Samsung UN46B8500 46-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LED HDTV

January 17, 2010 — Led HDTV

Product Description

Picture performance, advanced connectivity, and an eco-friendly and stunning design come together to form Samsung LED TV 8500. For the image connoisseur, our highest 240Hz motion blur reduction technology, our highest 7,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio that displays incredibly deep blacks and pristine whites, and enriched color processing deliver outstanding video. Samsung Internet@TV has web TV widgets from Yahoo, Flicker, Ebay and others to entertain, inform and connect you to specially designed web content right on your LED TV. This Ultra Slim 1.6” depth set is the ideal complement for your room and your life.innovative digital technology. Powerful LED technology offers the most impressive contrast and color you have ever seen on a 55-inch screen; innovative 240Hz technology renders four times the frames per second compared to standard HDTVs, for motion that’s truly lifelike and smooth. A pre-loaded Content Library puts countless hours of information and entertainment at your fingertips. The Medi@2.0 feature brings online content – such as video, stocks, photo sharing and more – straight to your HDTV, with downloadable, customizable widgets that are easily controlled via the remote. The Ultra Slim Design is only 1.2 inches deep, and that’s including the tuner! Another visual highlight is the striking Touch of Color accented bezel. And with the photo frame wall mount, you can bring the elegant brilliance of this inches from the wall – in virtually any room. And with the same passion we have for delivering groundbreaking HD excitement and style, Samsung is dedicated to preserving the environment with LED TVs, through reduced power consumption (up to 40% savings versus 2008 Samsung conventional LCD TVs) and eco-friendly manufacturing techniques.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #1231 in Consumer Electronics
  • Color: ToC Grey
  • Brand: Samsung
  • Model: UN46B8500
  • Released on: 2009-10-12
  • Dimensions: 27.10″ h x 44.50″ w x 1.60″ l, 41.20 pounds
  • Display size: 46

Features

  • 7,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio
  • Auto Motion Plus 240Hz
  • Medi@2.0 Internet@TV – Content Service; DLNA Wireless; Content Library (2GB Flash Memory); USB 2.0 Movie
  • Fast 2ms response time
  • 4 HDMI — Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC) (side)

Customer Reviews

Incredible picture quality but with very clunky extra features.4
PICTURE

In terms of video quality, this TV is awesome. I can’t imagine how the picture could be much better.

There are some minor picture quality issues with off-angle viewing (as the CNET review states), but I think CNET exaggerates the severity — it’s only noticeable to me if I’m far off center.

I haven’t yet noticed any blooming effects.

Setting the “judder reduction” to 10 introduces some distortion at times, but a setting of 6 smoothes out motion well without noticeable distortion. However, this varies a bit with different source material. When viewing video files via DLNA that have a lower frame rate, the judder reduction setting can sometimes make things worse. But this is easy to turn off/on by source.

The color level seemed slightly off initially, even with CNET’s recommended settings. For example, sometimes a blue sky would look slightly purple (i.e., too much red). But this was easily adjusted in the picture settings.

AUDIO

Unfortunately, digital audio output from the TV does not pass through multi-channel audio from HDMI inputs. You need to run extra digital audio cables from your DVD player and other components to your AV receiver if you’d like Dolby Digital or DTS sound.

ENERGY

I measured the electricity usage at 110-115 watts (energy saving mode at “auto”, volume off, picture adjusted per CNET recommendation). Setting energy saving mode to auto doesn’t seem to hurt the picture quality at all.

This is very energy efficient — it uses less power than my old 32″ CRT TV. I’m amazed at how little heat I can feel coming from the back of the set.

REMOTE

If you have a universal learning remote, it will not be able to learn from the RF remote that comes with this TV (i.e., since standard remotes are IR rather than RF). However, I called Samsung and they sent me a compatible IR remote, free of charge. With that remote, I was able to program my universal learning remote. Ask for remote BN59-00851A.

