The A558 series arrived more discretely than Samsung’s A656 or A676 line; however, it deserves as much attention in tests.  This turned out to be all the more so true given the amazing qualities which these tests revealed.

We should keep in mind that this is a Full HD TV, however, only equipped with a standard digital tuner.  Luckily, the A568 remedies this absence by integrating an HD component.

Design and ergonomics

Very different from high end models that have the CrystalGloss design, the A558 is more sober with a unified black lacquer finished.  The pivoting base enables positioning the panel in the best position for the viewer.
Menus have a layout that is now classic for Samsung with icons that enable choosing an area (Image, Sound, Tuner, etc.) and the related sub-menu appears on the right of the screen.  The possibilities for modifying the image are quite numerous.  In addition to the classic options (brightness, contrast, etc.) we find, for example, settings for the backlighting, video noise reduction, dynamic contrast, the gamma curve, color space, or even Motion Plus for more fluid movement.

Measurements: a narrow color space

After the panel went under our sensor, the result that stood out the most was without a doubt the color space.  It barely covered all of the colors which are encoded in PAL (a DVD standard).  We particularly noted a small deficiency in the deepest reds.  Trying to play with various settings in order to improve the situation only resulted in making the triangle even smaller.


Contrast is good with measurements varying between 2000:1 and 2300:1 depending on the settings.  Black is around 0.2 cd/m² and this guarantees a nice depth in darker tones.  Otherwise, the backlighting assures good brightness (up to 460 cd/m²) for the rooms that are better lit.

In the end, satisfactory colors

By looking at our first movies, we noticed the lack of red in the CIE graph isn’t noticeable. Colors turned out to be very natural and reds were vivid.  In short, watching HD sources was a real pleasure.

In SD, without attaining performances of the best current televisions, rescaling is honest although the display slightly lacks sharpness.  In addition we recommend putting Motion Plus at a minimum by looking at sources with significant noise.  Otherwise, there is the risk of numerous artifacts.  Even in HD, this can be visible if the system is pushed to its extreme settings.


Otherwise, viewing angles enable 4 spectators to sit comfortably from a distance of 2.50 in front of this 32 inch.

As for sound, it’s not great like the majority of current models.  Only a few rare high end TVs do well in this area.