So Uncle Sam has hit you back with a big return, or somehow you’ve managed to cheat the spouse out of a few grand – no biggie. All you’re concerned with is how to enjoy your movies and TV as best as possible, right? However, with the amount of HDTVs available and the choices in all the other components you need, you need someone to show you the way. Sony or Samsung? White van speakers or Klipsch? We’re going to help you make sense of all that.

First up, you have to make a few decisions. Where are you planning on setting up this home theater? Your family/living room? Your basement? Your bedroom? Once you’ve chosen which room you want to set up in, you have to assess the room.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• In order of priority, how would you rank the following: TV, movies and video games?
• Can you see where you’d want the display to go?
• Do you want to wall mount your display, or rest it on a TV bench or credenza?
• Do you want to wall mount your speakers? If so, do you want them to be flush with your walls?
• Are you able to move furniture around to suit the home theater setup, or must your home theater setup suit the current furniture arrangement?
• How much light comes into the room during the day?
• Do you want to dim or turn the lights off when watching movies?
• Do you like to turn the volume and bass up when watching something?
• Which of the following are you planning on connecting: over-the-air HD, cable, satellite, an HTPC, media player, DVD player, Blu-Ray player, XBOX 360, PS3, Wii
• Are you planning on using a PS3 as a Blu-Ray player?

Some of the functionality you need can be found in HTIB (home theater in a box) systems, but I strongly advise not going this route. I say this because HTIBs will severely limit you at one point or another for a number of reasons. Firstly, as the receiver is often built into the DVD/BD player, it isn’t very powerful or dynamic and usually only has a maximum of two inputs. Your speakers will also be of very poor quality compared to what you can get individually. They make look small, but despite claims of companies that can gain better sound through some sort of research, it is impossible for small speakers to fully reproduce the audio spectrum. All these drawbacks, combined with the fact that you can put together a system for the same or only a little bit more money lead me to recommend purchasing components separately.

The display is the centerpiece of your home theater system, and choosing it will probably be the most difficult part of setting up your home theater. Fear not, as the questions that were asked of you earlier will make this choice a lot easier.

If you answered that you prefer movies first, you’ll need to look at a display that has good black levels and good contrast. This means that the ideal displays will be one of the better plasmas, like a Pioneer Kuro (these will only be available till the end of 2009) or a Panasonic, as well as glossy-screened LCDs such as the Samsung A650/750/850 series TVs. If you have a bigger budget, there are also LED-backlit LCD TVs such as the Samsung A950 or Sony XBR8 series. If you’re looking at an LCD, you should look for one that has 120 Hz processing, as it can smooth out judder in movies. And if you’re a movie buff, make sure the TV has 24p input – this will allow Blu-Ray movies to be displayed in their natural 24 frame-per-second rate.

If you like watching TV first, good contrast and black level are still things you should look for. Plasmas generally have better picture quality and better image processing of standard definition material, but some are prone to image retention if you’re watching a 4:3 image (the black bars on the left and right side may temporarily be slightly visible after you’re done watching). The Pioneer plasmas are hands-down the best displays available (and don’t have image retention to boot), but they are pricey, hard to find and going out of production at the end of 2009. You can choose gray bars on some TVs, or stretch the image to fill the TV, but if you’re not open to those ideas, an LCD might suit you better. Also, if you think you have children who might accidentally leave the TV on a standard definition channel, or you watch a lot of news with static logos or tickers, you should probably be looking for an LCD.

The other major factor in deciding on a display is ambient light. Is there a lot of light coming in during the day? Are you able to control it to some extent (good blinds or window coverings)? If so, you can go ahead and spring for a nice plasma or glossy-screened LCD TV, as they will reward you with better picture quality, but will reflect and wash out in sunlight. If you can’t, or don’t want to control the light coming in, you should be looking at a matte screen LCD, such as the Sony XBR6 series, Samsung A630 series or even the Toshiba REGZA series if you’re on a budget.

You might be wondering if you should get a 1080p TV. Well, 1080p resolution is only beneficial if:

• You are sitting close enough to notice the extra detail (ex. Less than 6 feet from a 50” TV)
• The content you’re watching is 1080p (Blu-Ray is the only source of this at the moment)

In addition to that, there are a number of factors that are more important than resolution, and those are contrast, black level, color saturation and color accuracy. These days, the price difference between 720p and 1080p TVs is closing, and the majority of TVs on the market are 1080p, so these points may become moot soon. For more information on 720p and 1080p check out our 720p VS 1080p guide.

