Samsung LN40A750 40-Inch 1080p DLNA LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color
Product Description
Enjoy pre-loaded HD content, including cooking, fitness, children's entertainment, and a photo gallery, on the LN40A750 40" Full High Definition TV with 1080p Resolution. Full 1080p HD resolution and 50,000:1 dynamic-contrast ratio offer stunning image detail and vivid colors. Auto Motion Plus 120Hz and Ultra Clear Panel technology work together to offer the smoothest motion and boldest bright and dark tones. Stay connected to your home network via the DLNA networking feature. The InfoLink feature provides RSS web content from USA Today. The WiseLink USB 2.0 input and user-friendly interface gives you access to pictures and playlists from a specially designed Wheel Remote. Ultra clear panel allows you to enjoy crisp image details, natural skin tones, excellent shadow detail and vibrant colors. SRS TruSurround XT is a patented SRS technology that solves the problem of playing 5.1 multichannel content over two speakers. TruSurround delivers a compelling, virtual surround sound experience through any two-speaker playback system, including internal television speakers and headphones. It is fully compatible with all multichannel formats up to 5.1 channels. High-resolution HD-Grade 1920x1080 pixel resolution has built-in image scaler to handle inputs from a variety of digital and analog audio/video sources. Wide Color Enhancer optimizes a color's hue resulting in more natural colors. Fast 4ms response time minimizes blurring of moving video. Entertainment Mode allows customized picture settings, optimized for different content. SRS TruSurround XT Down firing speakers CATV/VHF/UFH 75-ohm, F-type Antenna Connections - 4 HDMI High Definition Multimedia Interface, 2 Component video inputs (rear), 1 S-video input (side), Side and Rear composite inputs, PC input (rear), Wiselink Pro (USB 2.0), RF antenna inputs, and Headphone Dimensions - 40.9 x 27.0 x 10.7 / 40.9 x 25.1 x 3.4 without stand Weight - 42.8 pounds /
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #5773 in Consumer Electronics
- Color: Black
- Brand: Samsung
- Model: LN-40A750
- Dimensions: 40.90" h x 3.40" w x 25.10" l, 35.90 pounds
- Display size: 40
Features
- Full 1080p HD Resolution with 120Hz Auto Motion Plus
- Full Wrap Touch of Color Bezel, ISP Addressable w/ 1GB internal memory
- 50,000:1 contrast ratio, 4ms response time, Super Clear Panel Technology
- 4 HDMI Iputs, 2 Component Inputs, 1 PC Input, Wide Color Ehnacer, USB 2.0, HDMI-CEC
- RSS-Infolink, Wheel Key Remote, SRS Surround Sound
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Product Description--March 24, 2008
Samsung adds a Touch of Color to a blazing-fast 4ms response time and rich connectivity features to redefine the role HDTVs play in the home with its forward-looking Series 7 LCD HDTVs. Utilizing the award-winning technologies found in all Samsung HDTVs, Series 7 HDTVs deliver unparalleled picture quality and enhanced connectivity and networking capabilities that create a true entertainment hub for any home, and take networking and multimedia management to a whole new level. Easily enjoy MPEG and JPEG files stored on external devices by connecting through a side-mounted USB 2.0, turning their LCD into a full-scale home viewing gallery, or connect MP3 players for a dynamic audio experience.
