Experience the next generation of HD television in all its glory The SAMSUNG LN40A550 has an incredible 30,000:1 contrast ratio that delivers the sharpest, most realistic picture quality you've ever seen. Full 1080p HD resolution offers amazing image detail, all on a 40-inch screen. Enjoy crystal-clear, lifelike HD sound, with SRS TruSurround XT. Want to get more entertainment out of your TV than movies and shows? With the Wiselink USB connection, you can easily and quickly hook up your MP3 player or digital camera and entertain family and friends with a photo slideshow set to music. SAMSUNG LN40A550 makes your high-definition dreams a reality. It's advanced HD entertainment, only from Samsung.
Samsung's 550 Series is a perfect way to step up to Full HD 1080presolution. A fast 5 ms response rate produces smooth-motion scenes for sports and action movies, and a dynamic contrast ratio of 30,000:1 makes for deep blacks and crisp lines (15,000:1 in 32-inch and 37-inch models). Superb connectivity and networking with a USB port and 3 HDMI 1.3 ports with Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) means these HDTVs play well with all of your other electronics. Easily enjoy MPEG and JPEG files stored on external devices by connecting through the side-mounted USB 2.0, turn your LCD into a full-scale home viewing gallery, or connect your MP3 player for a dynamic audio experience.
Key Features
New -- 30,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio: up from 15,000:1 on 2007 models (15,000 on 32-inch and 37-inch models) (Learn more)
New -- Fast 5ms response time: down from 8ms on 2007 models thanks to a new high-speed liquid crystal
Full 1080p HD (Learn more)
178-degree viewing angle from all four axes with Super Patterned Vertical Alignment (Learn more)
3 HDMI 1.3 ports: Simplay compliant (Learn more)
USB 2.0 port: connect devices directly to your HDTV--view JPEG photos or MPEG movies or easily listen to your MP3 player through your HDTV's audio system or your home theater system
DNIe Digital Natural Image Engine improves the picture by enhancing the contrast, detail, and white balance (Learn more)
Hidden speakers with SRS TruSurround XT audio (Learn more)
Wide Color Enhancer technology and Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL) offer a wider color range (Learn more)
Picture-in-Picture (PIP) 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.
Swivel stand included
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
Step Up Features
Series 6: 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, AutoMotion Plus 120Hz image interpolation for smoother motion, 4ms response time, Transparent and Opaque Color (TOC) bezel, Clear Panel, Ethernet port with Infolink free RSS feeds, 4 HDMI 1.3 ports, Sports and Game modes, Compatible with Samsung's Home Digital Media Adapter for playback and navigation of Internet and stored PC multimedia
Series 7: Internal flash memory (1GB) with pre-loaded interactive content such as cooking recipes, children's entertainment, HD artwork and more, Integrated woofer for an enhanced audio experience, DLNA-Compatible: for better interoperability with electronics, computers and mobile devices from many different manufacturers
Series 8: super-slim 1.9-inch thick profile
What size TV should you get?
Learn More
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.
30,000:1 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.
DNIe The Samsung Digital Natural Image engine. This exclusive Samsung technology dramatically improves the picture by enhancing the contrast, detail, white balance and reduces.
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 back lights 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.
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 HDMI-CEC 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
3 HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) version 1.3: (2 rear/1 side)
Component video: 2 rear (Y, Pb, Pr)
Composite inputs: 1 rear (shared with component) / 1 side
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 sound stage 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.
Stereo broadcast reception is offered for MTS and SAP with 181-channel capacity. A sound leveler keeps audio volume consistent during channel changing.
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.
Minimum size = Viewing distance/3
Maximum size=Viewing distance/1.5
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Samsung LCD Picture in Picture doesn't work for composite video source:
My parents bought the Samsung LN40A550, which has good reviews in consumer reports. This TV has only 1 tuner, so picture in picture (PIP) requires another source. In the manual it does states: You can view Analog TV broadcasts on the PIP screen (sub-picture) when the main picture is from an external device connected to HDMI 1,HDMI/DVI 2, HDMI 3, Component1, 2 or PC. So if you are expecting to use an external device, which is composite video (the yellow video RCA jack on a VCR) to supply a 2nd TV tuner... more info
terrible television:
I've owned a 1080p samsung television (LNS4041) for approximately 2 years now. After fifteen months of operation the thing went on the fritz (turn it on and purple and green vertical lines appear with a black background - no pic.). Samsung claims I'm a few days outside my warranty and won't back up the product. I've called to have it repaired and it will cost $130 just to have somebody look at it. I'm thinking about smashing it into tiny bits an posting the video on YouTube. Overall, I'm very disappointed... more info
I LOVE THIS TV!!!!:
awsome tv. i have owned for about a month awsome picture, i love it all!!!! shipping was fast, it was awsome, i love this tv. the only thing is if its in a small room it will make the room hot quick...
very pleased:
I did a lot of research before settling on the Samsung LN40A550. Samsung is one of the top brands, and the only thing that worried me about this TV was the possibility that not being a 120hz machine would leave sports and action movies unwatchable. I found a website called tweaktv that offers picture calibration settings, and these made a huge difference on the picture quality out of the box. Changing the sharpness down to 2 and setting the mode to "Movie" make for a huge improvement in picture... more info
Key Features