If you’re planning on setting up a full home theater, give no attention to the built-in speakers or networking features, because all that will be outsourced to your other A/V equipment.

Lastly, reading reviews on the models you’re interested in will provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision. Satellite TV Guru has extensive reviews on many modern TVs, and makes for an excellent starting point.

One of the most important components in your A/V arsenal is the receiver. The receiver will take all the inputs from all of your devices, including the cable box, satellite box, video game consoles, HTPC, video camera, iPod and whatever else you can find. All of your speakers will plug in to the receiver, as it will provide sound to them, and it will also connect to your TV with a single HDMI cable (this is only with modern HDMI-switching receivers).

There are many good choices today, but one of the key factors here is HDMI switching. There are many cheaper receivers that can switch HDMI sources and simply pass them on, but these aren’t great because most of them can’t decode the audio over HDMI. You’ll want something that can decode audio over HDMI, including the new lossless audio codecs, DTS Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD. If you’re using a PS3 to play your Blu-Ray discs, you don’t have to have this codec compatibility as the PS3 decodes it internally and passes it on as linear PCM audio, but I would still advise getting a receiver that can decode those codecs, because you might change your player at some point.

A couple of good choices would be the Onkyo TX-SR606 and the Sony STRDG820.

If you want to flush wall mount your speakers, you’ll need to have someone wire your home if it isn’t pre-wired. Flush speakers can look great, but usually don’t sound as good as standalones.

As I mentioned earlier, the speakers in HTIB systems are always pathetic. They may sound okay to you in the store, or even a custom-designed booth with pre-selected optimized sound that hides the imperfections of the speakers (this is how it might seem that better sound comes from research, a concept that evades all but that one company) but sooner or later, you’ll realize that they’re holding your experience back. You’ll find that you’re missing midrange sound, can’t hear high definition audio, or that you can’t connect a couple of consoles because there aren’t enough inputs. You might miss good DVD upscaling, AM/FM radio or iPod integration. Eventually, you’ll regret that purchase!

You’ll need to decide if you want 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 for your speaker setup. 5.1 is common for DVD and is still the most common standard for audio on Blu-Ray, though some discs come with a 7.1 track. 7.1 can be more immersive, but the difference from 5.1 to 7.1 is not nearly as drastic as the difference from a standard setup to 5.1. This is pretty much entirely up to you, because it’s not necessary for a good experience – good speakers, a good receiver and a good source (Blu-Ray for example) will make more of an impact than a greater number of speakers.

Look for a pair of good towers (floorstanding speakers) for your fronts. The bulk of stereo audio will come from these, and you want to find speakers that reproduce the full range of sound, from deep, low bass to crisp, bright highs, and everything in the middle. The midrange is actually very important, as this is where cheaper and smaller speakers compromise the most. A pair of towers can range widely in price, so if your budget is small, you can start with something cheap, like Polk Audio Monitor 50 speakers for about $140, Polk Audio TSi300 speakers for $200 or Cerwin Vega VE-8 speakers for about $150.

Your center channel is one of the most important speakers, if not the most important speaker in your setup. 80% + of the dialogue in movies and current TV shows will come through this speaker, so you want it to reproduce voices naturally, and also be tone-matched to the front speakers. Imagine a shot of a NASCAR car racing from left to right on the screen. The bellow of that V8 should sound the same as the sound pans from the left speaker to the center channel and over to the right. Many if not most towers (floorstanding speakers) have a matching center channel, so try to spring for that.

Discrete rear channels really made surround sound fun with the advent of Dolby Digital and DTS, but these are still the least-used channels in the whole setup. Many of the brands that make the tower speakers, also make matching surround speakers, and this is a good way to go when matching speakers, but if you’re starting out and on a budget, bookshelf speakers are a great way to get started, easy up on the lucci spending, and not miss out on much. You could try the Polk Audio R150 bookshelf speakers for about $85 bucks, MTX MP42B bookshelf speakers for about $80 or Cerwin Vega Cls-6 bookshelf speakers for about $200.

If you really want a 7.1 setup, just get another pair of the same bookshelf speakers and you’ll really be surrounded with sound! My recommendations here are for budget users, but if you want to look at spending a bit more, have a look at the higher-end Klipsch, Polk Audio, as well as PSB and Paradigm speakers.

