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30-Nov-2008

Posted by: admin

Comments: (18)

Samsung LN46A500 vs LN46A550 HDTV

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We’ve spoken about the LN46A500 before.  The limited edition 46″ LCD HDTV was made available through certain electronic outlets during Black Friday.  The brother to the 46A500 is the LN46A550.

For those out there curious about the difference between the two models, you’ll be interested to know that there are three big differences.

The first differences is that the contrast ratio for the 46A500 is 20,000:1 while the contrast ratio for the 46A550 is 30,000:1.  This means that the images should be sharper on the A550, however with the numbers this high it’s hard to determine if the difference in contrast ratio translates into something detectible by the human eye.

The second difference is the stereo sound.  The A500 has SRS TruSurround while the A550 has SRS TruSurround XT.

Lastly is the amount of connections.  Surprisingly the A500 has 2 HDMI connections while the A550 only has one.  This is a big miss on the part of Samsung since more HDMI ports mean you can attach newer devices without having to buy a switch.


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  • Wayne

    Point 3, not true. I’m looking at my LN46A550 right now. 2 HDMI ports on the back and a third on the left side.

  • admin

    Hey Wayne,

    This information comes directly from Samsung’s product detail page. If you have or can take a picture of the HDMI ports so we can give everyone an update it would be highly appreciated. Feel free to post a link to the image in the comments and we’ll take it from there.

    Thanks!

  • Mitchell

    Aren’t there other differences? I thought the 500 was 60Hz and the 550 was 120Hz (according to Consumer Reports Dec ’08 issue)? The 550 has picture-in-picture, game mode, Wiselink Pro (MPEG support) and the tuners are ATSC / Clear QAM in the 550 and NTSC / ATSC in the 500. Please let me know if I’m wrong before I spend the money in the next couple of days.

  • admin

    Hey Mitchell,

    Just spend the last hour looking at the manuals. Both televisions say they are only 60Hz. They both have picture in picture. The 550 does have Wiselink. It doesn’t say anything about there being a difference in the tuners.

    In fact, they both say the same thing:
    “With a built-in HD digital tuner, non-subscription HD broadcasts can be viewed with no Cable Box/Satellite receiver
    (Set-Top Box) needed”

  • H Lee

    The 550 is 120Hz, not 60Hz. Even the 550′s packaging says “120Hz.”

  • admin

    The 650 appears to be the 120Hz version, not the 550.

  • Tami Blevins

    I just looked at Samsung’s website. The 550 is 60Hz, not 120. My dad bought the 500 for me but we haven’t unboxed it yet because I don’t know if the 550 is substantially better. My sons watch a lot of sports. Opinions anyone? I appreciate your input.

  • admin

    Hey Tami,

    You should be just fine with the 500. The differences between the 500 and 550 are minimal especially considering the additional cost to get a 550.

    Samsung released the 500 as a limited edition to get people around the same picture quality for a lower price.

    Open it up and enjoy.

    Feel free to ask around on HighDefForum.com or Ecoustics.com if you want additional imput.

  • melissa

    We just bought the 500 and we are tempted to return it actually! The picture quality is just not great, grainy and I am having a tough time balancing the greens and reds (it defintitely needed color adjustment right out of the box).

    I am torn because we do not have HD, and I don’t know if returning and upgrading to the 550 will actually make enough of a difference without HD. But I can say for certain that this tv has a poorer quality than my 5-year-old Panasonic 52 inch monster tv that we have in the family room. I am considering looking into Panasonics instead as I know they work well with the type of cabel we have. Torn…

  • admin

    Hi Melissa,

    Thanks for the candidness. It’s worth noting that SD on HDTVs doesn’t always look good.

    Have you tried watching a DVD and see if the picture still looks grainy? This would confirm that the picture quality is a function of the programming; not the television.

    This probably wasn’t much of an issue with your old television.

    As far as the calibration there are tons of calibration DVDs out there to help you make sure the picture is set up as good as possible.

  • Wimmer

    I just opened my 500 for Christmas and it is great. The picture quality is no different than the 550 (at least to my eyes). The contrast ratio is so high that you cannot see a difference. For those who complain about the picture quality being not good and don’t have HD channels…come on…of course you’re not going to get HD quality from a 480p signal. I snagged this TV for $899 from Frys and I cannot be happier. Upgrading to the 550 would cost an additional $250 or more. I would recommend the 500 any day.

  • Wimmer

    So…I just unlocked the “Service Menu” that Samsung Technicians use to modify TV’s. I have the LN46A500 and just turned it into a 550 :) .

    To access the service menu…make sure the TV is off…then press MENU 1 8 2 POWER. The TV will then turn on and enter the Service Menu. It has A LOT of options that I flat out don’t understand, but I happened to change the model to the 550, enabled the Extended options, gave it SRS TruSurround XT, enabled tons of other options.

    Enjoy…but be careful not to F-up any special options. Please add your experience or unlocks.

  • Wimmer

    CORRECTION

    *******SERVICE MENU*******

    SORRY…to access the Service Menu… press MUTE 1 8 2 POWER.

    Do not press MENU first…do press MUTE, then 1 8 2 POWER.

  • admin

    Wimmer – thanks for sharing this. We’ll be sure to share this in an upcoming post.

  • travis

    to wimmer. thanks for the tip but how did you turn it into a 550

  • admin

    Travis,

    I don’t think it will turn it into a 550, just unlock additional options to help make watching tv better on the 500.

  • Rob

    FYI, the Wiselink Pro USB feature states mpeg support. Not true. Even Samsung’s website states the MPEG.

    I have the 40 inch A550 and love it. WOuld have gotten the 500 but I wanted more inputs. Not that I need them yet.

    Picture’s fine, especially for a first time HD user.

  • Danford

    Your last comparison in not accurate. The 550 has 3 HDMI connections — 1 on the side and 2 on the back.