I received my LN40B750 this past Friday and have now had all weekend to kick the tires and be amazed at its capabilities. I had already submitted a review, but not sure where it went.
As I had stated in my now missing review, I am very impressed with this set's image quality and ease of use. Setup was pretty easy and only required me to fasten 4 screws to mount and lock the base to the bottom of the set. Connected the optical out to my receiver (Yamama RX-V750) and ran my DVD player's component cables right into the set. Now, I can finally enjoy progressive scan mode. What a HUGE difference that made! One thing I have to address is a negative comment made by another person who was complaining of stereo output from the optical out jack, instead of 5.1 surround sound. This is 100% contingent on what the broadcaster is pushing out, NOT the TV. Yes Jimmy, the evening news ONLY needs to be in plain vanilla stereo, not 5.1 surround sound. I can confirm that it does push out L/R stereo on the evening news and certain other broadcasts. Some broadcasts caused only my center channel to push out audio while others gave me L/C/R output so don't blame Samsung at all if you're getting stereo or 3-channel output. Watching ZOOM last night made all 5.1 channels on my receiver light up like a Christmas tree. I am so thrilled to watch some of my favorite shows in 5.1 now.
So, one of the main reasons I bought this was because of the 240Hz processing and 2ms response time, and, on my wife's recommendation, the panel design. 240Hz processing it is both neat and surreal. Other reviewers have stated that it give the picture a sort of Soap Opera-like effect but I would have to say no to this assessment. When I think of Soap Opera, I think of very apparent action happening on a stage/set with poor or harsh lighting and shadows: sort of campy. I can see where people liken it to that but it's not quite accurate. When enabled and set to its "Standard" mode, 240Hz processing makes certain fast-moving scenes seem very fluid, almost as if it were a live feed/broadcast not too dissimilar to reality TV. It gives motion a more smooth appearance as it is being displayed on screen. When I turned this Friday's episode of Numb3rs on, there was a bus chase scene that looked like it was coming from a live TV broadcast. Turning off 240Hz processing made it seem like "produced" TV does. I am now convinced and a convert to what 240Hz processing can do for TV. I decided to try it out on a DVD: Princess Mononoke. Wow! Some scenes looked like real-time 3D without 3D glasses. I am impressed. It takes a bit of getting used to but even my wife commented on how 3D some scenes appeared and how almost TOO real it makes the image look. She admits she is now addicted to this set. Also, I happened to turn the channel to see an old episode of 1960s Batman and it looked like a live broadcast! Neat but a bit weird. Overall, I think 240Hz processing is just an augmentation to what is already there.
I also have to discuss blockiness with certain scenes and fast moving action: I have thus far encountered NONE. When I have watched football or some other fast-moving stuff on other people LCD panels, all I saw was blocks and digital artifacting and that always turned me off to LCD. I get none of that with this set so far. I put on a baseball game, Olympic re-run highlights, smooth as silk. Not sure if it's because I am running RG6 cabling throughout my house but I am here to attest that the blockiness I hate on LCDs is not present on this set. A+ for that Samsung.
I was also worried about screen glare and reflection with this set as it DOES come with Ultra Clear Panel. I have a large window that faces opposite the set and when off, I can see a reflection. BUT! When the set it on, it's all business and NO glare. Try as I might, I see no glare or reflection. That is impressive. Kudos to Samsung (and the 150000:1 contrast probably helps too!).
The Touch of Grey is cool, no more illuminated border. I was also happy to play around with the widgets and other little built-in goodies. The built-in Ethernet jacks lets you plug it into a router or whatever to perform firmware updates and download new stuff to the widgets section. My wife LOVES the Art widget that displays Monet images to serene piano music. Some think this is gimmicky stuff, I think it's a GREAT example of convergence. A+ to Samsung for this stuff. I was also pleased to receive the full LN40B750 manual with my set. I wonder if people were upset by Samsung going green and putting the manual on a USB stick and built-in to the TV? I think it's smart as opposed to trying to dig up where the manual went.
