40in LCD Picture Sound Features Usability Value A stunning introduction to affordable LED technology delivering excellent performance in most areas. Rating: 92%

Reviewed: 14 July 2009

  LED technology delivers stunning black levels

  Internet connectivity is limited

Design

By nature of their ultra slim profiles, LED TV's bring with them a style all of their own. At a mere 30mm deep, Samsung's UE-40B7000 is a guaranteed talking point and sure to make friends and neighbours go more than just a little green with envy.

Combine the extreme slimness of design with a glossy finish along with a transparent 'neck' connecting the screen to its bezel and Samsung have yet again produced an extremely desirable piece of audio visual kit.

It is worth noting that the 40B7000 and 40B7020 are identical apart from a few minor cosmetic changes, the former sporting a 'Rose Black' bezel while the UE40B7000 has a 'Platinum Black' bezel.

Features

With their high end F96, A786 and A956 series, Samsung showcased the talents of LED technology. With the 6000, 7000 and 8000 series, Samsung are aiming to make LED based LCD TV's mainstream.

LCD TV's have traditionally required an 'always on' backlight to illuminate the display, a system which makes it difficult to achieve high contrast ratios. LED technology is designed primarily to achieve higher contrast but comes with the added benefit of a much wider colour palette, lower power consumption and a far less bulky profile with the backlight removed.

	Screen: 40in 16:9 Tuner: Digital Sound System: Nicam Resolution: 1920 x 1080 Contrast Ratio: 3,000,000:1 Other Features: 100Hz processing (IFC), Content Library, edge-based LEd lighting, HDML level adjust. Sockets: 4 HDMI, DLNA, LAN connection, 2 SCART, 2 USB 2.0, Component Video, Composite Video, PC input, CAM slot, SD card slot, Ethernet port.

 

Rather than the 'local dimming' LED technology of their earlier models, and as a concession to affordability, the 7000 series uses 'edge based' LEDs. While 'local dimming' employs 'banks' of LED's which can be dimmed individually the 7000 series uses white LEDs which are mounted along the edges of the screen to illuminate an array of reflective plates which direct the light forward and out of the screen.

Samsung are actually claiming that edge-mounted LED's can produce better contrast than locally dimmed LED's if set up correctly (by using darker diffusing mechanisms) and will actually react faster to changes in picture brightness.

If you would like to find out more about LED technology you might like to read our LED TV guide

The UE-40B7000 benefits from a healthy array of connections, including four HDMIs, two USB ports and a LAN connection. These connection facilitate the use of some rather innovative interactive services.

The UE-40B7000 is DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) enabled, which makes it easier to integrate the TV as part of a home network through the LAN connection. Viewing your still JPEG holiday snaps stored on a PC through your TV is just one of the many benefits DLNA brings. The USB allows you to connect to a router wirelessly via an optional wi-fi dongle.

Like a number of manufacturers, Samsung are adding some form of internet functionality to some of their screens. The UE-40B7000 features the technology which seems to have picked up the mantel for being the latest must have component on flat screen TV's, 'Widgets'. These widgets provide access to weather reports, stock quotes, RSS feeds etc. Samsung's 'Internet@TV' concept is driven by Yahoo widgets, a development platform developed by the search engine company to provide this sort of content for a wide range of entertainment devices.

In its present form 'Internet@TV' only allows users to browse the content provided by Samsung's own internet portal. However, this portal has recently become much more interesting with the addition of YouTube and Flickr (the photo storage/exchange site).

Complementing the widget technology is Samsung's Content Library which contains a wide range of pre-loaded material such as photo screensavers, recipes, children's stories and songs along with some basic games.

With an innovative mix of high and low reflection layers, Samsung's 'Ultra Clear Panel' works to improve contrast ratio and black levels whatever the lighting conditions, actively adjusting its responses depending on ambient conditions. 'Ultra Clear Panel' is Samsung's evolution of their 'Super Clear Panel' technology found on previous LCD and Plasma screens.

Samsung's take on 100Hz processing, 'Motion Plus' inserts extra frames (up from 50 frames per second to 100fps) to produce a smoother viewing experience by eliminating on-screen 'flicker' (the noticeable transition of picture 'frames' with faster on-screen action). Three pre-sets are available increasing in strength from 'Clear' to 'Standard' and finally 'Smooth'. There is also a 'Custom' option which allows the user to tweak settings.

Performance

Illustrating the effectiveness of LED technology, the UE-40B7000 delivers a startlingly good black level performance. More surprisingly, the performance seems to confirm Samsung's claims that their 'edge based' approach is as good if not better than the 'local dimming' variant LED TV's. In fact, the 40B7000 produces black levels which rival the very best flat panels, LCD or Plasma, currently available. The only minor hiccup, which prevents the TV from achieving greatness in respect of black level performance was the presence of a small amount of clouding - hardly noticeable, but there all the same.

What is so significant about the black level performance is that the deep rich hues are achieved while maintaining a decent level of screen brightness, supporting once again, Samsung's claims that their fine tuning of 'edge based' LED technology is reaping rich rewards.

Despite having to upscale the 576 or so lines of a Freeview signal onto the Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution screen, and testament to the UE-40B7000's upscaling circuitry, Standard Definition (SD) pictures were on the whole excellent. A very small amount of on screen 'noise' became visible at times, but is barely visible. The only other issue was 'smearing' with faster on screen action, but once again this was barely visible and easily rectified by tweaking the on board 100hz processing.

Hook the UE-40B7000 up to a high definition (HD) source and you become immediately aware of what HD Ready screens were built for. Every nuance of detail combines with pin sharp detail to produce a truly remarkable picture. To get the best from the UE-40B7000 however, requires some tweaking. You will need to experiment with 100Hz settings to get the best fast motion performance from the screen in HD.

Add to the mix a stunning colour palette which delivers its hues with a vibrancy that few flat panel TV's can match and the UE-40B7000 begins to look like one of the best performing screens we have come across for some time. Every nuance of colour variation is delivered with a subtlety which makes tricky areas such as skin tones appear wholly realistic.

Once again, like the vast majority of flat panel TV's, acoustics reflect a lack of raw sonic power which struggles with more demanding soundtracks but is more than adequate for day to day use.

Conclusion

The Samsung's UE-40B7000 may not ultimately establish itself as a benchmark TV along the lines of Pioneer's Kuro range; but it will certainly be remembered as the first TV to make available the benefits of LED performance to the vast majority of consumers. Overall performance is quite stunning and should make it a serious contender for anyone considering a top notch screen.

  LED technology delivers stunning black levels

  Internet connectivity is limited