Samsung forum: Samsung LCD TV's 530 vs. 550 series????

Well, i will answer these questions the best i can off the top of my head. I sell these TVs for a living so i have an idea. Anyhoo, yes the contrast ratio of the 530 series IS 20,000:1 while the 550 series is 30,000:1. That is the CORRECT number. Both sets have the matte finish. Only the 650 and 750 series have the gloss finish at the moment however rumor at my store is that a 630 series is coming out, not sure if its gloss or matte. The 530 has touch sensitive controls on the front while thee 550 series has buttons on the side. Im not sure why this is the case since the 550 series is technically a higher rated series. As far as i know the speakers on both series of TVs are 10 watts x2. As far as your question about the 71 series my answer is this...The 71 series had the gloss finish, 120hz auto-motion, 20,000:1 contrast ratio and i believe an 8ms response time. The 530 and 550 both lack the 120hz auto-motion but have a 5ms response time and 20,000 and 30,000 respectively. The 71 series did produce a lot of artifacts while the 120hz feature was active however. If you want 120hz get a 650 series. If you do not want it i would recommend the 550 series. Or if your patient wait for the rumored 630 series which combines the best of both worlds. If it were me and i wanted a TV right NOW i would get the 550 series. In fact i did and i own the ln40a550 and love it. If it were me and i was patient i would get the 630 series later. I wouldn't buy the 71 series at this point since the 650 and soon 630 series will be out. And i wouldn't buy the 530 series because the price difference isn't huge between 530 and 550. By the way dont pay more that 1249.99 for a Ln40a550 or more than 1399.99 for a LN46a550. Pay those prices or less. I have seen them that low or lower. I hope this helps.

That looks like a good price on the 530, but to be honest i would still get a 550. This is my personal opinion however so take it for what its worth. As far as the 630 goes i only know what my samsung rep told me. I dont remember what he said about ToC on it. I doubt it though. He told me it is basically going to be a 550 series with 120hz. Im sure there will be some other small differences but overall pretty similar to a 550. It will also be $200-$300 more than a 550. As far as your question about response time, yes you will notice a difference, if people couldnt notice blur with 8ms response than they wouldnt have made a tv with 5ms. Response time is the time it takes a pixel to go from pure white to jet black also known as switching from active to inactive. Anyway if you watch a lot of high motion shows (sports) or play a lot of video games or that kind of thing i would get the fastest your money can buy. If you can afford a 550, go with that. I did and i really love my TV. Sure i will want a 630 when/if they come out but, you gotta buy something and just be happy with it.

Then i suggest reading the thread about the rumored 630 series. I dont believe it will have ToC. Im not 100% sure but i dont think so. I will ask my samsung rep next time i see him.

I have seen a picture of the Samsung Ln40A630 on the internet and it has the ToC. I hope this is not an accurate picture of that model.

http://www.abcwarehouse.com/product_catalog/pc_prodsbybrand.asp~assort_id~1295

I prefer the 6-series over the 5 because of the added HDMI port, 120hz, AMP, and higher CR. The ToC is really not noticeable and if you see pictures of people's set ups you'll hardly see it. Also with these TV's a dark viewing environment is pretty important, in the dark the red is 100% gone. You asked about the speakers and the truth is because of how thin the new TV's are becoming audio quality is really taking a hit. The 6-series has pretty good audio for an LCD but if you are opposed to having speakers take a look at the 7-series. With the built in woofer it has more acceptable quality on its own.

Bucket -

Where did you see 550t? I think that's a mislabel of our model. We don't have a T at the end of the model.

Best,

Mr. Samsung

i bought a 40 inch 550 3 days ago i already have a 52 inch 750 ...no matter how i try to tweak the 550 it looks washed out in comparision to the 750 is this normal difference in set...or my 550 not performing well....please let me know im thinking about taking the 550 back maybe for a 750.....is it necessary...thanks

Mr. Samsung,

Just as JJRS14 said, I've been researching LCD TV's for some time now. Even with all the reading I've done I still feel pretty ignorant. I was just about sold on the LN46A530 until I read this forum. My questions are; Is the 'step down' you're talking about the dynamic contrast ratio difference? Does 30,000 make that much of a visual difference from the 20,000? I read somewhere that the human eye can't see above 15,000. Also, while reading the reviews from buyers of the 530, they've said they love the glossy look? However it's a matte screen? They also say the 530 is as good as the 550 and not to waste your money on the 550. The difference is $200 to $300. Since I also want to buy a Wii that 2 to 3 hundred isn't insignificant to be. But if the 550 is noticeably better, I may go with it. Please explain why you feel the 550 is better. Can you tell a difference with the sets side by side? Thanks in advance.

Right now, it's only about $100 on Amazon.

46A530: $1369.99
46A550: $1458.93

Is peace of mind (i.e. "it's gotta be better somehow") worth $100?

I saw a 46A580 in a local store last week, and I see it's being sold at BestBuy as well.
It has the external design of the last year's 71 series plus:
- no 120hz refresh rate
- glossy screen to improve contrast ratio (same as the series 6 and 7)
- 3 hdmi
- NO ToC!

It's selling for $1900 at BestBuy
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8802824&st=a580&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1206141604950

If you compare this one side by side to the 550 or 530, you'll see how much difference the glossy screen makes.

That being said, if you can't control the lighting in your room, the matte finish of the 550 or 530 would be better.