BUILD QUALITY

One small build quality issue that I encountered: the plastic at the base of my TV extended a bit too far, making it impossible to fit it into the stand. I had to carve away some of the plastic in the slots of the stand just to get it to fit, which made me a bit uneasy. But other than that, the build quality is fine.

MEDIA FEATURES

Viewing video files via DLNA works well, for the file types that are supported. Although I’ve encountered many files that the TV doesn’t play for one reason or another (see below), the ones that it does play work well. I regularly stream 1080p video files from my PC, and the picture looks perfect (with wired Ethernet).

The TV has a variety of Internet and media features. But unfortunately there are lots of quality issues such as:

1. When playing video files through USB, DLNA, or Internet features, most TV controls are disabled. While you can adjust basic picture settings, you can’t choose 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios. In playing NTSC video (i.e., any video that came from standard def TV, DVD, home movies) from USB or DLNA, the aspect ratio is *always wrong*: 16:9 video is always squeezed too thin and 4:3 video is always stretched too fat.

2. The TV does not decode DTS audio for video files played through USB or DLNA. While I wouldn’t necessarily expect this of a TV, I would have hoped that it would just pass through the audio stream to the digital audio output for an AV receiver to decode. It does pass through Dolby Digital from video files (but not from HDMI) to the digital audio output, but it does not pass DTS. Many HD video files have DTS, but unfortunately I can’t play any of these on this TV.

3. There is no fast forward, rewind, or chapter advance when playing video clips or movies. This is true of playing YouTube videos as well. Although there is a “skip” feature where you can jump in increments (e.g., 10 seconds), this is only available for some video files (most don’t support this, in my experience).

4. As the CNET review stated, the Yahoo widgets are extremely slow to start. Note that this has nothing to do with your Internet speed, since I have a 25 Mbit Internet service with wired Ethernet to the TV and it’s still painfully slow. I have an HD TiVo with a lot of the same features as the Yahoo widgets, and that is far more enjoyable to use. But the one area where the Yahoo widgets outperformed TiVo was YouTube — the Yahoo YouTube widget can play HD video clips as HD but TiVo plays them as SD.

5. For some reason, the DLNA file management user interface is a bit different from the USB file management UI. You can work with hierarchical folders with the USB capability, but not DLNA. All video files from your PC are presented as a flat (large) horizontal list, and it’s awkward to navigate if you have more than a few files. Both the USB and DLNA UIs are kind of clunky, but DLNA is worse than the USB.

I assume that these problems exist with all Samsung TVs with the Media 2.0 feature. Perhaps these problems will be fixed in a future software update (I have the 11/09 version). If so, I’ll post an update. But I would have preferred a (cheaper) TV that didn’t have any of these features to a (more expensive) TV that provided these features poorly. I’ll probably end up getting a Popcorn Hour or similar device for these features, rather than using the features built into the TV.

Review: Samsung UN46B8500 46-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LED HDTV5
For the past decade, there has always been one thing that Plasmas could do that LCD just couldn’t even touch = Contrast Ratio & Black Levels. Up until now LCDs always had a hard time producing deep-dark black levels and the consumers are left with pixilated ‘inky’ ‘blochy’ black marks across the screen during a dark or night scene. But not anymore…

The Samsung UN46B8500 46-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LED HDTV is the BEST LED-based LCD HDTV out on the Market today, period. And what makes this HDTV stand out from the rest?

The use of LED Local Dimming Backlight Technology – Before, the Samsung LED HDTV used ‘Edge-Lit’ technology where the backlights were located on the Edge of the Screen which is why some HDTVs had a distracting light effect on the edges of the HDTV (aka Halo Effect). And also had trouble producing deep black levels because the backlights were naturally too far from the source (located on the edges of the screen).

With the use of LED local dimming backlight technology, the backlight is actually throughout the screen (not just at the Edges) and can turn off independently from one another during black scenes; making it the best LED-based LCD to produce the deepest black levels ever. Yes, even compared to the Plasma powerhouse Kuro by Pioneer. Never before has an LED-based LCD HDTV even come close to a Kuro plasma HDTV.

