I have been researching and holding out for a new TV upgrade over the past 2 years. Samsung was one of the very few manufacturers that offered the matte non-glare screens, which is necessary in our sunlight-filled living room. But I was always waiting for the right price. So when I was about to get the LN52A630, I heard about the new B series being released in 2009. So I had to wait for it with 120Hz of refresh and an upgrade from a dynamic contrast ratio of 40,000:1 to 80,000:1. Plus the look and shape of the B series seemed so much nicer to me than the A series. So Amazon had offered a free Sony blu-ray player with the purchase of certain Samsung models (including the LN52B630), and that was my cue to finally place my order on 7/4/09.
Delivery:
When I placed our order I originally set the delivery date for 7/15/09. Once I got the CEVA tracking number from Amazon's shipping notification email, I started to track our TV. It turns out one of their warehouses is located in PA and very close to NJ. Our TV was right in our vicinity on 7/7/09. So I gave CEVA a call about delivering early and they were more than happy to deliver the TV on 7/10/09. The delivery went well, and the communication I had with CEVA was great. The guys brought the TV up three flights of stairs, set up the TV on the stand, gently placed the TV on our console, plugged it in and then turned it on...
Product:
Picture - We started to switch channels to see how it looked. The picture is truly amazing. The default settings really do make movies look like a soap opera, which is really weird and fascinating at the same time. It does take some time to find the right settings for your environment and input type. It's great that once the settings are adjusted for a certain input it keeps the settings. There are so many different settings as well, which allow for a lot of flexibility to adjust for a certain device input. For cable we have the TV set on natural and AMP on clear. HD cable is great and standard cable is pretty good on a huge LCD screen. XBOX is on game mode and looks wonderful. My husband was dying to try Call of Duty on it and was totally blown away by the colors and picture on the screen. When it was time to check out the blu-ray, we played Baraka (which I totally recommend to appreciate the 1080p experience). It was unreal! The picture was stunning and the detail was unbelievable. It was like we were there in person.
Sound - Even though we have our B630 hooked to our surround sound receiver, I tested the sound from the TV. It's not bad and the volume is pretty decent, actually pretty loud even at half way.
Other - The B630 is a really attractive TV. Everyone has commented on the touch of red and thinks it's really cool. The available inputs are quite sufficient. Swivel stand is terrific for when I'm in the kitchen cooking or to just swivel around dependent on my whereabouts. The swivel stand is also a plus when getting to the back of the TV to easily work on the cables and inputs. Viewing angles are pretty good. Matte non-glare screen is wonderful too; there is no need to shut the shades during the day any more. Tested out the USB input with an external hard drive on media play and found the response time pretty fast for a television. The media play mode is quite intuitive and easy to use. Photos look amazing as well. I did notice the auto dimming during credits of movies and black screens. This happens when the Energy Saving option is used. We set the option to off and now the dimming is non-existent. InfoLink via ethernet is a nice feature, but limiting. I hope that Samsung makes an update to allow more widgets and online viewing. BTW, the ethernet is great for getting available firmware updates from Samsung. Firmware v1009 was available for download and the update was quick and seamless. Since I didn't have the TV long enough, I don't know what the firmware update improved, but the TV is working just fine.
We love our Samsung LN52B630. I have to shamefully admit that I have fallen asleep in front of TV almost every night for the past 12 days. My husband would normally be jealous, but he also shares the same feelings I have for our new TV. We highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. The TV has surpassed all of our expectations. Amazon has allowed us to have it at a terrific price and offered free great white glove delivery service as well. It's a winning combination and we couldn't be happier.
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