Key Features
- New -- Internal flash memory (1GB) with pre-loaded interactive content such as cooking recipes, children's entertainment, HD artwork and more
- New -- Integrated woofer for an enhanced audio experience
- New -- DLNA-Compatible: for better interopability with electronics, computers and mobile devices from many different manufacturers (Learn more)
- New -- 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio: up from 25,000:1 on 2007 models (Learn more)
- New -- Blazing 4ms response time: down from 8ms on 2007 models thanks to a new high-speed liquid crystal
- New -- Transparent and Opaque Color (TOC) bezel with infused color creates an ultra-sleek shape and appearance (Learn more)
- New -- InfoLink: Get free RSS feeds of news, weather and sports right to your HDTV with a built-in Ethernet port (Learn more)
- New -- 4 HDMI 1.3 ports: Simplay compliant, and up from 3 on 2007 models (Learn more)
- Full 1080p HD (Learn more)
- Automotion Plus 120 Hz image interpolation technology provides smoother motion (Learn more)
- 178-degree viewing angle from all four axes with Super Patterned Vertical Alignment (Learn more)
- Ultra Clear Panel technology for deeper blacks and more vibrant colors (Learn more)
- Side-mounted USB 2.0 port: connect USB devices directly to your HDTV to view JPEG photos or MPEG movies or easily listen to your MP3 player through your HDTV's audio system or your home theater system.
- Sports and Game modes boost on-screen performance and interaction with the latest gaming systems
- Compatible with Samsung's Home Digital Media Adapter (sold separately) for playback and navigation of Internet and stored PC multimedia
- Hidden, downward-firing speakers with SRS TruSurround XT audio (Learn more)
- Cold Cathode Flourescent Lamp and Wide Color Enhancer technology offer a wider color range (Learn more)
- Picture-in-Picture enables convenient simultaneous viewing of TV programs and video or PC sources
- V-Chip system allows blocking of rated TV and movie programs determined by the parent to contain objectionable content.
- Trilingual on-screen displays in English, Spanish or French.
- Variable sleep timer to turn the TV off in varying time intervals.
- Auto wall mount compatible: 3-dimensional operation via TV’s remote control; no external IR receiver required.
- 1 year parts and 1 year labor warranty (90 days parts and labor for commercial use), with in-home service, backed by Samsung toll-free support.
- Series 8: super-slim 1.9-inch thick profile
Learn More
Touch of Color
 | Inspired by designs from the automotive and fashion industries, Samsung’s unique unique Transparent and Opaque Color molding process creates a clean, smooth finish infused with a hint of a translucent color during the manufacturing process for an ultra-sleek appearance. |
InfoLink
 | Up-to-the-minute access to weather, news, sports and stock information is just a cable and a click away through the HDTV’s Ethernet port and new InfoLink RSS service. An all-new user interface with digital contents management guide provides intuitive navigation and access to both internal and external content. |
Auto Motion Plus 120Hz
 | This technology doubles the frame rate from 60 to 120 frames per second (120Hz LCD panel) without repeating the same image to make more frames. Instead, the TV intelligently calculates the ‘middle’ image between frame A and frame B and inserts it in between (Auto Motion Plus 120Hz processor), making a fluid transition from one frame to the next. |  |
Super Clear Panel
  | Samsung enhances the clarity of select LCD HDTVs by replacing the light-diffusing plastic face of traditional LCD HDTVs with a natural black panel with a clear anti-glare shield. Reduced reflection of external light creates a new dimension in image clarity, highlighting black and darkened areas, enabling vibrant, more compelling colors and a brighter, clearer picture. Black will never again appear grayish. Black details will show in vivid black even in dark scenes. The latest version of Samsung’s breakthrough super clear panel technology makes colors appear more vibrant and blacks even deeper than ever. Enhanced films reduce glare and optimize off-angle viewing. |
50,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio/500 nit Brightness
 | 50,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio will give you a picture better than you ever thought possible, with whiter whites, blacker blacks and a nearly infinite subtlety of gradations in between. As two of the most important determining factors in overall picture quality, contrast and brightness levels achieve new heights in this latest generation LCD panel. Samsung’s new LCD TV’s give the most stunning realistic picture quality ever. |
Full HD 1080P