Pros
- Local Dimming Backlight Technology = Deeper black levels than any HDTV available
- 120hz/240hz + Adjustable dejudder Feature (Not seen in a majority of 120hz/240hz HDTVs)
- Reduced “Blooming Effect” compared with other local dimming LED-based LCDs
- Internet Widgets (Including Yahoo, Youtube, Weather, etc.)
- Extremely energy efficient compared to any other HDTV
- The style is very Neutral and extremely thin = 1.6-inch deep panel
- Intense Adjustable Picture Controls

Cons
- Price is a little discouraging (But when you think about it, this HDTV is about 5 – 9yrs Future Proof)
- Poor off-angle viewing (This has always plagued both Plasmas and LCDs)

I’ve waiting for a long time to get another HDTV and I can honestly say the wait is now over. It maybe a little pricey but for what you’re getting this HDTV offers a lot and has features that not many LED-Based LCDs have right now. To put it in short (& cnet.com agrees with me): This is the BEST LED-based LCD HDTV out on the Market (right now)

No question, Invest and Buy it!

V_O_R

THE REMOTE5
Some have suggested that the RF remote makes using a universal remote impossible, not true. This TV comes with two remotes, the main remote is RF, the mini remote is IR. My IR STB cable remote instantly recognized and operated the TV since it was already programmed for my older model Samsung TV. As long as your universal remote accepts company codes to work you will be fine (it is only the universal remotes that require you pointing one remote at the other to program, that will require you to get your hands on a 7 series remote).

As for the TV, like the other reviews, the picture quality is stunning. The off angle viewing is not bad by any means, sure there is a sweet spot, but I assure you that unless you are replacing a top of the line TV with the purchase of this TV, the off angle image of your new UN46B8500 will most likely be better than any sweet spot DLP or older model HDTV image that you may be replacing. The only thing that makes the off viewing drop in contrast noticeable is that the TVs picture is so incredible that you tend to notice going from awesome to good. But this does not happen one seat cushion to the next, I only see it when I stand significantly to the side (but the TV stand has a swivel, so if you have a Super Bowl Party and people are strewn across your room, you can easily find the best angle to place the TV).

The sound is on par with my old Samsung DLP, the only problem is that the speakers are back facing, so I feel like I am blasting sound at my neighbors (I live in an apartment).

The one drawback for me is the reflective nature of the TV, however, I am sure I will get used to it (as I did with my laptop), and reflections are only noticeable when the scene you are watching is really dark, and the room is light. However, as many will contend, there is no way to block reflections only defuse them, so matte style TVs actually wash out the reflection and in turn the picture quality (+1 point reflective screen).

Bottom line this TV will not disappoint. But get the best price for it you can, trust me.

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Samsung UN46B7000 46-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV

January 7, 2010 — Led HDTV

Product Description

Samsung ultra-slim LED TVs combine breakthrough picture quality, eco-friendly design and advanced connectivity options that will keep you entertained 24/7. It boasts Internet TV that allows you to receive content via Yahoo!, Flickr, and other online TV widgets on screen. USB 2.0 movie: multi-media center makes it easy to watch movies, browse photos and listen to music on your TV. The Samsung UN46B7000 LED HDTV also makes it easy to be green with up to 40% less power consumption than conventional LCDs.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #54 in Television
  • Color: Toc Red
  • Brand: Samsung
  • Model: UN46B7000
  • Dimensions: 27.80″ h x 43.90″ w x 3.10″ l, 43.70 pounds
  • Display size: 46

Features

  • Ultra-slim 46-inch LED HDTV with full HD 1080p resolution for the sharpest picture possible
  • LED technology enables a true-to-life range of picture brightness; uses 40 percent less energy than conventional LCD TVs
  • Internet@TV online content service from Yahoo!, Flickr, YouTube via your broadband connection
  • Inputs: 4 HDMI, 1 component, 2 USB, 1 Ethernet, 1 PC, 1 optical digital audio output
  • Includes detachable swivel table stand; measures 44.4 x 30.2 x 10.8 inches (WxHxD) with stand

Customer Reviews

More with less5
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. The black areas are dark and the picture has an almost 3D quality. 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. However, there is an automatic dimming of the overall brightness for dark scenes. For instance, when the credits of a movie run against a black background the lettering becomes dimmer. This has no effect on sports, but does effect dark movie scenes.

