Samsung forum: LCD TV Research - refresh 60Hz vs 120Hz

HDTech, I just saw your response to Suzycat as I posted mine. Thanks for the input.

Hi HD Tech, I am debating between Ln46A650 vs LN46A630. I want to know if 630 has a 10 bit panel or 8 bit panel.
Thanks

Hi HD Tech:
Thanks for all of your information. I have narrowed it down to the 46A630 and the 46A650. Can you please tell me what the differences are between these two models? I have a spec comparison, but I want to know what the differences will mean in the world of watching TV, not in the world of just comparing numbers.

Can you also comment on the newer 950 series that is coming out? Is this the brand new LCD technology? How soon is this line going to be available on the market, if it isn't already? Are the differences substantial in picture quality?

Thanks!
Suzycat1

Hi,
I am about to purchase an LCD TV. Based on the reviews I read Samsung is a pretty good purchase. However, I can not decide between A550 and A650.
Is there a noticable difference between picture quality (120 v. 60)?
Which is better for glare? Should I even worry about it? I am in a room with lots of windows but not a lot of sun.

Thanks for jumping in, Suzycat1.

Two things (to the original poster) you might want to consider is the 120Hz Auto Motion Plus feature, which does deliver a smoother picture in fast action scenes. That will be in the A650 model, but not the comparative A550 models. This feature is noticable most on HD and Blu-Ray.

As well, the A650 series in those sizes also offer InfoLink, which is a live RSS feed that offers stock quotes, news and local weather (excluding Florida and Michigan, from what I've seen reported). Again only available on the 6 Series and up.

So if either of those features are important, it might be worth considering.

Hope that helps a little.

--HDTech

Online Brand Ambassador

- Click here to visit the Samsung forum
- Click here to visit the Samsung store on CNET

When we watched our first football game on our new LN45A630 I was disappointed. It was an SD (standard Definition) cable signal. Then we upgraded to High Def cable (cable box). Our next football viewing was INCREDIBLE. There was absolutely no comparison. You can also turn on the Auto Motion Plus feature which some people like to use in viewing sports. Ours is set to Medium. I think the HD input is the critical element in sports viewing. As Mr Samsung said the primary benefit of 120Hz is Blu-ray and watching film that originates in 24 frames/second.

It's sometimes hard to tell if motion blur is coming from the source or from the TV. CNet actually posted an article about motion resolution on the site awhile back (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10020262-1.html). Here's a quote:

"For one example, we watched a high-definition football game with the best display in the test (the Pioneer PDP-5020FD plasma) placed right next to the worst (the Samsung LN46A550--the only LCD in the test without a 120Hz mode) and we found it hard to detect more blurring in the Samsung LCD, even when paying close attention to potentially blurrier areas, such as the hash marks when the camera follows a kickoff downfield or the churning legs beneath the return man. For two displays with such disparate results according to the test pattern, I think most people would expect to see more of a difference. "Difference" is the key word here; we did perceive a good deal of blurring in many fast moving shots on both displays, but either that blur was inherent in the source (usually a consequence of quick camera movement) or was a consequence of the brain's inability to process fast-moving details. In any case, most of the blur we saw couldn't be faulted on the displays."

So I don't really know if getting a 630 would help (it could be that CNet has a poor HD feed also, I guess...).

I am looking to buy a 40" lcd and I found a used LNT4081F , which is a 2007 model, was Samsungs best for that year. 500,000:1 dynamic contract with LED backlighting. I would like to know how this tv compares to a new LN40a650. The technology of the older TV is 60HZ but with LED motion plus vs 120hz with the auto motion plus of the new TV. I know the older has a gaming mode as well. Good one for HD tech.

I don't watch much hockey - but as a real life example of how the 120hz feature works, I got my HD satellite receiver last week. The first time I tuned into CNBC in HD I saw that the stock ticker that scrolls across the bottom had severe blurring of the letters. I enabled the auto motion feature at just the low level and the letters were immediately razor sharp. Now this is not fast motion, but the effect was very, very noticible.

I experimented with fast-motion scenes using my PVR and with auto motion off - you saw blurring on the screen, but if you did a freeze frame it was sharp. Clear evidence that the LCD was causing the blurr. Enabling auto motion always sharpened up the fast-moving images. In the cases where it was still blurry - if you stop the motion even the freeze-frame was blurry which indicated the camera or video source or compression along the way was causing the blurr, not the TV.

I have a LN52A750 and I never knew such incredibly sharp video was possible. No movie theater I've been to presents as sharp and clear of an image as this TV does. I recommend the 120hz monitors very highly!!!!

Now... given how sharp this is - any chance it would work with 3-D content? Has anyone tried this??? Up to now 3-D is only advertised as working with plasma monitors.

Craig

I had my LN46A650 delivered today and find the same issue. When pressing info 60hz is displayed even when 120hz is selected. I would be very interested on the reasoning as well.