]

Can I know exactly which calibration settings you are now using.


I have the same but the 40inch version.

 

[madbullram]

Congrats Teja. Its a beautiful TV for HD

 

[RAC]

Nothing against Samsung as such, but I would still make sure a complaint was registered and the higher ups notified. I mean who wants to buy a new TV and yet wait for over 2 weeks before its installed and a demo given? I believe you should pursue this matter and lodge a strong protest/complaint so that their services are improved. Just selling products does not absolve Samsung or anyone of their duties/responsibilities.

Just my thoughts...

Well, i faced the same issue with Pana bought from Devi, Bangalore. I wanted to have the TV mounted on the wall and both the dealer and the company did not have stock of the bracket for almost 2 weeks. Incessant calls to both the dealer and the company representatives did not help much. According to them, the bracket were being delivered first thing today, this evening, tomorrow morning for the 10 odd days.

We were all ready to file a complaint in the consumer court and then finally got a call that 5 poor miserable souls (me and a few others who had bought panasonic TV but were waiting for brackets) were being relieved of their misery of looking at the box instead of the TV.

BTW, it was a pleasure looking at the box too

 

[madbullram]

Well, i faced the same issue with Pana bought from Devi, Bangalore. I wanted to have the TV mounted on the wall and both the dealer and the company did not have stock of the bracket for almost 2 weeks. Incessant calls to both the dealer and the company representatives did not help much. According to them, the bracket were being delivered first thing today, this evening, tomorrow morning for the 10 odd days.

We were all ready to file a complaint in the consumer court and then finally got a call that 5 poor miserable souls (me and a few others who had bought panasonic TV but were waiting for brackets) were being relieved of their misery of looking at the box instead of the TV.

BTW, it was a pleasure looking at the box too

Why wait ? Cant it be mounted on the stand for the time being?