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 easy 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 web 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.

Note: This review was written for the 6000 model. The 7000 model differs from the 6000 model in its I/O capabilities. Recently some people have reported that the 7000 has a better picture. If you do not need the extras, go with the 6000 and save a few dollars.

Great Set5
This TV has produced a lot of controversy. After having spent a lot of time wading through it, passively and actively (debating it in threads), I came to the conclusion that I would get this set for a number of reasons:

1. I was not convinced by the people who were claiming that there were serious issues with this TV. One reviewer claimed to have seen trails in large dark objects. I went to the store and found NO ability to see it, and it was right next to the 750 (and a lot of other sets). As to the LED being edge and thus the lighting being inconsistent, ditto. I am not saying that it’s all lies and local dimming is useless. I am saying that it’s not something I can see right now (and that’s really all I care about).

2. This set is INSANELY thin. I have a space for mine where this actually makes a big difference.

3. I like to vote with my dollars. This is the lowest consuming television ever made. The CNET list of sets showed that the range was 8:1, which is pretty phenomenal if you think about it; in cars, mileage is not even that spread out. This is a REMARKABLE achievement and it’s a drag to hear people whining about dumb little imperfections that 99% of people would never see while they are buying from the other end of the spectrum. Of course, the amount of energy less you are going to use is not going to make a revolution, but a tiny percentage of all TVs using this amount would make a huge difference (game theory 101).

The biggest difference from my prior set (Westinghouse LCD) is this one actually has blacks.

The controls, menus, remote, etc., are all fine (I use a universal remote). Having a bunch of HDMI ports is great. I plugged in the connection to the web and looked at the Yahoo Widgets. Calling them useless at this point is an understatement. Should be interesting to see what is coming from that direction.

The argument that if the 750 looks just as good, save the money and get that is a compelling one. In terms of value overall, I paid ~$1500 for my 42″ Westinghouse 3 years ago. I just replaced it because it had developed background noise (patterns you could see). If this set lasts 2 more years, it will have exceeded the prior value in size and savings of energy.

Again, this is a remarkable achievement in an industry that had told us we’d all be using power sipping OLED by now, this is a hybrid strategy, here today.

Love this TV5
I won’t go into as much detail as some others, but I do want to say that I’ve had this TV for 3 weeks and I absolutely love it. One thing I noticed on all TV’s my friends have is when the scene goes dark, you can see the entire screen glow and most LCDs will only go so dark. Due to LED technology, which does not disappoint, this TV will go pitch black on dark scenes and very bright on light scenes.

One thing I do want to mention is that Samsung’s Auto Motion Plus (AMP) is something that takes time to get used to, if you choose to use it. The funnies thing I’ve read about this TV is a person who paid over $2k and then sent the TV back because they said TV made everything they watched “look cheap, like a soap opera”, so they rated TV one star, shipped it back to the store and bought a different brand. As soon as I got the TV hooked up, I popped in Matrix II into the DVD player and I did notice what that person was talking about. Entire movie didn’t feel quite like a movie, but more like someone was holding a video camera and was following all the car chases and everything else. It did remind me of those “cheap” TV programs, but is also looked kind of like you are actually there. I read more about it and realized that if I turn off AMP, the TV will show everything “normally” and there is absolutely no reason to send it back if AMP is not your thing.

However, I read more about AMP and from what I can tell, it is the imperfections in normal movies and motion blur that we are all used to. What AMP does is figure out where all moving objects are, “unblurs” them and actually plays back the scene at 120fps instead of 24fps. Extra frames are extrapolated based on object motion in the scene. The result is that everything is extremely sharp and clear and motion blur is almost entirely gone. I’ve seen Matrix II about 8 times and when I watched it with AMP turned on, I noticed extra cool, little details which I’ve never even noticed before when watching it on a regular TV.