We now come to the subwoofer, the final piece of the speaker puzzle. The price of this particular component really depends on how much you like your bass. It can be a great experience, rumbling your sofa and shaking the pictures off your walls in action-packed scenes, but be aware that bass travels to other parts of your house very well. It’s the first (and sometimes) the only thing that others around you can hear, but everything in moderation, right? Again, most of my recommendations here in the speaker category are for those on a budget, and if you are, have a look at the Polk Audio PSW10 10” subwoofer for about $120 or the Yamaha YSTSW012 8” subwoofer for about $60 if you’re really strapped for cash (but somehow can justify a new home theater setup – I kid!).

Klipsch, PSB, Velodyne and Paradigm are some great brands to look at when you’re moving up a little, or if you have a little extra to spare.

If you have or are planning on getting a PS3, you can use it as an excellent Blu-Ray and DVD player. Why is it excellent? It has some of the fastest load times for Blu-Ray players, and has never skipped a beat in my testing. Constant firmware updates means that it will always be compatible with the latest Blu-Ray features too. The only thing I’d change about it is that I’d prefer if it would output the lossless audio codecs so that the receiver can decode them, rather than the PS3 itself. However, it does a good job in this area too, so there’s little to complain about. It also makes for an excellent DVD player because of its upscaling abilities. It utilizes its powerful processor to make DVDs as good as they’ll look on large, high-definition screens. Finally, having one device be a console, DVD and Blu-Ray player makes for less connections and less fuss!

If you don’t have and don’t want to use a PS3, just make sure you get a Blu-Ray player that is capable of BD-Live 2.0, or at least capable of being updated. I’d recommend the Sony BDP-S550 or Samsung BD-P2500, but the PS3 first.

HTPCs have been a great addon for home theaters, but what are some typical uses?

• DVD playback with upscaling
• Blu-Ray disc playback (if equipped)
• PVR & Timeshifting capabilities (for cable from a coaxial cable, not satellite and not digital cable)
• Music, Pictures & Video Jukebox
• DVD Jukebox

HTPCs are great if you want to surf the web, check your e-mail and maybe play games on emulators as well, but if your main functionality is described above in bullet points, a better option these days is the Western Digital TV HD Media Player. You can connect hard drives or flash drives to it, and it’ll play any type of video, audio or picture file that you can find. It’s a great way to make a DVD, Blu-Ray, CD and photos jukebox for just about $100, and there’s no software setup or tweaking, and no Windows problems to deal with!

The 5.1 speaker setup looks like this:

The 7.1 speaker setup looks like this:

When you have all the pieces of the puzzle in front of you, putting them together can seem daunting. It really isn’t all that bad. All of your devices plug into the A/V receiver, and the receiver processes those signals and sends the video portion to your display, and the audio portion to your speakers.

The receiver has a plethora of inputs at the back, but don’t fret, they’re all clearly labeled and if you do have trouble, most manufacturers provide free support for setup.

Once everything has been plugged in, most receivers will want you to identify and label inputs, which is also not too bad. Better receivers include a microphone and setup utility (Audyssey in some cases) that will find the correct volumes and EQ settings for the room you’re in. These days, setting up your receiver is as easy as pie!

What we’ve done in this little guide is show how to get started in home theater the right way. By selecting your components individually, you’ll avoid the initial mistake of buying an HTIB system and an inferior display that doesn’t meet your needs.

The satisfaction of knowing that you were the one to compare, choose and finally set up all your components will probably drive your interest in home theater further – to bigger and better sets, professional-grade speakers, A/V distribution throughout your home, projection setups in dedicated soundproof rooms and more!

Pros: Absolute best HDTV available, superb contrast, superb blacks, super color accuracy, no noticeable IR, easy calibration, excellent build quality, excellent antireflective screen, excellent image processing.

Cons: Very expensive.

Since price is no bar for you, you like shiny gold Elite badges replacing poor-man Pioneer badges, and therefore, this Kuro is for you. Easier to calibrate to perfection and offering an even better processing engine than the standard Kuro, the Elite line goes further with an extended warranty and in-home service. Unlike other high-end products where there are choices and debates (do you want to go with Lamborghini or Ferrari?), if you want the best HDTV, look nowhere else – this is the absolute best TV money can buy.

Buy from Amazon

2. Pioneer Kuro PDP-6020FD

Pros: Superb contrast, black, and color accuracy (after calibration), no noticeable IR, excellent antireflective screen, very good build quality, great processing, good price these days.

Cons: Not easy to calibrate primary colors (must use ControlCal), barely adjustable out of box.

