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Samsung 9 series recently added two new sets to its lineup. As the successor to the 81 series, the 9 series has some very large shoes to fill. I had heard some very good things about them and felt that I had to see the sets in person before deciding to take the plunge. |
The 9 series is available in 46″ (LN46A950) and 55″ (LN55A950). I was immediately very impressed by the HDTV’s picture quality. Exciting new additions such as LED Smart Lightning and Auto Motion Plus technologies are responsible for this picture quality, which is noticeable upon first glance and even more pronounced when compared against other sets. It is the second generation of Samsung HDTVs to use this technology.
Very deep black levels in the 9 series are made possible with the aforementioned technologies along with Samsung’s Ultra Clear Panel technology, which eliminates light reflection that often affects final picture quality.
In addition to the superior picture quality, the 9 series offers innovative ways to connect to services and other devices. Infolink is a service provided by Samsung that offers access to weather reporting, stock market information, and news. It can also be connected to a computer or digital device and used to play music or display pictures. Four HDMI inputs also make it easy to connect to a Blu-Ray player. For the environmentally conscious, Samsung has recently developed its new displays with an EnergySaving Mode, which automatically adjusts the HDTV’s backlight brightness with a low, medium, or high selection. This results in highly decreased power consumption. No volatile organic compounds are released by the Series 9 thanks to a manufacturing process that omits painted-on color on the set’s bezel, and mercury is completely omitted from the set thanks to a lack of cold cathode fluorescent lamps.
The Pluses: The Samsung LN46A950 and LN55A950 produce the deepest level of black of any LCD available; extremely accurate color; solid video processing; extensive interactive functionality; scads of picture controls; superb connectivity with four HDMI and one PC input; attractive, understated design.
Negatives: Expensive; picture washes out and discolors from off-angle; some blooming effects in high-contrast scenes; screen reflects ambient light.
Specifications of the Samsung LN55A950 / LN46A950 are:
* 1080p HD resolution
* 46/55 inches
* LED Smartlighting
* Auto Motion Plus
* UltraClear Panel
* Wide Color Enhancer 2
* Digital Natural Imaging Engine
* InfoLink
* 4 HDMI 1.3 Inputs
* 1 PC Input
* 1 S-Video Input
* 2 Component Inputs / 1 Composite Input
* 1 Side USB 2.0 Port