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Samsung UN46B8000 46-Inch 1080p 240Hz LED HDTV

January 7, 2010 — Led HDTV

Product Description

Picture performance, advanced connectivity, and an eco-friendly and stunning design come together to form Samsung LED TV 8000. For the image connoisseur, our highest 240Hz motion blur reduction technology, a 5,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio that displays incredibly deep blacks and pristine whites, and enriched color processing deliver outstanding video. Samsung LED TVs use 40% less power than conventional LCD TVs and are manufactured with the environment in mind. Internet@TV has web TV widgets from Yahoo, Flicker, Ebay and others to entertain, inform and connect you to specially designed web content right on your LED TV. This Ultra Slim 1.2” depth set is the ideal complement for your room and your life.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #19 in Television
  • Color: TOC
  • Brand: Samsung
  • Model: UN46B8000XFXZA
  • Dimensions: 27.10″ h x 1.20″ w x 44.50″ l, 39.70 pounds
  • Display size: 46

Features

  • Ultra-slim 46-inch LED HDTV with full HD 1080p resolution and Auto Motion Plus 240Hz technology for the sharpest, smoothest picture possible
  • LED technology enables a true-to-life range of picture brightness; uses 40 percent less energy than conventional LCD TVs
  • Internet@TV online content service from Yahoo!, Flickr, YouTube via your broadband connection
  • Inputs: 4 HDMI, 1 component, 2 USB, 1 Ethernet, 1 PC, 1 optical digital audio output
  • Includes detachable swivel table stand; measures 44.5 x 29.8 x 10.9 inches (WxHxD) with stand
From the Manufacturer
Redefining the standards for viewing quality, energy-efficiency and home entertainment decor, the Samsung 8000 Series LED HDTVs 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.

Customer Reviews

very nice5
Consumer Reports has not rated this set yet. Their current top rated set is the samsung ln650, which although good, has minor flaws, such as “3-ball effect” (tennis and football), varying shade of green on football fields when comparing line of scrimmage versus either side, and some smudginess.

I see none of that with UN46B8000 that I bought last week. Fast motion is excellent. White is white, black is black, and reds and blues are beautiful. Clarity is excellent. Once in a while I’ve seen intense yellows and greens where I’ve wondered if it was an accurate depiction, but I’ve not made any adjustments yet. But, it’s hard to get all these qualities, especially whites, in plasma. I’m not a professional, just my observations based on a few months of shopping.

My opinion is that plasma has lost it’s advantage, especially if you consider power consumption. Plasmas only advantage now is price, but that should change over time.

The only problem with the un46b800 I’ve had is that occasionally the backlight setting jumps up. I think c/net mentioned this. Still, I’m very satisfied with this set.

Picture clarity is stunning with Digital or HD4
I only gave this 4 stars because 5 stars represents “perfect” to me, and I doubt any product out there made is “perfect”.

First of all I like most am not rich and this kind of money for a tv is insane. But if you’ve decided to upgrade your older lcd (or) finallys witch from your crt, and you were planning to try and spend around $1000 or $1200 tops, I’d really suggest you wait, if it takes 6 months, wait, and save enough money for a great tv like this.

I searched online for the best reviewed tv’s in the price range I could afford, and like most of you I wandered into the tv section of Walmart and other stores to see the screen definition and prices of various tv’s out there. I decided if I’m going to make this expensive transition I’m going to wait a few months until I could get the tv I really wanted. Well I finally have my un46B8000 and find myself watching commercials cuz they look so cool !