My only gripe with the set is not being able to cycle through the inputs (Video 1, Video 2, Component 1, HDMI 1, etc.) by just depressing the button. While the TV's GUI menu system is nice, I hate using a GUI to navigate to the input I want to use. I'm old-school and like to cycle through the inputs. It would be nice if changing input methods (GUI versus multiple button depressions) was an option in the settings somewhere. The remote is pretty standard and sleek and doesn't have the dial that I have heard so many complain about. It may be that Samsung went back a bit and just kept things simple with a standard button layout you'd find on most any TV remote. On a scale of 1-10, this set is a solid 9.5 for me. You would be happy with its many options. 240Hz may not be for everyone but it is cool in my book. If you are considering the LN40B650, you will be happy spending the extra $ on this set for the 2ms response time and 240Hz processing.
Just a couple things I forgot to mention in the original review. Although Samsung's web page says there are no USB ports, mine has two on the right side labeled USB 1 (HDD) and USB 2. It IS an Ultra Clear Panel but Samsung's page says it is not. It was printed right on the box. Although the Samsung firmware upgrade guide says to download and extract firmware to a USB drive and plug it into the back of the TV, there is no USB on the back of the TV, only the right side. Someone asked if the remote is backlit and yes, it is. There's a button on the top of the remote that illuminates the buttons in the dark.
UPDATE: 8/3/2009
After downloading and installing the 1008 firmware update (my model shipped with the 1006 version), I feel the TV is a bit more responsive for channel switching. The widgets and goodies load up a bit faster too. I cannot find any concrete info on what the new firmware contains. Updating to the new firmware does allow you to revert back to the old firmware in the TV setup. That's VERY important in case of a firmware bug. Way to go Samsung! I will update this review if any future firmware updates improve this already great TV.
UPDATE: 9/8/2009
TV is still working great. I have to add that I do not experience the so called "blue-ish blacks" that some others have reported. I have properly calibrated my contrast and brightness levels so I get deep blacks on many of the shows I watch. Also, I have to add that when I did a channel scan, the NTSC tuner was still grabbing things out there. It picked up a couple of music channels broadcasting over NTSC so that was kind of a surprise. I guess the NTSC and ATSC tuners work in tandem.
UPDATE: 9/18/2009
Today I updated the firmware to revision 1011 and a few new features were added. The "HD Conection Guide" is new which shows you the inputs and connections. And there is a menu item called "Contact Samsung" which has web site info and phone numbers along with model code and software version. Sadly, this firmware erases all your settings so make sure and write them down before you update!
UPDATE: 9/22/2009
On 9/18 I updated to 1011 firmware via the Internet. I just went to the Samsung web site and saw that 1012.3 is available. Going to update and see what new stuff got added or fixed.
UPDATE: 9/25/2009
I have to say that when I updated to the 1011 firmware, I felt that the image quality somehow suffered or was reduced because I noticed a lot of jaggies and such when material was 480i, 720p, and sometimes 1080i material, whereas it used to be smooth or fairly sharp in general. After the update to 1012.3 firmware, I feel like the picture has returned to being very sharp all around no matter what the source material. Seems channel switching is also a tad bit faster with the 1012.3 update. It also didn't reset my settings to factory default which is nice. I've written my settings down just in case. Glad Samsung continues to fine tune the performance of this TV. Keep it coming.
UPDATE: 10/14/2009: I successfully played an XVid movie using Media Play and it functions *almost* like a TiVo---not that I own one but have seen them. Very cool! I didn't realize it but there are firmware release notes! Never noticed they were there before but if you visit Samsung's site and find your model TV, click Support & Downloads, click Firmware, and then click the "Upgrade File" link under the description, it tells you what's been fixed.
For 1012.3:
a. This Firmware will support some strange resolution or Codec.
. Resolution : DTV 320 x 240
. Codec : MPEG2 - TS (on Media Play)
b. Samsung launches new widgets for Internet@TV
. Blockbuster on Demand, Rally Cast, Ebay, and many more. To get more information, visit ''News & Alerts'' on [...]
c. Add some menu on Media Play
. ''Repeat'' Menu (on Media Play)
d. This Firmware will correct the following phenomenons some units may experience.
. When viewing 1080i formatted signals through the Component Input, the picture is intermittently jumping up and down.
. Intermittent No Sound on 1080p when connecting with some Unit through HDMI.
. When viewing 720p or 1080i formatted signals through the Component Input, the picture is intermittently flickering.
. When viewing some resolution (720 x 1440i) signals with Set-Top Box, ''Not Supported Message'' may appear on the screen.
UPDATE: 10/16/2009: Updated to firmware 1013 today via Internet. No info about it yet on Samsung's site. Will update if they post release notes.