 | Full HD, or 1080p, contains 1.5 times more scanning lines than conventional HD TVs. More scanning lines mean more pixels, more details and a better picture. The new Samsung LCD TV with resolution that is approximately 2 times greater than conventional HDTVs, creating the most perfect picture imaginable. Samsung’s 1080p panel uses a new high-speed liquid crystal to cut response time to 4ms. The fast response time, coupled with Samsung’s Auto Motion Plus 120Hz motion blur reduction technology dramatically reduces motion blur and judder. |  |
Digital Natural Image Engine
 | DNIe™ The Samsung Digital Natural Image engine. This exclusive Samsung technology dramatically improves the picture by enhancing the contrast, detail, white balance and reduces. |  |
Wide Color Enhancer/Cold Cathode Flourescent Lamp
| The NTSC (National Television Systems Committee) has established the color standards all TVs in America try to meet. And typical LCD TVs only meet about 72% of this standard. Samsung LCD HDTVs use Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp backlights to give you 92% coverage of the NTSC standard, ensuring truer, more breathlessly vivid colors. Samsung’s exclusive Wide Color Enhancer technology delivers more brilliant colors, even in bright areas of the picture where blues and greens are washed out on conventional screens. The system displays wider color reproduction, showing you truer colors – the fresh green of spring foliage, the intense blue of the summer sky. | |||
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Connectivity
 | To make the Series 6 a true entertainment hub for any home, Samsung has incorporated advanced HD connectivity and networking capabilities that expand the HDTV’s functionality. A wide variety of multimedia devices can be connected to the set through any one of the four Simplay compliant HDMI 1.3 inputs (including one on the side), and the handy HDMICEC feature lets you control all your CEC-enabled peripherals using just one remote. Connect HD digital devices like disc players, game consoles, and satellite dish components into the 2 rear connections and use the side-mounted input for cameras, camcorders, and laptops. HDMI is the best performing interface for displaying an HD source on an HDTV. Once connected, users can easily access device menus and manage and display content through the newly redesigned Wheel Key Remote control and the HDTV’s sophisticated content management interface. All Connections
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Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA)
  | You already know something about digital living. There’s the TV and digital video recorder in your family room. (And another set in your bedroom.) You have a PC and digital printer in your office, along with a network attached storage device. And you’ve copied all your music onto your portable music player and haven’t had to open a CD case for years. But getting them to talk to each other can be pretty tough. Why is it still so difficult to send digital content from one device to another? Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is a collaboration of the world’s leading consumer electronics, PC and mobile companies that has created design guidelines for a new generation of products that can work together — no matter the brand. Think for a moment about all of the photos "locked away" on your home PC that you wish you could access while entertaining your friends and family. Now, thanks to DLNA enabled devices, a DLNA-enabled PC can be accessed from the comfort of your living room or family room via a DLNA-enabled HDTV, where you can enjoy your memories with friends and family, without having to deal with the hassle and non-intuitive "PCexperience". Or, say you recently downloaded your daughter’s birthday party video from your digital camcorder to your PC. Now you want to share it with your parents who are visiting. Without DLNA, you probably have to burn a DVD of the video or hook up the camcorder to the TV. With DLNA, you can just use your TV’s remote to call up the video on your TV. That’s it. |
Super Patterned Vertical Alignment
 | Samsung’s Super Patterned Vertical Alignment (SPVA) panel provides a 178-degree viewing angle from all four axes |
Audio Features
TruSurround is a patented SRS technology that solves the problem of playing 5.1 multichannel content over two speakers. TruSurround delivers a compelling, virtual surround sound experience through any two-speaker playback system, including internal television speakers and headphones. It is fully compatible with all multichannel formats up to 5.1 channels. High-quality virtual surround sound can be experienced with just the two hidden, downward-firing side-mounted 2.2-channel dome speakers built into the TV.SRS TruSurround XT technology delivers an amazing, simulated 3D effect with clear dialog and powerful bass.
TruSurround XT audio also adds three audio enhancement technologies to produce an amazingly immersive sound experience.
- Dialog Clarity brings movie dialog into Focus during the playback of any surround-encoded material to make speech much clearer and crisper.