First of all I am a long time user of Tivo. Mine was the standard digital 2 drive version so I decided to upgrade and order the new XL HD tivo. In the week while I waited for it’s delivery, I was watching my usual cable digital channels on this new tv. It’s IMPORTANT to note that the digital picture is just stunning on this tv… without the HD channels. Shows look oddly different, like many yrs ago when they switched to video taping our nightly comedy shows instead of filming them…. and I remember how odd the picture looked in video.. it was unusually clear and realistic… Well I’m experiencing that again with this new tv.. Just watching Two and a Half Men, the new picture clarity baffles and stuns me! it’s like watching a whole new program! and digital commercials, I actually find myself rewinding to watch them! it’s just odd !!

The color intensity and clarity are stunning and THERE IS NO DAMN HUM !!!
Also I find the speakers quite adequate though I’m hooking up the new Samsung soundbar (with blu-ray) to this tv today… but the speaker quality of this tv doesn’t bother me at all. Plus you can fine tune the sound to your liking.

Setup is easy especially with an HDMI cable – one cable! (depending on your setup). For me it’s the normal cable out of the wall into my Tivo, then the HDMI cable out from my TIVO and into the back of the TV, and wah-lah.. it’s done. (Only the HD TIVO’s have the HDMI connector).

CONS: the directions, the booklet and the website suck – Most of us have hooked electronics up before so you can figure it out but if you’re a beginner.. good luck with that! There’s no excuse for the lack of info in the huge booklet and the Samsung website – there is more info on this amazon.com page above about this tv than there is in the book (or) on Samsung’s site.

CONS: I don’t like the remote, glad I have my great Tivo remote. ex: if you want to adjust the color saturation, you’d like to see the picture on screen while you’re doing it so you know how much to adjust it.. but sadly this stupid remote and tv have this big pop up screen that blocks the entire tv picture while your making your settings! so dumb- I find myself making a setting then clicking “exit” so I can view my change, then go back into the “menu” several times to set/change it some more. This is a minor issue I guess because once you have your chosen settings you’ll rarely fix it again, but still it’s a dumb setup. My remote also skips around on that menu screen without me clicking anything.. (a flaw in mine or all of them?) again not a big deal once it’s setup but it skips around badly..

PROS: In the menu there are 4 choices for a picture to choose from, “Dynamic”, “Standard”, “Natural”, and “Movie”. The pro here is that those could simply be called 1-2-3-4 instead because once you choose one of those above, you can scroll down and change what they are. Meaning you can scroll down and change the color saturation, tint, contrast, etc for each of those items. My tv is in a very bright room so I set one setting (standard) for day viewing and made a darker screen choice (natural) for night time, which is more soothing to my eyes.

Some of the menu settings may confuse you but you need to just play with it, curse a little, and you’ll figure it out.

PROS: there is a “backlight” setting which I am amazed I can keep rather low. My tv is in a very bright room, approx 12′ from a 8′x8′ patio door where I let lots of light in for my indoor plants everyday.. I am stunned how well I can see this tv in this bright light WITHOUT changing to any bright setting. This bright room was the main reason I hesitated for so long from upgrading my tv because I was worried this bright room would be too much for a new lcd (or plasma).. well this tv is amazing in a light environment.

CONS: again the remote – some shows you are still watching in 4:3 ratio mode (old square screen), otherwide the picture looks too stretched out. Then there are shows that are easily viewed in 16:9 (wide screen). You need to go all the way into the menu to change this setting if you want a dif screen for dif tv shows, (click “menu” then “Mode” then scroll down to “Picture Options” then choose “size”) — it’s insane to have to go through all that to change the screen/picture size. Again, my award winning tivo remote (!!) has this feature as one of it’s buttons easily accessed right on the remote .. just click “aspect” and I can change the aspect ratio of any program I’m watching.. But for those of you with just this tv’s remote, you’ll need to go through all those steps I listed above to keep changing the aspect ratio – annoying! (Their remote and “menu” are a big reason I couldn’t give this tv 5 stars)

PROS: the tv is light weight enough I could lift it. The base which you must attach is as heavy as the tv it seemed, but it all looks stunning once set up.

