Samsung LN32B550 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color

Review by Shimone Samuel for Samsung LN32B550 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color
Rating:
2 months after receiving this TV the screen has gone black. Samsung instructed us to ship it to a service repair center and shipping is the responsibility of the customer. I called UPS and the cost to custom-pack a 32″ televisions is 120 $. I called Samsung to request a box to ship it in and they re-iterated, shipping is the responsibility of the customer – but would send me a return label. So now we have an 800 $ television that’s going to cost 120 $ to pack for warranty. We’ve only had it two months. I see from another reviewer that sending it Samsung is no guarantee the television will come back any time soon.

On a related note – up until 2008 Samsung’s 32″ televisions received free in-home repair service. As of 2009 32″ is now considered “small” and must be shipped to the manufacturer for service.

Great TV just don’t throw away the box and if it breaks take a deep breath and don’t bother calling Samsung for sympathy.

Update September 17, 2009: It’s been a month and we still don’t have our TV back. We’ve called Samsung every week since they received it. Today we were told the replacement part would take too long to arrive and they would begin the process of approving a replacement television. This process entails Samsung repair shipping the TV to Samsung corporate. Once corporate receives the TV they can can process the replacement. If our TV is no longer available they will offer us something “comparable”. This new phase should take “less than a month”.

Review by Howard for Samsung LN32B550 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color
Rating:
I have traditionally been a fan of the Sharp, or Sony TV’s, however, I was looking for a TV to fit in a cabinet in my bedroom. I wanted to get the largest one that would fit my space restrictions. The Samsungs, in general, seem to sit lower on their stands than most other brands and really provided the only 32 inch option that would fit my height restrictions. I sure am glad this was the case.

This TV is wonderful. The best part is the picture. It just looks great. The swivel stand is a very nice touch too. I hadn’t been looking for it, but it is quite useful as the TV is not directly in front of the bed. The settings and adjustments available are plentiful and adequate. The menus to access them are clean and intuitive.

Another wonderful feature is the energy saving modes. One can set varying levels of energy saving which controls the intensity / brightness of the light for lower power consumption. There is even an auto mode that will adjust the intensity based on what is currently on the screen. This is perfect for the bedroom. When it is late and I am starting to fall asleep I don’t like the TV as bright. Energy saving mode is perfect for this and it saves power.

Another feature that I have been wanting in a TV and didn’t have until now is a volume moderator. The TV will increase or lower volume automatically to make up for varying source volumes.

The TV seems performant. I haven’t had a chance to plug my gaming laptop into one of the 4 HDMI inputs, but with heavy action scenes on TV I haven’t seen any ghosting of images. Blacks look black and colors are sharp. No noticable artifacts of any kind.

All in all I am very happy with the purchase.

Review by Patti Ewoldt for Samsung LN32B550 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color
Rating:
I purchased this tv after a review in consumer reports. The tv was delivered promptly and I was very pleased. The tv arrived on May 20th, on May 22nd I had a black screen. I contacted Samsung and they walked me through a few things, and still a black screen. I was instructed to box it back up, pay for the shipping and return to Samsung. I did this immediately. Today is the 16th of June and I still do not have a tv. They inform me that they are having difficulty getting the part. When I ever do get a tv back, I will now have a repaired tv, when I never really had a new one. I am very dissappointed, I requested they just send a new one out to replace it, they said they could not do this. I ordered it because my old tv had gone out, so in the meantime no tv. I would not recommend Samsung based on the time it has taken, and no idea of how much longer it will take. I just can’t understand why they cannot get parts for their own brand or let me enjoy having a new tv instead of a repair. I can not afford to purchase another one in the meantime, so I am at their mercy to wait.

Review by NPR Granola for Samsung LN32B550 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color
Rating:
You know all the usual things–terrific hi-def picture, handsome black-framed screen with a slice of red on the bottom horizontal edge, good range of movement left and right. But here’s the best part: for someone who didn’t know the difference between BluTooth and BluRay, hooking up the auxiliaries was a color-coded breeze. A tangential benefit: the delivery person was careful about unpacking and setting up the set and helpful about explaining its use.

Review by Jonathan Hausen for Samsung LN32B550 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color
Rating:
One of the best televisions on the market. This tv has a crystal clear picture and sits well on my tv stand. With 70,000 to 1 contrast ratio, the picture is life like. When the picture becomes blurry or distorted that is not the fault of the tv, but rather your placement of the tv in your home. Blu ray looks amazing on here. It doesen’t get any more relestic then this. Samsung is the best brand for televisions and you get a lot for your money. If your a gamer or just enjoy a great picture this is the tv for you. This television has great performance for its value and blows any Sony television away. I have this tv in my room and is just the right size. I have it hooked up to my home theater system and sounds like your in the movies.