Pretty much the same as the Elite after being professionally calibrated, this set can offer you the best image quality being sold to mankind at the moment. It won’t even be outdone soon as OLED TVs probably won’t hit this size for a while.

Read Review | Buy from Amazon

3. Panasonic TH-58PZ800U

Pros: Great image quality, accurate and natural colors, no fiddling or calibration required.

Cons: Plays second fiddle to its Japanese competition, 72 Hz mode is intolerable.

For the person who just wants to pay a hefty sum and have everything ready-to-go, the biggest 800U plasma will do just fine. Its THX mode offers superb color accuracy without having to pay someone to calibrate, and its 58” size will make 1080p look great and look “pimp” on your wall to boot!

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Purchasing an HDTV can be one of the biggest steps towards a great home theater setup, but to truly enjoy your setup, a calibration is in order!

Well, in broadcast, there are certain references and standards that studios strive to meet. Specifically, there is an exact color temperature that everyone uses as a reference, the 6500k standard. If your TV is set to the exact same color standard as the studio, every color will appear on your TV the way it was recorded and intended to appear, making for a more natural and enjoyable experience.

You might be thinking why they aren’t just ready to go at the factory, then. All HDTVs, even of the same model, even one after another on the production line aren’t created equal. Each of them have slight differences due to the manufacturing process, and it is far too expensive and time-consuming for the manufacturer to calibrate the sets as they leave the factory. Not everyone would want to pay a premium for a service they may not notice, and in some cases, may not even like.

Also, plasma TVs have a break-in cycle, not unlike a brand new car, and perform a little differently in their first one-hundred hours of use. Variations in altitude can also affect plasma TVs.

There are essentially three options that exist for consumers. One is to tweak available settings to get as close to optimal as possible. This is done yourself, without any serious equipment, and costs nothing but your time. However, it will only get you 80-90% of the way.

The next option is to hire a professional calibrator. The Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) certifies individuals for this process, and they will use expensive equipment, the service menu and other tricks to get your TV as close as possible to the 6500k standard. Using light-measuring equipment and complex software, they are able to do this, however, they charge $250 and up, typically around $400-500 for a higher-end TV.

The last option, if you are savvy enough, is to purchase your own equipment and calibrate your own TV. Of course, equipment prices vary widely in price, so this is an option that most people will probably not go with, as it comes with a steep learning curve.

The Internet’s best resource on anything audio-visual is, without a doubt, the AVS Forums. Experts from all over gather and discuss options, problems and more. Specific forums exist for calibration, and that’s the best place to start. If you want to start by tweaking your TV yourself, ideal settings threads can be found, and are an excellent starting point. Remember, each TV is different, so those “ideal settings” are only a starting point, but you can work your way up from there!

The LN46A650 is Samsung’s 2008 entry in the mid-priced 46” 120 Hz-class segment. It stands out from the HDTV crowd by being… red. That might sound a little extreme, but it’s not a Ferrari red, and isn’t particularly noticeable unless in the path of direct light. Even if you consider that to be a detriment, this TV really makes a case for itself with picture quality that ranks among the best LCDs today. Add that to very decent connectivity, features, options and a competitive price, and the A650 series may be one of the best values in HDTVs today.

Samsung has given this TV what it calls a “Touch of Color” which in this case is a deep crimson. While that may sound appalling to some, it’s not really that noticeable unless you have direct light on it. It looks like Samsung intends to vary this up a little year-to-year, as a purple Touch of Color successor to this year’s A650 has been shown at electronics shows around the world. However, at least at this time, the color of the bezel can’t be changed.

Samsung makes some of the more attractive TVs today, and this 46” A650 is no exception. The glossy-screened TV is framed by an attractive acrylic bezel and rests atop an oval, glossy base that swivels a useful amount in both directions. The swivel feature is particularly useful for LCDs, which don’t have the same viewing angles as plasmas. In the case of this specific TV, viewing angles affect both contrast and black level. We’ll discuss that a little more in the performance category.

A pretty standard arrangement of inputs is found at the back, which include three HDMI and two component video inputs. It is supplemented by side inputs that consist of a single HDMI port, USB, S-video and composite. These are the only composite inputs found on this TV, so if you have lots of legacy devices, you’ll have to use an A/V receiver.