CONS: price – ridiculous! I found it elsewhere and saved $300 off Amazon’s price. I use Amazon to buy lots of items of all types but for something like this I searched google and ebay for a better price (and found it on ebay). Be sure to consider delivery costs (and tax where applicable) when choosing where to buy it.

PROS: thin beyond belief
PROS: blacks are so black that even on a limited black setting, the screen edges (when watching 4:3 ration) are as black as the actual tv frame..

PROS: it’s a nice looking tv. chrome base with a thick glass stem leading up to the tv. A bright, deep, flourescent blue light shows at the bottom when the tv is turned on – pleasing to the eye.. oh and the tv hums a slight tune when you turn it off and on!

PROS: I have no glare problems in this bright room next to this huge patio door.

CONS: You really do need to be almost dead center when watching this tv for the best picture

PROS: The swivel stand is very helpful to put you dead center for viewing. (Although I’m usually approx 3′ off dead center (to the side), approx 10′-12′ distance from the tv, and the pic is still spectacular).

CONS: there is no S connection on the back (if you need one) and the other connections are setup squashed into a side panel.. not the easiest to connect and some thicker connectors may not work on this tv (as mentioned in this indepth review below)

[...]

That article (above) is the most indepth info I found on this tv before I bought it.

One last thing. With the new HD Tivo’s you need to get rid of the cable box and use cable cards. When the cable guy came out yesterday he had been installing cable cards (in new Tivo’s) all morning. When he came in and first viewed my tv which was turned on, after spending all morning in front of other people’s lcd/plasma tv’s all morning, he took one look at my tv picture and simply said, “wow”. That was his first impression walking up to it and seeing it’s clear picture! (and keep in mind it was still on a regular cable digital picture, not HDMI yet). So basically, after seeing all those other tv’s all morning in everyone else’s home.. he was blown away by my new Samsung UN46B8000 ! So there! I have bragging rights! lol.

So when watching HD channels or your digital channels you should be very pleased with this tv.

46″ is a pretty big tv imo. This old lady loves NFL and watching Brett Favre and Eli Manning has been great on this new LED LCD tv. The 2 ms response time is impressive, the color intensity is indescribable, the clarity, and the contrast is spectacular when watching football. You will need to go into your menu settings and tweak all these features to your liking (sound, contrast, tint, color, black levels, backlight, sharpness, etc.)

[...]

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Samsung UN46B6000 46-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV

January 6, 2010 — Led HDTV

Product Description

The B6000 is the slimmest of any LED TV on the market with tuner inside and the world’s slimmest wall mount solution that reduces the gap between the TV and the wall to less than 0.8 inches.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #43 in Television
  • Color: Toc Red
  • Brand: Samsung
  • Model: UN46B6000
  • Dimensions: 27.80″ h x 43.90″ w x 3.10″ l, 43.70 pounds
  • Display size: 46

Features

  • Ultra-slim 46-inch LED HDTV with full HD 1080p resolution for the sharpest picture possible
  • LED technology enables a true-to-life range of picture brightness; uses 40 percent less energy than conventional LCD TVs
  • InfoLink RSS feeds of news, weather and sports from your broadband connection
  • Inputs: 4 HDMI, 1 component, 2 USB, 1 Ethernet, 1 PC, 1 optical digital audio output
  • Includes detachable swivel table stand; measures 43.9 x 30 x 10.8 inches (WxHxD) with stand
From the Manufacturer
Manufacturer’s Review (March 3, 2009)
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.

Customer Reviews


My first HDTV5
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.

More with less5
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. The black areas are dark and the picture has an almost 3D quality. 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. However, there is an automatic dimming of the overall brightness for dark scenes. For instance, when the credits of a movie run against a black background the lettering becomes dimmer. This has no effect on sports, but does effect dark movie scenes.

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 easy 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 web 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.

Note that there is a similiar 7000 model. The 7000 model differs from the 6000 model in its I/O capabilities. Recently some people have reported that the 7000 has a better picture. If you do not need the extras, go with the 6000 and save a few dollars.

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