The LN40B650 makes good use of its ethernet port. Once you've connected the TV to your router, you can enjoy Twitter, YouTube, an assortment of Yahoo widgets (Video, News, Sports, Flickr, and so on), and games such as sudoku. The YouTube interface is intelligently designed, and it defaults to playing videos in a smallish frame--a fortunate choice, since YouTube filling a 40-inch screen is not a pretty sight. Unfortunately, the set lacks support for Netflix (though Samsung recently rolled out support for Amazon's and Blockbuster's streaming services).
In addition to online content, the LN40B650's ethernet connection lets you play music, photos, and videos off of any DLNA server, such as Windows Media Player 11 or 12, or the server software (Windows only) that comes bundled with the TV. You can also add background music to your photo slideshows.
If you don't have an ethernet connection, you can put your photos, music, and videos onto a flash drive and plug that into the LN40B650's USB port. But when playing off a USB device, the media player supports only MP3 audio files; over the network, the LN40B650 can play any format that the DLNA server supports (such as .wma if you're using Windows Media Player).
This is a remarkably easy television to set up. All the input connections are way over near the edge, making it easy to plug in a DVR or Blu-ray player, with some connectors on the side for extremely quick access. A first-time wizard helps you configure the TV properly.
It's equally easy to use, too. The main menu is intuitive, attractive, and readable, with explanations of the various options. (Most of these explanations are useful, but you'll occasionally find some that may require consulting the manual.) A Tools button on the remote brings up a less-extensive menu of those options that you're likely to change on a regular basis. And when you want to change inputs (for instance, to switch from your Blu-ray player to your DVR), the LN40B650 makes this common task simple: In its on-screen list of all inputs, it places the inputs you actually use first.