Went To Best Buy Yesterday...

A quick search on "Soap Opera Effect" yielded a solution:

GO TO SETTINGS AND TURN OFF AUTO_MOTION

This is according to a discussion forum on Amazon:

J.Gray says:
Wow, I can't believe it's been two months and you haven't gotten an answer for this yet. By Soap Opera effect, I'm assuming that you mean that it takes on a camcorder-ish/birthday party looking feel. In my house, we call this the PBS effect. Basically, what's happening is the Auto Motion 120Hz option is taking the original source material filmed at 24 fps and is artifically adding in additional frames between the existing frames which kicks the fps closer to 29.97, which is standard video. The positive side effect of this is that it makes motion much less blurry so even the fastest movements are crisp and clear (great for sports). The downside is that it can make even the most epic big budget movies (I died laughing when watching Lord of the Rings like that) look like amateur stageplays on a fake set.

Here's the good news though. You can turn it on and off under Picture settings whenever you like. Turn it on for Sports, games and sitcoms. Turn it off for movies.

This citation is from the link: http://www.amazon.com/Movies-Soap-Opera-Effect/forum/Fx2JJ0NYSR5M5E/Tx2PVBQP6CFT16Z/1?asin=B0014175NE

Just a few comments having an older non-120hz set, a newer Samsung set with 120 and a plasma. Overall in my opinion Plasma is the best outhere today if you don't have a super-bright room with direct sunlight. If you do and that's how you watch TV then an LCD/LED with anti-reflective coating may trump things.

Secondly you can turn off the soap opera effect in the samsungs and most every set I know of. I have never heard that it is permanently on. Personally I find the resulting effect really bothersome. When it kicks in full swing the image just looks bizarre. You can tone down how bad it is in the advanced picture settings. I haven't necessarily found any setting that will make it equal to a plasma.

So my advice is if you can get a plasma. Do it. Just went with a friend to Costco and got the Panasonic $600 50" plasma. Set it up and did basic calibration and the picture is beyond stunning. Yea its not Pioneer Kuro black, but it is beautiful. Give me even an entry levelPlasma any day of the week.

Just my thoughts and experience

Theo

No offense, but Best Buy employees should not be much of a reference.

@Courant,

If you turn off 120hz, will you still have an HD picture?

120Hz has nothing to do with the resolution of the image, only the frames. So yes, you will still have HD or full HD (whatever source and TV) can support)