UPDATE: 12/4/2009: Updated to firmware 1016 today via Internet. No info about it yet on Samsung's site. Will update if they post release notes.
UPDATE: 1/12/2010: It seems all traces of the LN40B750 have been pulled from Samsung's site. I was there last week and today gone. WTF? If you type in the keyword LN40B750 in the site search it down show a link to the Downloads section where you can find manuals and such. Not good Samsung, not good.
UPDATE: 1/21/2010: Updated to firmware 1017 today via Internet. No info about it yet on Samsung's site. Will update if they post release notes.
UPDATE: 2/1/2010: Ok, in my original review I stated that glare was not a problem. In my case, this was in mid July and my red maple was providing shade behind my West-facing window so noon and setting sun were not so bad. Being that it is now midwinter and the tree is bare, I had the experience of the setting sun full on in my TV room and yes, there was glare IF I sat perpendicular to BOTH the TV and the window. However, when I sat a few feet to either side, the TV was more bright enough to overpower ANY glare (and I have my contrast and brightness turned much lower than factory settings). To be fair, if there is REALLY bright light, yes you may experience glare. The 32" Sony that this TV replaced was unwatchable for us during this time of the year or at least until the sun set. Still very impressive.
UPDATE: 2/8/2010: Since the new Blu-Ray 3D standard (via HDMI 1.4) will be here shortly in the form of the Samsung BD-C6900 (HDMI 1.4!), you'll want to know that Blu-Ray 3D REQUIRES a TV with, supposedly, a minimum of 120Hz processing for it to work but I read it was 240Hz. Can't find the article now though. So even though the LN40B750 is HDMI 1.3 compliant and true Blu-Ray 3D requires HDMI 1.4, it WILL work with HDMI 1.3 but at 1080i (from what I can tell (high quality Category 2 cables are also a requirement)). Seems most Blu-Ray 2.0 players, if firmware upgradable, can support Blu-Ray 3D but at the HDMI 1.3 spec level. Can't remember if response time helps though. The Samsung 3D Blu-Ray player is right around the corner and I would not be surprised if Avatar 3D (Director's Cut?) comes out around the same time. Again, 100% glad I spent a few extra dollars on my set to be able to take advantage of this new standard! After all the years of 3D failing on lo-def analog TV, I think today's HD TVs will finally get us over the hump. To be continued...
UPDATE: 3/9/2010: In response to a negative review of this TV with respect to audio sync issues, I for one have never experienced this issue and in all fairness, who knows what the person who wrote that comment had in terms of connections and hardware. The reviewer also references the A750 series, not B750 and this alleged audio sync would have been MUCH more widely reported. I have not heard of any such problem. It's unclear if the person tried to update their firmware either.
UPDATE: 4/12/2010: Haven't seen any firmware updates in a few months. I hope Samsung hasn't stopped supporting this awesome set. You know why? Because last night I discovered yet ANOTHER amazing thing about this TV. I had been waiting for months to see a foreign film by a director I love and it was recently released but not subtitled in English. I found the subtitles online in the form of an SRT file. On a whim, I named the subtitle file and the movie file the same thing (minus the extension of course) and copied them to my USB drive and plugged it in to the TV. Guess what? I got to watch the movie and the subtitles were recognized and worked PERFECTLY. THAT is AMAZING! I wish I could give 6 stars because now I no longer have to waste blank DVDs! Yet another A+ to you Samsung.
UPDATE: 8/3/2010: I was very disappointed to see some idiot give the set a negative review because it didn't have Netflix built into it. Jeez, do research much?
UPDATE: 8/28/2010 #2: Looks like firmware 1018 added MKV support. FINALLY! Another reason why this TV rocks, rocks, rock!
UPDATE: 6/2/2011: TV is still going strong. Mine has not died like others appear to have. What are these people doing to this set to kill it so early?? To the reviewer who cried about a 240Hz picture (Auto Motion Plus) being fluid (like "Copy"), he's obviously been living in a cave with his $40,000 analog monitor and clueless about 21st century technology. Please. Just because something costs $40k doesn't mean it's actually worth it. Too bad he didn't read the manual as he would have known that you can turn off Motion Plus and go back to 60Hz-land. But why? Samsung LN40B750 40-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LCD HDTV with Charcoal Grey Touch of Color - Samsung Lcd - 240hz - 1080p - Samsung'
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