I have had the TV for almost a month now and I am very pleased with my decision to purchase the Sharp. I did a lot of research, both on line and with actual “in store” comparisons at a nearby TV/Video store. The store had the Sharp LED, the Samsung LED and a Sony XBR, all in 46″, side-by-side with the Sharp in the middle. The Sony was eliminated immediately because it’s picture lacked the crispness and clarity that the LED televisions had. In three separate trips, I had almost 3 hours of watching the Sharp and Samsung televisions side-by-side. In viewing programing with darker backgrounds, I found no difference between the two. In programs with very bright backgrounds, I found the Sharp had an even brightness through the entire picture due to its full array LED and the Samsung was slightly brighter along the edge due to its edge lit LED that probably would not have been noticible if it were not sitting next to the Sharp. The decision was made during a Food Network show, and a red and white curtain in the background had a slight purplish tint on the Samsung, and was true red on the Sharp. If I was hanging the TV on the wall, the thinness of the Samsung would have been a consideration; however, the Sharp is not a thick television and would hang on the wall just fine. I also looked at several plazma TVs, but they put out an extreme amount of heat. I can hold me hand a few inches away from the screen of a LED and do not notice any temperature difference from the rest of the room, but you can really feel the heat from a plazma when standing 2 to 3 feet in front of it. The Sharp is considerably cheaper than the Samsung, and overall, Sharp has the better picture. The TV/Video store knocked 0 off of their advertised price; however, I was able to get another 0 off of that through Amazon.com. With shipping and no sales tax, I saved about 0 off my best local price and ,000 off the local advertised price.
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