Samsung LN55B650 55" 120Hz LCD HDTV: A Layman's Review

Picture Quality: SD Upscaling

Like it or not, the vast majority of satellite, OTA or cable television shows are broadcast via standard definition signals. This means for many of us the ability of HDTVs to upscale a standard definition image is paramount to our viewing enjoyment.

Our testing was done with a Bell 9242 HD PVR hooked up to the TV set via a DVI to HDMI adaptor.


The LN55B650 upscales standard definition images quite well when using the Wide Fit mode to turn a regular 4:3 broadcast into 16:9 format. Unfortunately, image stretching will occur and while it isn’t noticeable in regular programming, sports are affected to the point where the lithe receivers tend to look like 300lb linebackers when watching football.


On-screen menus from your set-top box will also be stretched far towards the outsides of the screen when using Wide Fit mode but I didn’t find this too much of an issue since none of the critical information was cut off.


My main issue with upscaling is that I have yet to encounter a TV that doesn’t make an image look like it was smeared with Vaseline when trying to fit an SD image onto its screen. Granted, the LN55B650 does a better job minimizing this effect but in general, visual artifacts still tend to occur with some regularity.

For some reason, the ghosting issues we saw while gaming were actually magnified when watching an upscaled standard definition signal. Whether this was due to the signal or the processing being implemented by the TV couldn’t be definitively determined but it was annoying when trying to watch fast-paced scenes.