Samsung UN46B6000 Review

Samsung UN46B6000 Review: My First HDTV

2009-05-28T02:16:00.000-07:00

I want to start off by warning everyone that this is my first HDTV ever, so I have nothing to compare it to other than regular old school 4:3 CRT televisions.

I bought this TV Friday, May 8th, 2009.

The main thing about this Samsung TV is that the picture is unbelievably rich and vibrant! (So much so that it takes a little getting use to.) The clarity is so good that it is actually distracting to me. (Though I'm sure I'll get use to it.) But as an example, I was re-watching Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl and I couldn't stop noticing the lines on the actors' faces, individual blades of grass, creases in fabric, and all sorts of other subtle details long enough to pay attention to the actual movie! OK - so maybe that is more of a general HDTV thing and has less to do with the Samsung TV? I don't know. Again - this is my first HDTV ever.

The Samsung TV is incredibly thin. This was one of the things that really drew my attention to this TV when I was doing my comparative shopping. Flat panel TV's are an order of magnitude thinner than their larger CRT cousins, but this Samsung TV takes the thinness to a whole new level.

I've read that this particular TV uses less power than standard flat panel TV's. While I'm not a tree-hugging hippie, I do prefer to be a good steward of the planet whenever possible. But more practical is the fact that less power consumption = less heat generated. I live in Florida so I prefer electronics that don't radiate lots of heat.

The integrated speakers are functional, but I can't imagine anyone would spend this much money on a TV and be satisfied with the integrated speakers. I'm not taking points off the review for the relatively lousy speakers because I believe lousy speakers are par for the course with flat panel TV's. (Or TV's in general really. Even CRT TV's have pretty lousy built-in speakers.) If you really want a high quality audio experience, you know you're going to have to use external speakers.

I can't say much about the input options. I bought a Samsung Blu-ray player at the same time I got the TV and I got an HDMI cable to hook up between the two devices. It "just worked." The Samsung TV / Blu-ray player seem to be a good match. When I put in a DVD or Blu-ray disc, the TV turns on automatically and switches to the correct HDMI input. But otherwise I don't have any devices plugged into this TV yet. I don't have cable or satellite or a video game system.

I would suggest that anyone who buys this TV should try to put the TV in a room without any windows or bright lights facing it. I bought this TV for my bedroom and it sits about 12 feet directly in front of my bedroom window. Fortunately the window is on the backside of the house and has a thick blind over it, otherwise I think the reflection from the window would be overwhelming during the day.

The TV is certainly bright and vibrant enough to watch in daylight conditions, that's not the issue. The issue is the amount of reflection on the TV screen. During the day, I can see the reflection from the edge of my window. It's fairly subtle and I can easily address this by buying a decorative curtain to place over my window, but it is something that I think is worth pointing out. If you know you're going to have your TV in front of a big window, it could be a major distraction if you can't cover the window properly.

Samsung UN46B6000 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV

Samsung UN46B6000 Review: More with less

2009-05-27T02:13:00.000-07:00

My requirement for a television is quite simple: plug it in to the cable box and have it work the first time; then turn on the sports event of the day, e.g. Mets or Yankees, Jets or Giants, etc. The Samsung 46 inch LED TV does that very well. You plug it in, it works.

This TV does more with less. It weighs only about 40 pounds plus another 10 pounds for the stand. Compare that with the older Samsung 950 model of the same size which weighs 70 pounds. The elegant stand allows for easy rotation. The TV is only a little over one inch thick! Power consumption has been measured by reviewers at about 105 watts. The 950 model comes in at 180 watts.

The picture is great. The contrast ratio, rated at 3,000,000 to 1, exceeds that of older LCD TVs. There are four preset picture options. I chose the "normal" setting. The next higher setting, "standard", makes infield grass look almost dayglow. I do not think that there is a need to have any further adjustment done on the picture.

The dark blacks and almost 3D quality of the picture appear to depend on the dynamic contrast which turns off pixels in dark areas. This does have a side effect. There is an automatic dimming of the brightness for dark scenes. For instance, when the credits of a movie run against a black background the lettering becomses dimmer. I experimented with turning off the dynamic contrast. The result was a drab picture, so I turned it back on.

The screen surface does reduce reflections but does not eliminate them entirely. The black frame is shiny and does also reflect some light. Rotating the screen to the best angle helps.

The remote provides choices for four picture size variations. I use "16:9" for the HD format or "wide" to make the non-HD, 4:3, video fill the screen. That loses some of the 4:3 picture at the top and bottom edges, but the picture quality is still good.

