The LN40B650 is, as of this review, tops in overall picture quality compared with other TVs we've tested. It earned a score of four out of five stars (Very Good). The set displays sharp and crisp images, and according to one judge in our testing panel, it looked "very pleasing overall."

This TV's foremost weakness was its upconverting of 480p DVD movies to 1080p. In this area, most jurors put it slightly lower than its competition; two judges noted mediocre-to-poor contrast in scenes from the Phanton of the Opera DVD.

We had a few other complaints. Several of us saw digital artifacts--slight moiré patterns in a brick wall and a skyscraper--in moving camera shots in our Mission: Impossible III and The Dark Knight Blu-ray tests. You probably won't notice such effects if you're not looking for them, but if you're picky enough they could occasionally mar your viewing experience. In addition, one judge found the colors in a 720p Wheel of Fortune broadcast clip "a bit dull, but good overall." Nevertheless, in general we loved the way the LN40B650 looked.

The digital artifacts around fast-moving objects surprised us, in part because this model did quite well on our motion benchmark tests, which stress a television's ability to handle moving images far more than anything you're likely to see in a movie. Actual, live-action, 3D camera movements can sometimes cause artifacting whereas test patterns do not--which is why we use both.

As for the LN40B650's built-in speakers, I noticed very little distortion, even with the volume turned up all the way. Lowering the volume to a comfortable level eliminated the distortion entirely. The speakers were powerful enough to give a sudden, loud organ blast from the Phantom of the Opera Blu-ray Disc its intended effect. The simulated surround works if you enhance it with your imagination, but it isn't exceptional--plenty of other HDTVs do a better job. Real surround requires a separate amplifier, at least five satellite speakers, and a subwoofer.