Home > Consumer Reviews > Samsung LE40A656A - 40" Widescreen 1080P Full HD LCD TV - With Freeview

[Review of Model no. LE40A656A1FXXU.]

Having owned an excellent Samsung 32" (LE32N73BDX) for the past year or so, I decided to upgrade my old tube TV to this 1080p model. So far I have very positive first impressions of my new machine. Right out the box, the elegant ebony and red-tinted design hits you: the cliché about hi-def TVs adding style to any living room has never been more true than here. Despite being so large, the narrow black picture frame surround makes the TV unobtrusive in even a small room.

Getting down to brass tacks, the picture quality is superb. For under £900 you obviously get Full 100Hz HD, which sets the image apart even from my 720p Samsung. Furthermore, a host of intelligent image options, such as Just Scan, add immeasurably to the sumptuous hi-def experience. PlayStation 3 games such as "Ninja Gaiden Sigma" and "Gran Turismo 5 Prologue" look even more polished than expected with the smoother frame rate that 100Hz gives. I can't be stress enough vastly how the 100Hz improves Standard Definition TV signals over my old tube TV too, especially on the crystal-clear inbuilt Freeview capability. In other words, this is not only a TV for video games or Blu-ray freaks: it's a great all-rounder even for those without HD television signals.

On the down side as regards image, the excellent Game Mode setting is spoiled slightly because setting the TV to this mode means you cannot change any of the image or sound settings. Absolutely none. So if you want Game Mode and you also want to raise the brightness by 2 points, you can't. You have to switch Game Mode off and set up the image you want manually. Worst of all, switching on any of the Entertainment Modes switches off the 100Hz Motion Plus setting. It's a minor irritant, but largely negates the handy presets I loved so much on my older Samsung.

Sound invariably suffers because of the compact speakers. Sound lacks the "oomph" of older and chunkier TVs, as well as their newer home cinema-equipped counterparts. The SRS TS XT doesn't really add very much to the package. But if you are so concerned about sound, then use some of the money you have saved from buying this model for a home cinema. The lack of startling sound doesn't detract from the fantastic picture and welter of connection options this TV offers.

For the price tag, the A656 offers a fantastic and flexible 1080p image and a ton of connections (including four HDMI and PC/USB inputs). (Don't let the less than spectacular sound deter you, the image is what really counts of televisions anyhow.) The lovely design and swivel stand (pre-installed for models over 37") add gloss to what is at the time of writing a fantastic home entertainment package.

As a first time LCD buyer this site helped me decide which one to buy. So i thought i should post my review to help it. I brought it from amazon-a cool 100 pounds less than what currys and comet are offering on the same product. I had it delivered much before promised time of 13:00 next day. The product it self is in excellent condition when delivered.

Ok here is my feedback

1. The TV looks excellent without switching it on - i mean the asthetics and look and finish of the TV

2.Its slim but equal in weight to my current CRT TV. Ofcourse it did occupy less space comapred to my old tv.

3. The setup was very easy; the manual gave easy to understand install instructions.

4. The digital TV quality was amazing; on connecting to SKY i realized the same channels look good on DTV compared to SKY. Connecting to SKY was easy but routing TV sound through my old home theatre was a bit messy. It took some time.

5. The sound itself from the TV was pathetic for some one who is used to listening to high quality sound on ipod or a hifi.But if you have a home theatre or surround sound it is taken care of.

6. But what wins you is the amazing picture quality and the USB link. The default setting were absolute crap(why cant they set it to the best possible settings and deliver ?).I used the settings published on hdtv review and believe me i have seen enough LCD TV's it was amazing.

7. I watched Roary-the amazing car on Nick Junior with my son. It allows you to see where the animation colours has been wrongly done.

8. TO my luck there was Lord of rings that evening on channel-4; i watched it with surround sound. It was mindblowing. But it was better on DTV than on SKY.

9.The morning after i can see the dust on the screen; it does attract a lot of dust.

10. When you watch black and white movie you will realize why the technology of LCD TV's is still evolving.

Iam a sony man- all my things are sony even my mp3 player- i hate ipod. I wanted to buy SONYW4000 but the price of this one and the reviews comparing both of them lead me to buy this one. And fortunately the reviews are right. This is same as SONYW4000 except for the price and probably the clarity of black and white TV shows are better on it.

I bought this from Amazon, i was also eying up the Sony 40w4000 but in th eend teh aesthetics of this TV and of course the amazing price swung it for me.

The picture quality looks very good to my untrained eye and i actually wasn't too disapointed with sound at all although it does sound fantastic through a good home theatre set up.

The tv looks brilliant too, it does catch dust like a mother hubbard though so be prepared to clean often (small price to pay) and the freeview channel switch does seem slow..

Overall given the current price, picture quality and great looks it's still very much a 5* purchase....

I bought this television (LE40A656*) and I was not disappointed in its picture. I was however very disappointed with the after sales service - the red tint frame in each of the four corners and near the on-off touch sensitive switch panel started fraying within the frame and the red tint within it was gradually going so it became transparent in patches around the frame. I sought out warranty repair from Samsung. After 7 days of custody after I contacted them they said (actually their after sales service company said) that the problem was due to cleaning with improper liquids!! Quite clearly they did not wish to fix it but worse still they refused to listen....Samsung referred me to their repairer ("what they diagnose we have to abide by") and the repairer referred me to Samsung ("we have to go by the manufacturer's bulletin").

You get a microfibre cloth with the TV and on it there are clear pictures indicating the exterior care instructions for the set (this is in addition to the printed manual's instructions and other common sense that one already has about use of foreign cleaning compounds and electronic equipment etc). But all that aside, I have plenty of other electronic equipment in my house including 3 computers and over 20 years employment in the telecommunications industry including with a major manufacturer so to suggest something like cleaning compounds as the cause and that I was responsible is very hard to take. When they returned the set 3 and half weeks later, the delivery person himself acknowledged that it was nigh on impossible that problem could have been induced by cleaning compounds (the tint is within the frame not exterior to it) and even suggested Trading Standards be involved!

The worst part of this whole thing is that the company refused to even listen....so even 1 star here is generous.

Having been a recent convert from Sony to Samsung I can't beleive people are actually moaning about the sound.
My tip
1) Switch on the SRS Trusound effect.
2) Choose the Movie sound option.
If you're not happy with that (Sheesh!).
3) Go to the Graphic Equalizer (Yes no simple Treble & Bass here)and turn the wick up on the lowest bandwidth.
If you're still not happy, you're expecting too much from any television with integrated speakers!

The picture quality as many have said is extremely good.
Would I go back to a Sony TV - only if the price was right.

It's a cracking TV.