- TruBass creates incredible deep rich bass allowing a person to perceive significantly deeper, richer low bass tones that are far beyond the physical low frequency capabilities of the speaker itself.
- The SRS WOW feature widens the soundstage by processing standard two-channel stereo material as well as multi-channel encoded material for a dramatic improvement in the playback of any stereo audio over a two-speaker system.
Which Size HDTV is Right for My Room?
 | With standard-definition TVs, the rule used to be that viewers would feel comfortable watching a set from a distance of 3 to 6 times the screen size in inches. With HDTV, the resolution is so much better that you can sit closer to a larger TV without noticing the pixels. So with HDTVs, the rule tends to be you can sit anywhere from 1.5 to 3 times the screen size (in inches) for the best experience. If you know the size of the room you have already, where you want to sit, and where your new HDTV should go once you get it, you can figure out the size HDTV you should get.
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Customer Reviews
When you care enough to treat yourself to the very best ...
... buy this model. We got it to replace a three year old, 32-inch Sony that has served us very well in our bedroom, but we wanted a bigger screen. We got the bigger screen in a better looking cabinet, and, a much better picture, much better sound, and a much better tuner.
UPDATE (8/24/08) - If I could give this TV more than 5 stars, I would. When I registered my TV with SAMSUNG online (as opposed to mailing in the warranty card), they automatically extended the warranty from 12 to 18 months. Then, 2 days ago, I got a box in the mail from SAMSUNG with their USB wireless network adapter. For free! I attached it and gave myself a crash course in setting up wireless network security. At first I used automatic network setup on the TV menu. It worked well but intermittently with WPA-PSK encryption, but, flawlessly when I used manual wireless setup. The content this gives you is from USA Today. I found out what "That Darn Wheel" on the remote is really for. When you read a multipage news story, you have to use the wheel to turn the pages. There's no other way.
I ordered a cheap HDMI cable from an Amazon independent vendor (cost $6, including shipping) and hooked the TV up to a Philips 160 GB HDD/DVD recorder with a built-in digital QAM tuner. Got rid of all the other cables to neaten up the cable tangle situation. The recorder does 1080P upscaling if you use the HDMI interface and the TV automatically senses and adjusts its resolution mode to match. Makes even regular channels look almost as good as the HIDEF ones. I don't use the recorder's tuner all the time for normal TV viewing, but when I need it, its there to add a new dimension for enjoying this TV's many features.
I got almost $150 back during the 30 day grace period, and the price has fallen another $159 since, but I got it when when I needed it and don't regret not getting a better price. Every time I turn it on, I am glad I chose this model.
Back to my original review -
PLUSES -
CABINET - The jet black bezel has a subtle tinge of red, and is accented with a clear rim. It's stunning.
SOUND- I chose this model for the internal subwoofer. We don't want multiple speakers in our bedroom, and the Samsung's internal speakers work fine. We loaded a Blueman Group DVD and the internal woofer was pretty powerful. I turned up the bass on the built-in equalizer and had to throttle it back to neutral so the room wouldn't shake. The factory settings are fine.
PICTURE - The picture is sharp, even on analog channels. Digital channels look even better. The wideband flourescent backlight delivers the promised color performance. The factory settings make both analog and digital pictures look fantastic, but I detuned the picture to dim down the light emitted into the room and set the energy saving feature to high which also degrades the picture. Know what? It still looks great.
TUNER - We don't have and don't want to use the cable company's box, but, we can get all the analog content and unscrambled digital, high def channels they offer (NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, and PBS). The Sony's tuner used to break up on Fox and ABC high def channels, but the Samsung's tuner locks in tight on everything. The Sony took a few seconds to lock on digital channels and the Samsung does this much faster.
MINUSES - Not many.
