theuerkorn's Full Review: Samsung UN40B7000 40 in. HDTV TV
In economic times like these, one oddity seems to be the nearly unchanged sales of television sets. Flatpanels certainly still sell well albeit at quickly eroding prices. With more people home-bound, the way to enjoy the daily broadcast (or gaming) has just gotten better with the introduction of LED back-lit LCD screens. Introduced at the beginning of the year, the first price cuts arrived quickly and take the LEDTVs out of stratospheric high pricing into much more agreeable ranges ... but still almost 50% more expensive than their comparable CCFL lit siblings. For me the occasion matched with the unavailability of my current TV, and what better reason to upgrade that old 30" first generation LCD screen with a 40" model of the latest vintage?
UNxxB6000 / UNxxB7000 / UNxxB8000
Samsung has a long tradition of using cryptic naming with very similar descriptions for different models and that's not different for the latest line of LED TVs. The 6000 series is the "basic" model with generally the same technical specs as the 7000 series (1080p, 120Hz, LED), while the 8000 series doubles the screen refresh rate to an ultra-smooth 240Hz. The 7000 series adds internet widgets (a la Yahoo Widgets) which are very unobtrusively integrated. It's up to the customer to decipher this. The 40" 7000 series is currently at some vendors sold for the same price as the 6000 series (a difference in MSRP of roughly $200) bringing both to just about $1600. Expensive but a lot less than the MSRP of $2200 or $2400 respectively for either the UN40B6000 or the UN40B7000.
IN A NUTSHELL
The 7000 series LED TV is a marvel in elegance and picture quality. Although the LED back-lighting isn't fully noticeable at first, the extreme dynamic range is made possible by the "dimmability" of the LEDs versus CCFLs. Further, the color range is impressive, but initially hampered by the sales settings which boost colors too much.
Though close, it's still not the perfect TV. The integrated internet access is particularly slow and the time it takes for the widgets to come up and update is excruciatingly slow. The implementation is well done beyond the speed. Another problem is the somewhat cumbersome to frequently used tasks, especially PIP, which require a few menu clicks to enable and then again to disable.
The difference to CCFL back-lighting is hard to see at first, especially with animated movies that are bright and very colorful. It's really impressive with dark movies like Underworld where the dynamic lighting almost completely eliminates the distracting Grey that unregulated LCD TVs call Black. The wider color spectrum is equally hard to detect, but noticeable when the right nature scenes etc. are fed to the screen from a high-quality Blu-Ray.
DETAILS
Design: [*****] Black has been back for a while now and the ToC (touch of color = thin red frame) tries to liven it up a little. While not too obvious, it actually helps to tie the Black screen to my Cherry wood floor and picture frames. The TV itself has no controls and the shiny finish certainly looks classy. The understated design helps for it not to distract from most decor but to compliment it. Of course, the thin design plays a similar role and blends better into the wall decor when hung. The single column stand made of clear plastic is a modern minimalistic masterpiece.
Installation: [*****] Of course there isn't much to putting a TV up these days and the UN40B7000 isn't any different. The stand needs to be attached via 3 screws if used that way, or one needs an optional wall mount (i.e. Slim Mount) to place it on a wall. In that case, the opening for the stand is plugged up by an included cover (one screw). The screen weighs a mere 40 lb (under 20 kg) and that quite manageable for a single person. The wiring is straight forward and the labeling as well as the description pretty much standard. The included manual is provided on a flash drive that plugs into the TV and can be viewed there, but there is no interactive portion where the manual can be viewed and mentioned adjustments made right there (in viewing mode).
Picture: [*****] This is the center argument for an LED back-lit TV and the UN40B7000 knows to perform. Viewing angle is great, though the spots of the LED back-lighting become a little bit visible at the upper edge for extreme angles. The dynamic contrast ratio of 3,000,000:1 is achieved by actively adjusting the brightness of the BLU (back lighting unit) relative to the picture content. The color rendition is initially excessive, but simply setting it to Standard or Movie generates a very good reproduction of Blu-Ray movies. At least Charter's HD through cable falls quite a bit short in that regard and is not a good reference of the TVs capability. Games (i.e. PS3) look great too.
120Hz: [***--] Refresh time and the associated picture frequency are major selling point these days, and the 7000 series offer 120 Hz conversion technology that works fairly well. However, movies now have a distict different look as the 24 Hz are smoothed and it somehow looks more like a TV series. So critics actually condemn this feature, and it certainly has its place in moderation. I noticed that when watching wildlife (i.e. small flying birds), the algorithm would have them disappear occasionally which is fine if they're extras but not if it's the purpose of the movie (Planet Earth). So use with caution, and movie snobs should turn it off to preserve the 24 Hz feel.
Screen: [****-] Glossy screens are still all the rage as they're more marketable in the store. However, at home it can be rather distracting to see yourself or a window reflected in the TV under normal conditions. The UN40B7000 seems to have tried to find a middle road and while not as reflective as some, it's still a lot more glossy than a matte screen. In other words, dark movies during daytime are a challenge and lights etc. need to be placed accordingly not to end up in everything you watch. On the other hand, with those things considered the glossy screen renders a great colorful picture.
Sound: [***--] So with all the goodness, here a bit of a drawback. The thin design doesn't appear to leave much room for good sound and both voice as well as music are significantly short. That's understandable and most will reach for that sound bar or home theater system anyway, but when used with TV speakers alone it's a bit disappointing. The sound is a bit tinny and Voices not very intelligible. It meets basic requirements only. If style is important to you, please read the related review of Samsung's HT-WS1 sound bar.
Extras: [***--] The included Internet gadgets are provided by Yahoo, and the implementation is rather similar. The view as a thin bottom bar is very useful and well done. Making any change to the respective setting, and simply calling it up takes a short eternity. It's obvious that the used processor doesn't have the processing power, as I am connected to a 5 Mbps line and it sure should not be the ISP. Simply scrolling through widgets takes long too. I have not had a chance to play with the InternetTV yet, but will update once that's accomplished. The TV provides an opportunity to download firmware updates directly and install, though at least now it returns an error message when trying to do so. (Could be because there is no update available yet.)
Power: [****-] America recently rediscovered energy efficiency as a buzz word for marketing products, and it comes at no surprise that the LED backlighting is highlighted for its ability to reduce energy consumption by 40% (relative to the comparable CCFL model). Note that this is only viable if you use the proper settings and otherwise savings are much less. Yet, relative to a Plasma TV the LEDTV is certainly an energy miser. It's quite noticeable that Samsung isn't sanbagging here since the TV gets barely warm to the touch (top vents) and my older TV (although same power rating) feels much warmer. Hence, losses of energy into heat are much less.
Value: [****-] Sure, several years ago, this would have been over $10k, and the latest price of $1600 is a pretty good one for the new technology. If the second latest works for you, the CCFL variant is half the price and certainly cheaper to obtain. The difference may not be made up by power savings, but the lifetime of the LED lighting is likely to outlast to moral lifetime of this TV, unlike CCFLs which often loose half their brightness within the first 2 - 3 years. When taking the design quality into consideration, the UN40B7000 is a great deal at the mentioned price, but it's just natural that if you want a lower price, you still can wait a year or so and probably get it for much less.
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