Samsung adds new LCD, plasma HDTVs, plus Blu-ray HTIB

This week, Samsung offered a sneak preview of some of its flat-panel TV offerings that will hit stores shelves starting next month, including models with color accents (Touch of Color) on their frames, super-slim designs, and LED backlights. The company also showed a new home-theater-in-a-box system that incorporates a Blu-ray disc player.

A new high-end LCD line, the 950 series, features 1080p resolution, 120Hz technology (called Auto Motion Plus), and LED backlighting with local dimming. These sets have the ability to dim certain segments of the screen while others remain bright, which improves color, contrast, and black-level performance, and reduces power consumption, Samsung claims. The 46-inch LN46A950 ($3,200) and 55-inch LN55A950 ($4,200) will be available next month, and replace the LED-based 81-series models. The TVs come with a flash drive preloaded with HD-quality artwork, recipes, children's shows and games, and other digital content.

Other new LCD TVs include the 850 and 860 series, the slimmest LCDs yet in the Samsung line, with a depth of just 1.9 inches. They also have narrower frames than previous models, so they take up less room in your media center. These 1080p sets have 120Hz technology and two USB 2.0 inputs. The main difference between the lines will be that 860-series models, which have blue rather than rose accents, will be sold exclusively through A/V specialty dealers, and are priced $100 higher. The 46-inch LN46A850 ($2,700) and 52-inch LN52A850 ($3,400), and comparable 860 sets will be available in September.

All the models in the 850, 860, and 950 series include InfoLink (Internet access that delivers RSS feeds of news, weather and stocks from USA Today) and WiseLink Pro, which provides access to digital music, photos, and videos stored on a flash drive.

The 630 series, shipping now, is the company's entry-level 1080p/120Hz offering. Available, in 40-, 46-, and 52-inch screen sizes, the models (the LN40A630, the LN46A630, and the LN52A63), range in price from $1,700 to $2,700. The 630 models include Wiselink Pro, but not InfoLink.

Samsung expanded its plasma TV lineup with 50-, 58-, and 63-inch 760-series models, which have 1080p resolution and the company's Ultra FilterBright technology, an anti-reflective filter that purports to reduce glare. They have separate "day" and "night" calibration modes for optimum performance for either daytime and nighttime viewing. The TVs, priced from $2,800 to $5,000, also include InfoLink and WiseLink Pro.

Samsung also showed the $800 HT-BD2T, a 5.1-channel surround sound system with five satellite speakers, a passive subwoofer, and a Profile 1.0 Blu-ray player integrated into the console. The system will upconvert standard DVDs and can output 24p video (the native frame-rate of movies) to displays that can accept them, eliminating judder artifacts that arise from having to convert the 24 frame-per-second frame rate of movies to the 30-frame-per-second rate of video.

The new system joins Samsung's two current 7.1-channel Blu-ray HTIBs, the $1,000 HT-BD2S and the $1,500 HT-BD2T, which feature powered subs.

€”James K. Willcox

Comments

[everett whitney]

TO: Tony - 09 Nov - " Fireplace mounting ...?"

You sincerely need to join / pay the money / read the 150 + at least "replies" @ HDTV Forums herein !

That working fireplace Will cancel the HDTV warranty as well as be substantially too high for proper HD Viewing !
Strictly a Decorating Magazine photo op stunt !

LCDs do Not have a great vertical tolerance - particularly in the vertical - to "off-axis" watching ! Besides, after an afternoon's viewing, your neck will ache so badly that you'll wish you never had done so, even IF you're willing to void that warranty!

Display center of all HDTVs - plasma or LCR - is supposed to be same as one's eyes while seated in normal viewing position ... a target of 41" -42" , Not the 72" or more of above a mantle ! Even at the local Sports Bar, they must tilt their sets sharply downward in order to be watched from tall bar stools.

[Juan Jaramillo]

I purchased a Samsung DLP TV two years ago and to this day I have not had a problem with the tv. I am looking to buy a Samsung LCD soon for my room and I am certain that I am going t stick with Samsung tvs for now on.

[D. Edwards]

I am also researching LCD televisions. I have found posts on other sites that report problems with Samsung's tvs. I'm not sure what to believe and I don't want to purchase a problem in addition to a company who has low ratings in consumer relations.

[Tony Higgins]

Has Consumer Reports offered any opinions on the Samsung LN55A950?

I'm ready to fill a place on the wall above my fireplace, and the LED backlight seems like a good idea.