PRELOADED CONTENT - The content the factory loaded on the internal flash drive seems silly. It includes games, artwork, recipes, and entertaiment. The artwork includes high def works by Monet, Van Gogh, and Latrec. I can see that it might be nice to use the TV as a picture frame, but who needs it. The other content is OK to look at once, but after that, never again. You can't add content to the internal memory, but you can use MP3 and JPEG content on an external USB thumb drive.
THAT DARN WHEEL - Overall, the remote is also great, but the wheel is twitchy and there isn't a single thing you can do with it that you can't do easier by just using it as a 4-way switch (up, down, left, right). It's more awkward to twist the wheel with your thumb than it is to push down on the wheel's edge, but if you aren't careful the slightest twist will change the function you are trying to adjust. It's not hard to master the feel, but the wheel is a totally unnecessary feature. Wonder how much it adds to the remote's production cost. The remote lights up when you touch it, which is great while you are learning where all the buttons are, but it does run the batteries down faster, so the instructions say. You can easily enable and disable the light function.
Amazon's price was right and it dropped $45 between the time I ordered and when it was delivered. Getting a refund for the difference took less than 5 minutes on the phone. The TV was delivered 5 days earlier than promised.
Directions on how to adjust the TV on/off melody sound, which is annoying, are on page 61 of the manual. Navigate to menu/setup/external settings/melody. then select "off."
Form and Function, no regrets.
I've had this TV for about a month now, all I can say is I have no regrets about this purchase. Of course after heavy researching, it came down to this TV based on what I was particularly looking for - form and function. I realized the new TVs Samsung has coming out, but I didn't want to wait for them to be released and then wait again for it to become affordable, so this was the best. Having a previous Samsung SlimFit TV did sway me to stick with the brand as that TV was beautiful (but TOO heavy).
The pluses and minus:
- BEAUTIFUL
The red finish that borders around the TV is sleek and subtle (and matches the red accents in my living room, PLUS!). Please note that the red on the 650 version is only on the top and bottom, which looked a little odd for me. The 650 also has that (what I considered super ugly) oval shaped stand compared to the rectangle here.
- USB INPUT and DLNA
I can watch movies I save onto a USB that I plug into the TV. And with DLNA, I can just attach a LAN cable to access most of my media files on my computer *from* the TV! Brilliant! Worth the extra money, by not having to pause it from my computer in another room. (Note on this, you can't rewind and fast-forward computer files after it gets past a certain file size. That means if you are watching a movie and accidentally press stop instead of pause, it's best to watch the rest on a computer. Samsung needs to work on this for future TVs).
- 1GB BUILT-IN "ENTERTAINMENT" CONTENT
This is essentially pointless-especially the games. I wish I could format it and do other things with that space, but it doesn't hurt the purchase. I'll just access it when I want to learn how to make a Salmon Sandwich.
- VIDEO QUALITY
After calibration, HD inputs from a digital antenna and Blu-Ray look stunning. Digital air signals come through flawlessly with the same antenna I've been using for a couple of years. As for the viewing angle, I wouldn't say it's 178 degrees though. As long as you're not sitting on the floor to the side or something, you should be fine. The 50,000:1 Dynamic contrast as you know is not the real contrast ratio. That's like the "digital zoom" feature on a camera, totally a sham. However the contrast is just fine with that feature off. Blacks are deep, whites are light. Beautiful.
- LIGHTWEIGHT
I have the 40" version which I can lift myself! (It also fits my TV stand perfectly. I would've opted for the 46", but that would require buying bigger everythings, and because of living in New York, you have to make most efficient use of space).
- THINNESS
It's thin. Which is good and bad. Thin looks great, but now I can't put my center speaker of my surround sound system on top of the TV because it's just too thin and not a flat surface to sit on top. I've had to put it in front of the TV, which is fine. Again, this is not a flaw of the TV itself, I just have to adapt.
