Samsung LN52A550 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

I have owned this television for three weeks. The picture quality is top notch when viewing an HD signal. There are two items that have been minor disappointments. 1. The PIP only works with an analog signal. I didn't realize this before I made the purchase. 2. When watching football the image sometimes has a hard time keeping up with the action and you will see a partially blurred picture. This set is great for watching movies and regular television however.

The Samsung LN52A550 is one of the best 'bang for your buck' TVs you can find today. 1080p with great color and matte screen for low reflections. The only thing better would be the 630 or 650 with 120Hz/AMP but they may not be worth the cost adder for some.

Using a DVR from my cable network, Grande, I am unable to enable or disable the closed caption option using either the remote that comes with the TV or the remote with the cable box. I have to use the controls on the box for this function. Otherwise, the Samsung is great.

Also, I have bought items from other companies because Amazon does not have telephone service for orders. I like to buy on the phone rather than on the net.

I'll admit.. I had reservations about ordering a 52" LCD Television off the internet. My biggest concern was shipping. In the "old days", you go the electronics store then begrudgingly call a friend who has a pickup and ask to borrow it for a few hours. You and the salesman throw the TV in the back, strap it down.. pray it doesn't start raining, bring it home and have someone help to unload it. Whew!

Not the case with Amazon.

I was amazed at how wonderful the entire transaction took place. After deciding on this model, I placed the order. A few days later, I received a pleasant call from a freight company in my nearest metro, Cleveland, OH. The nice woman on the other line confirmed my address and scheduled a date and time for delivery.

That Friday, a friendly driver showed up, unloaded the TV, and brought it right into my place. Being somewhat cautious, I asked if I could inspect the TV. The driver happily opened the box for me and we made sure everything was A-OK. The TV was perfect.. not a scratch.

The TV itself is, of course - excellent. Blacks are deep and colors are bright and vibrant. The gloss black frame looks traditional and is non-intrusive. I would never recommend a silver or "stainless" frame for a TV--black is the only way to go.

I will definitely recommend friends and family get their next TV from Amazon, and make it a Samsung!

I did a lot of studying of HDTV's before settling on this LN52A550. Concerns about possible screen burn in, and higher heat/power consumption pushed me away from plasma. For LCD's, Samsung seems to have the best overall quality for the money right now.

Next - which LCD model? If money was no object, I would have bought the Samsung 52A860 or 950 in a heartbeat. With a desired budget of $2k or less however, the 860/950's were out of the question. That left the 550 vs the 650 or 630. In the end, all of the pro/con arguments about 60hz vs 120hz sets didn't sway me towards the 630/650. For starters, I really don't like the red touch of color on the 650. After viewing and playing with the 52A550 at a local Fry's store, I decided I wasn't willing to spend another $400-500 for the 630 or 650 (I spent the money I "saved" towards speakers instead). It seems that the 5ms panel of the 550 really helps with concerns about motion blur. I really don't notice any concerning/annoying issues with motion blur myself. Lastly, I prefer matte screens over reflective ones.

I am running this TV paired with an Onkyo 705 and PS3. The picture of this 550 is pretty stellar overall. Using the best calibration settings as defined by users on AVSForum, this TV looks STUNNING while playing blu-ray movies on my PS3. Standard definition tv looks pretty good as well. I have found however that while using these same settings when playing recorded HD content from my ATT cable service, the content comes across too dark. I need to work out good calibration settings that work better with my AT&T TV service. I've never had to figure out and use different settings for games, movies, tv content before...but once I work them all out properly, it'll be no big deal.

Delivery from Amazon was stellar. It came in 2 days - a happy surprise. The closest thing to instant gratification (without having to pay sales tax or shipping). White glove service brought in the tv, unpacked it, placed it on my TV stand and powered it up to confirm it had a picure - it was much as I expected and more than what you get from most online retailers. This is my 2nd TV purchase from Amazon, both have been good experiences.

In the end, having paid $1580 for this 550 PLUS getting a FREE Samsung BDP-1500 Bluray player, I feel like I got a solid deal. ($200 off Samsung BDP-1500 deal). Not sure what I'm going to do with the extra Blu-Ray player yet, but it'll come in handy as a second player or as a good XMas present.

Overall I'm pleased with this TV. After about 2 weeks; thus far I can safely report there is no buyers remorse. Sure, come 3-4 months from now the 630 will probably be the same price I paid for the 550 but thats the way things go when it comes to electronics purchases. I'm sure this 550 will provide me with years of enjoyable performance, without breaking the bank. I am giving it 5 stars because the Samsung 550 is still one of the best 52" HDTV's avaliable today for the money. Good product.