Samsung includes a remote that looks like most of its other ones with this 46” A650. Long, and with big buttons, it doesn’t really do anything wrong, with the exception of the wheel-button in the center, which replaces the directional buttons found on other Samsung remotes. Perhaps done in an attempt to differentiate the A650 series from its lesser brethren, the wheel rotates and can be used as a directional-pad, although that is not immediately obvious from first touch. It surrounds a circular enter button, which shows that it is clearly inspired by the original iPods. This type of wheel-and-button setup worked well in those devices when scrolling long lists, but only adds frustration when navigating a TV menu. Other than that, the only other problem is that the remote’s backlight sensor is too sensitive. It’s supposed to light up when you pick it up, but any (and I mean the slightest) vibration will activate the backlight, even when the remote is stationary on a table. This will actually run down the battery far too fast, with my first set of batteries giving the ghost up in an unbelievable (for remotes) two days. You can turn the backlight off to remedy the battery problem, but then you have no backlighting.

GUI

Samsung’s 2008 line of HDTVs are blessed with an excellent GUI. It’s clear, graphically appealing and easy to use. The more advanced settings such as gamma are hidden behind submenus so that they don’t confuse novices, but are still within reach for experts. The TV includes such options as white-level, and even has a blue-only mode that makes it easy to calibrate the tints on the TV. How much you can customize and calibrate this TV is one of the biggest draws in my opinion.

Speakers

The built-in speakers are, of course, nothing compared to a proper home theater setup, but as far as TV speakers go, they’re not bad. They are capable of reproducing a far wider spectrum of sound than another TV I recently tested, the Samsung LN32A550. One of the primary differences between this 46” A650 and uplevel A750 and A850-series TVs is better built-in sound. The panel itself is not really any different between the A650 and its stablemates, so if you’re going to use a home theater system (and you really should), save some money and get the A650.

Connectivity

The A650 has a built-in Ethernet port if you want to be able to check the weather and news through the Internet right on the TV, but I think that this feature is more gimmick than anything else. Not many people today will want an Ethernet cable snaking its way to a router somewhere, and most don’t have Ethernet in the walls. This is the wireless age, and if Samsung insists on Internet connectivity, a simple 802.11g WiFi connection would be a better choice.

I think that the A650’s inputs will have all your high-definition needs covered, but may let you down if you have a lot of legacy standard-definition equipment, such as a VCR or older satellite box. One interesting thing to note is that if you plan on connecting a computer via HDMI, you should use HDMI 2 as the input. It eliminates some of the processing and acts as a monitor when connected to a computer. Macbooks recognize when they are connected to a TV via HDMI, and will sometimes set their resolution to 1080i rather than the 1080p that the TV can in fact natively handle. When connected to HDMI 2, they see the TV as a monitor and feed it the full 1920×1080 resolution.

Samsung includes a VGA port and analog audio inputs from a PC if that’s how you want to connect, but it’s not the best method. The analog audio input should work when you are using a DVI-to-HDMI cable, but it’s hit-and-miss and really depends on your video card. Remember, when connecting 1080p sources to Samsung TVs, set your picture mode to “Just Scan” in order to eliminate overscan and force 1:1 pixel mapping.

Processing

One of this TV’s main features is the panel’s 120 Hz refresh rate. Believed by some to be a gimmick, it is most assuredly not. When watching Blu-Ray movies that are encoded at 24 Hz (because film is shot at 24 frames per second), most TVs have to interpolate frames to display them at their 60 Hz rate. However, since 60 is not a multiple of 24, some frames are duplicated, and others are missed, resulting in judder. This can be seen clearly in shots that pan, and once you see it, it will probably bother you. Since this panel is 120 Hz, a 5x multiple of 24 Hz, it can display film content properly without the judder. 120 Hz processing also helps to reduce blur in LCD TVs, but only as far as processing is concerned (i.e. it cannot make up for physical slowness of the pixels to change). On most 120 Hz TVs, a smooth mode is included, and many people think that the smooth mode is the sole purpose of the 120 Hz. This is not the case, and it is, in fact, an optional by-product of it. In this Samsung, it’s called AMP, and what it does is interpolate the 24 Hz of film to 120 Hz, giving it a video-smooth look. Some people like this look, and some people are nauseated by it, but there are three different levels of it, and you can turn it off altogether. Don’t worry, the TV will still operate at 120 Hz!

The TV also deinterlaces and upconverts to its native resolution of 1920×1080, and we’ll discuss this in the performance category.