- 120hz AUTO MOTION RUBBISH
2 words, total rubbish, or utterly pointless. Sure the example they give you says it can "intelligently calculate a middle image" between 2 images (using a ball from point A to point B as a simple example), but I don't know how *any* TV could *ever* predict motion between 2 complicated set of frames. It looks stupid, it looks unnatural for movies, and I have no idea why this is even on here or a selling point for this TV. If anything, this made me *not* want to get the TV, but thankfully, you can turn this "feature" off. Hurray! Likewise DNIe and the "video enhancement modes" are rubbish for regular people that don't know how to adjust picture quality. Sorry regular people. I turned all these to "off".
- BACKLIGHT
The other "complaint" is the function of backlight. I like that in the menu you can adjust backlight levels manually, but then, they give you an energy saving option that sort of counter-acts that. It makes you wonder if lowering the backlight and turning off power-saving is the same as turning up the backlight and setting power-saving to maximum. Who knows.
- SOUND
It's fine. The built in woofer is a plus. The speakers are loud, I never have it above 20 (out of 100). Not so sure on the TruSurround XT, still seems gimmicky to me, but it doesn't hurt it. Depending on the content, it does sound better with it on. I usually don't care about TV speakers since I have a surround sound system I use instead.
- THE REMOTE
It looks cool. I'm a bit iffy on the scroll wheel. it doesn't really work well if you swirl it around, it's best you just press in the direction you want. The back-lit buttons are a major plus!
I believe I have addressed most things, and most of the things I had concerns with before I bought it. All in all, I'm not really complaining, I like the TV a lot! I don't want to say I love it because it's a material object. I'm glad that Samsung gives you the option of turning most of their features off, and being able to customize a lot. The thing that would make it super perfect would be to add an RGB LED backlight, but that would cost an extra $1000 of course. Oh, and if you live in New York, buy it somewhere else online where they don't charge you that extra 8% for tax. :-)
Hope this helps.
This is my first high definition set. I chose this TV for the DLNA compatiblity. If you're not looking for networking, the 650 is probably a better choice. The extra subwoofer is of no value to me, anyway. I have the set connected to a high quality A/V receiver with speakers, and the sound quality is much better than with the TV alone with its built-in subwoofer. There is no comparison. If you're not using it through a conventional audio system, it might help some, but don't count on getting high quality audio without larger speakers. The extra $200 or so for this set over the 650 is primarily justified by its networking capability.
Picture quality is incredible. The upconversion engine seems to do an excellent job at converting low definition video. I've watched standard DVDs via component video and SD TiVo programming via the S-Video input, and both look great. I've seen older HDTV sets that have washed out video when showing SD material, and this one definitely does not have that problem.
The tuner sensitivity is very good. The analog tuner pulls in stations better than anything else I've seen. The digital sensitivity ends up being not quite as good as my HTL-HD HDTV converter box, however, which has about the best sensitivity I've seen for a digital tuner. One or two digital stations the HTL-HD receives cannot be received by the TV in a similar setup.
I already have an extensive home media system and wanted to be able to stream media from Linux PCs to the television set. There are many pitfalls in getting this set up, but with a properly operating DLNA server and a compatible video source, it is possible to stream high definition (1920x1080) video. My present setup includes a HDHomeRun networked HDTV tuner, which sends data to a Pentium III 800 MHz PC with Linux, which saves the data to disk, and then serves it using the Fuppes DLNA server program. There are no dropouts, and everything seems to work fine. One big drawback, however - you can't fast forward or rewind networked material.
The TV has no problem with JPEG and MP3 files once set up properly. I had an issue with Fuppes on JPEG files, but the problem was with the program, not the TV. MP3 files must be sampled at 44.1 kHz or perhaps 48 kHz to work properly. I had some files from cassettes that were recorded at a 32 kHz sample rate, and the TV would not play them directly. Fortunately, Fuppes can transcode the files on the fly.
All in all, an excellent value if you need a TV with networking capability. Be prepared to spend a lot of time tinkering with software and settings to get the networking operating correctly.
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