Product Review: Samsung LN40A550 40-Inch 1080p LCD HD TV

Shopping for an affordable, high quality flat screen HD TV can be confusing these days. Samsung remains a dependable brand, and the LN40A550 40-Inch 1080 LCD HDTV performs dependably and admirably for the price range. Whether wall mounted or sat securely on a table top, this spectacular 40 inch LCD HDTV delivers stunning picture quality and compliments the brilliant screen visuals with ear pleasing full bodied sound. The smooth, black, nicely rendered high tech design makes a real, bold visual statement, which is not only good for those worried about the pleasant presentation of their interior decor, but it also makes this 40 inch set appear much larger.

The unit's controls for volume, channel selection and for calling up the television on screen menu are set nicely on the side of the Samsung LN40A550 LCD HDTV, out of general sight, but still easily accessible. Samsung employs full HD or 1080hp which is 1.5 times the scanning lines of convention television. By utilizing this technology, the company claims this makes the TV's screen display 2 times the resolution of regular HD TVs. I don't know about you, but all that tech can make my head spin. The only thing I'm concerned with is how clear and vibrant a TV's picture is when I'm watching my favorite movies and TV programs. The picture on this set is always jaw dropping, and the colors are always perfectly balanced and vibrantly displayed. In fact, the only time when the set's picture quality may look shabby is when a really old movie or TV show is playing. This of course can't be helped, though it does show just how far we've come with film and video technology from the days of black and white, or even early technicolor.

Audio performance on this HDTV set never disappointed me, however it was never as sonically majestic as is found on some models with much more powerful sound. Playing live broadcast shows, movies, video games and DVDs all sounded fine, but the unite never blew me away with the audio experience.

Samsung LN40A550 LCD HDTV performs more than competently in every video viewing area, and excels in picture quality and has good audio performance. This model can be found for about $799.99 or less in retail stores or online. If you're looking for a good performance value in a flat screen LCD HD TV, then the Samsung LN40A550 is definitely one you should consider.