Black Level

The A650 is capable of displaying the best black level of any LCD TV available, at 0.009 foot-lamberts, aside from the local-dimming LED sets. Local-dimming LED-backlit sets actually turn off the LEDs in a black area such as the black bars above and below the image in a widescreen (2.35:1) movie. There is more to black level than just being convenient; it is a factor that contributes to better shadow detail and a wider visible range of shades and colors. Think about a TV you’ve seen where the blacks are more gray than black; it’s like watching a movie with a screen filter over it. Having a TV with a better black level is like removing the screen, and being able to see a fuller range, and is why Pioneer Kuros carry such a hefty premium over other TVs. LED-backlit TVs do local dimming, yes, but aren’t really any better with blacks than this A650 in the portion where the image can be seen.

Color Accuracy

The LN46A650 has very accurate colors right of the box when using Movie Mode and the Warm2 setting. After calibrating, colors are pretty much spot on. To our eyes, the accurate colors were very appreciated when watching one of our favorite Blu-Ray disc sets, Lost Season 3. The bright, vivid greens of the Hawaiian jungles are almost too bright and neon-y in many TVs, especially plasmas, but on the A650 they were natural and really contributed to the feeling of being there. With the assortment of setup options the menu offers, you can achieve a result very close to the NTSC standard of color.

Video Processing

The 120 Hz processing of the unit really does eliminate judder when watching film material, so it’s a worthwhile upgrade over lesser models. It’s also better for gamers as it reduces ghosting slightly, but I’d recommend using the game mode because all the processing introduces a bit of lag, which can be problematic for some fast games. AMP (the smoothing effect) is really a personal choice. Many professional reviewers do not like it because it’s different from what they’ve grown up with, but I think that there are quite a lot of people out there who would like it. Initially, I disliked it, but after watching a few movies, I did start to warm up to it, though I can see how it can detract from the experience for some. AMP at its highest setting introduces a little bit of artification, but not to the point where most people would notice.

The LN46A650’s video processing is very impressive. When playing standard-definition episodes of Seinfeld, the TV correctly deinterlaced the picture and showed a very smooth, clean image. Performance in this area was far superior to cheaper Samsung TVs, and if you watch a lot of standard-definition TV, this ability may be a worthwhile investment for you. Only the best, most expensive TVs (many times the cost of this unit) were better at video processing, and then, only slightly. The law of diminishing returns is present in full force!

Uniformity

This is the Achilles Heel of this, and all LCD TVs. While the A650 is more uniform than many other competing LCDs, the non-uniformity of the backlight can be seen in dark scenes pretty clearly. Some areas are slightly lighter than others, and this is an effect that people refer to as clouding and mura as well. Many people do not expect this when buying a TV, so it’s best to take some movies with dark scenes (The Dark Knight, anyone?) and test them out to see if you find the set to be acceptable. This is actually one reason I will sometimes recommend plasmas over LCDs, because even in cases where the plasma has a poorer black level, the fact that it is grayish (but uniform) is less distracting than the non-uniformity.

Another issue with this TV is that in order to enjoy its super deep blacks, you must be in a dark environment, and secondly, be front and center. If you are too close, or even slightly at an angle, the deep black filter on the TV doesn’t work the same way and the black level changes drastically. When viewing 1080p content, I pulled up very close, to within five feet of the TV, and while detail was superb, being that close affected the way the blacks looked, and I had to push back a little in order to enjoy better contrast and blacks.

Bright Lighting

LCDs are usually far superior to plasmas in bright environments, and this TV is decent enough in such a scenario. It’s not the brightest I’ve seen, but the reason behind that is better blacks. Having a glossy panel detracts from the experience with this TV in a bright environment too. The same gloss that helps blacks and contrast in darker environments introduces a lot of glare, even more than with glass-paneled plasmas, so you’ll need to be careful when positioning it.

PC Connection

Like other LCDs, the LN46A650 is very happy connecting to a computer. The ideal connection would be HDMI, as it presents a perfect, lossless digital image rather than VGA which is analog. Regardless, the PC connection looked good over both connections, and due to the fact that this is an LCD with no image retention or burn-in, would complement an HTPC very well. Just be sure to calibrate your computer well, because by default the video playback can be very skewed!

The Good: Superb black levels and contrast for an LCD, highly accurate colors out of the box, very good connectivity and features, very customizable and easy to calibrate.

The Bad: Too-glossy glossy screen, black levels and contrast change with viewing angle and distance, no analog audio for DVI-to-HDMI connections, should have had WiFi instead of Ethernet.

Overall: The A650 series represents the best value amongst all TVs I’ve tested, and its positive features easily overcome its shortcomings.

Buy the Samsung LN46A650 at Amazon.com