Samsung LN52A850 52” 120Hz, 1080P LCD TV: The Living Review

Inputs and Outputs

The input selection on this TV is absolutely outstanding but considering its price, this is to be expected. The stars of the show are the three HDMI 1.3 inputs located to the right while other connectors include two component (Y, Pb, Pr) inputs, a PC VGA connector, a composite input which is shared with one of the component inputs and the usual S-Video connector. There is also a LAN (internet) connector for an Ethernet cable as well as an antenna input since this set contains a built-in tuner. For those of you wondering, the input next to the VGA (PC) connector is for the audio from your PC to be pumped through the TV’s speakers. There is also an optical-out audio port.

You may also have noticed a small port called the “Ex-Link”. One of its uses would be to hook up the TV to a specially-designed motorized Samsung wall mount which will then be controlled with the TV remote. Basically, this is a serial port which is used for RS-232 signals.


But wait, there’s more connectors cleverly hidden on the panel’s side! These include another HDMI 1.3 connector (for a grand total of 4), a USB connector that Samsung labels the “WiseLink” port, a composite input and a headphone jack. Personally, I love the location of the headphone jack since I constantly find myself using my Sennheiser headphones to avoid pestering the neighbors and before you ask…no, I don’t have an amplifier hooked up yet.

Remotes

Some of you may have looked at the heading for this section and said to yourselves “Whaaa?”. Yes, the title is right because the LN52A850 comes with not one but two remotes. There is the usual gargantuan standard remote and then there is this wee little pod-like thing that looks like it belongs on a keychain but is in reality a remote with very basic controls. Let’s check out the cute one first.


When we say basic controls, we mean basic. In all reality, even though this one of the coolest looking remotes I have ever seen, it is also one of the least functional. It has four basic buttons: an on/off switch and a red circle with channel up/down and volume up / down button locations. For me this thing only came in handy for changing the volume since there aren’t enough controls on it to operate a satellite or digital cable receiver which many (if not all) of us have. If you don’t have a set-top box, you are in luck but all in all, I find this to be nothing more than a conversation piece.


Even though it was useless for me, there is no denying that this remote is compact. It easily fits in the palm of your hand since it is smaller than a pack of gum.


The larger remote is much more functional with easy-to-understand buttons which are laid out in a thoroughly ergonomic manner and to make matters even better, nearly every button can be illuminated. Manual channel inputs are at the top while the volume, channel, menu and input buttons are in the center. Meanwhile, the bottom of the remote is devoted to secondary functions which are usually associated with other equipment like receivers, DVD players and PVRs.


The center of the remote also holds a scroll wheel with an Enter button. This wheel can be rotated in either direction to scroll through the onscreen menus or you can press up, down, left or right in a more traditional fashion. This works great in principle but even after a week with this TV, I still wasn’t able to get over the “clunky” feel that came with navigating through the menus.