The sound also has four preset choices. Although, the internal speakers are not bad, I decided to use my sound system for the audio. The TV has an audio output connection, but the TV remote volume control only allows variation in the sound level for the internal speakers. The audio output stays at a constant level. I got around this by taking the audio from my cable box directly to my sound system and controlling the level with the cable remote. This works.

Although Samsung provides a version of the instruction manual on a USB drive with the TV, I found it easier to download and print a pdf of the manual from the Samsung support center. Having the printed manual is helpful. (See my comment for the address of the support center.)

After one month, I still really like this TV. It is great for sports. An added bonus is that my electric bill has actually gone down.

Samsung UN46B6000 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV

Samsung UN46B6000 Review: The Perfect HDTV?

2009-05-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

Pros:
* Contrast almost makes the image look 3D (3,000,000:1 contrast ratio)
* Vibrant colors
* Ultra-Green -- uses almost no power (40% less than an LCD) and uses no mercury in production.
* Very easy setup
* Clean design
* Great remote

Cons:
* Can only take 1 component video connection
* Although I use my receiver for sound, the built-in speaker does not sound great.
* Not really a con but they have an RJ-45 port for a network cable, but don't have wifi -- if it is going to be networkable, wifi is so much easier to set up.

Summary:
Last week my wife and I finally upgraded our Dish Network to HD. We had an 8-year old HD-ready rear projection TV -- and I was crushed to find that the HD didn't look very good at all.

My very-low maintenance wife didn't understand why we needed a new TV, but was nice enough to humor me.

I did some research and we went to Best Buy to check out a TV that Consumer Reports ranked as #2 for LCDs. But right next to this TV was the Samsung UN-46B6000 and there was absolutely no comparison. My wife who was hesitant about even getting a new TV looked at them both and said, "Damn - we have to get this one. I didn't want to get a new TV but if we are going to get one - we have to get this one."

So there you have it - a TV even a reluctant wife realizes is the best one in the store. She now sees the error of her ways and LOVES the new TV.

Samsung UN46B6000 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV

Samsung UN46B6000 Review: Great Picture!

2009-05-26T01:11:00.000-07:00

I just bought the UN46B6000 and was wondering if anyone knows how to calibrate it or the best settings to use to get the best picture. This is my first HD tv so I have no previous knowledge to compare this one with but I will say that it is very thin, light, and has great picture. The only thing I don't like, which probably has nothing to do with the tv, is that every time I change the channel on the Directv cable box, it takes about 1 to 2 seconds to see the new channel on the tv. I only see a black screen during this delay. I'm using a HDMI cable that came with the directv box, to connect to the tv. I'm ordering a new HDMI 1.3b cable to see if this will resolve the issue. Anyone with a solution to this?

Samsung UN46B6000 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV

Samsung UN46B6000 Full HD 1080P

2009-05-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

Samsung UN46B6000, Full HD, or 1080p, contains 1.5 times more scanning lines than conventional HD TVs. More scanning lines mean more pixels, more details and a better picture. The new Samsung LCD TV with resolution that is approximately 2 times greater than conventional HDTVs, creating the most perfect picture imaginable.

Samsung’s 1080p panel uses a new high-speed liquid crystal to cut response time to 4ms. The fast response time, coupled with Samsung’s Auto Motion Plus 120Hz motion blur reduction technology dramatically reduces motion blur and judder.

Samsung UN46B6000 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV

Samsung UN46B6000 Product Detail

2009-05-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

Samsung UN46B6000, Redefining the standards for viewing quality, energy-efficiency and home entertainment decor, the Samsung 6000 Series LED HDTV deliver unparalleled picture quality and enhanced connectivity while also helping you reduce your carbon footprint with the reduced power consumption of the LED screen. Using Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) as its primary light source--rather than traditional Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFL)--this cutting edge HDTV also offers the benefits of an ultra-high contrast ratio and a slim depth that allows for a more artful design.

Samsung UN46B6000 Series LED HDTV line-up boasts high dynamic contrast ratios, complements of the ground breaking LED light source. It also incorporates a number of innovative features to reduce the motion blur and image judder, which traditionally plague LCD HDTVs when displaying fast movement. The Auto Motion Plus frame interpolation technology utilizes a 120Hz refresh rate helps ensure crisp, easy viewing of sports, video games and movies.

Samsung UN46B6000 also includes access to Samsung's InfoLink RSS service, which can instantly display updated news, sports, weather and stocks information with a touch of the remote. And this HDTV is accented by Samsung's TOC (Touch of Color), which offers a hint of a translucent color around the edges of the unit for a uniquely fashionable look.

Samsung UN46B6000 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV