Samsung UN46B6000 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV
Posted by TVReviews on September 28, 2009 · 3 Comments
From the ManufacturerSamsung-6000-LED with NFLManufacturer’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. Samsung’s ultra-slim 6000 Series LED HDTV offers the most vibrant contrast with blacker black tones, whiter whites along with the richest color possible. Samsung’s 6000 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 reduc…
Buy Samsung UN46B6000 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV at Amazon
I purchased this TV and ended up returning it a week later. The physical TV is gorgeous, but unfortunately it has issues with the screen that I couldn’t live with.
During normal viewing (in the store, in a lit room during the day), the picture quality is awesome – it has inky blacks and vibrant colors. The problem has to do with its “screen uniformity”, something I didn’t even know was a “feature” to consider when I was researching TVs.
This TV has an “edge-lit LED screen”, which means the LED lights are along the edges of the screen shining inwards toward the center. Unfortunately, this makes for very uneven lighting across the screen. It’s not noticeable during the day, but at night in a dark room watching a dark scene, there were a number of faint glowing streaks coming from the edges of the screen. It was very apparent in the letterboxing (the black bands over and below a widescreen image), in which there were feint cones of light coming from the corners of the screen.
I researched the issue (I searched for the TV’s model number and the words “screen uniformity”) and it turns out this is an issue all the LEDs have. The review sites offer the technical explanations for it.
I’m by no means a A/V snob, but the problem was almost instantly noticed by me and everyone I had look at the TV.
I returned the TV and instead purchased the Samsung LN46B650 Samsung LN46B650 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color. It costs almost $600 less, has just as gorgeous of a picture (I don’t notice the contrast ratio difference), and has none of the screen uniformity issues.
I’ll say that again – the NON-LED 46” Samsung TV has a BETTER quality picture and costs hundreds of dollars less. Unless you are using this TV in a lit room during the day and you value only the aesthetics of such a thin TV, go with the regular LCD. You won’t be disappointed.
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.
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.