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Samsung UE-46B8000 Review |
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Reviewed: 18 January 2010
Black
levels, Motion
handling ability, Colour
Some
minor backlight inconsistencies
Design
If flat panel TV's sold on their looks alone, Samsung's entire range of ultra slim LED back lit LCD TV's would quite possibly feature at or near the top of most people's wish lists.
With no requirement for the traditional bulky fluorescent tube found on the majority of LCD TV's, Samsung's Edge based implementation of LED backlighting comes with an incredibly slim profile.
The UE-46B8000, with a clear, centimetre-wide outer frame beyond the edges of the minimalist glossy black screen frame along with a transparent ‘neck' that joins the TV to the frame, is every inch the flagship model. And just to ensure your friends and neighbours go completely green with envy, Samsung have produced a special wall mounting bracket for the B8000 which allows it to hang flush with your wall.
Features
Samsung's domination of the emerging LED TV market in 2009 is due in no small part to the introduction of their more affordable 6000, 7000 and 8000 series. The new TV's employ 'edge-mounted' LEDs rather than 'localy-dimmed' ('direct') implementations present on more expensive screens, producing some of the slimmest, most stylish panels around.
Screen: 46in 16:9 Tuner: Digital Sound System: Nicam Resolution: 1920 x 1080 Contrast Ratio: Mega Contrast Other Features: 200Hz processing, Content Library, edge-based LED lighting. 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.
The Black level ability of LED based LCD TV's is said to be greatly enhanced while claims are made that the technology affords much more fluid motion handling.
Rather than the 'local dimming' LED technology of their earlier models, and as a concession to affordability, the 8000 series uses 'edge based' LEDs. While 'local dimming' employs 'banks' of LED's which can be dimmed individually the 8000 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
Demonstrating that it is more than just a pretty face, the UE-46B8000 can also lay claim to some rather impressive environmental credentials.
Samsung are claiming a 40% power saving for their B8000 courtesy of LED backlighting while a mercury free production process enhances its green credentials.
Differentiating the B8000 series from other Samsung LED TV's, 200Hz introduces a refresh rate four times greater than a standard PAL 50Hz TV. Sophisticated mathematical algorithms interpolate new frames of image data designed to 'fill in the gaps'. Designed to reduce or even eliminate judder and motion blurring, the effectiveness of such systems has been the subject of much debate.
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.
Elsewhere, there are four HDMIs, two USB ports and a DLNA-certified Ethernet port capable of using the standard to access media files from your PC or other DLNA-certified storage device.
Performance
With a Black Level ability which pushes the B8000 into Pioneer kuro territory, Samsung have progressed LCD technology to a level which few would have imagined possible when flat panel TV's started to become mainstream just a few years ago. The sheer depth and glossiness of black areas are a joy to behold with a level of subtle graduation across darker areas that few LCD TV's can match.
What Samsung have managed to demonstrate in the B8000 is that given the resources and the determination, a technology which was not originally conceived as a medium for TV is getting very close to Plasma, a technology through which supreme black levels and motion handling ability have always come 'naturally'. Add to the mix LCD's advantages, such as significantly lower power consumption and LED based screens begin to look very appealing.
Unfortunately, on closer inspection, our initial enthusiasm becomes slightly tempered. The impressive black levels are achieved with the aid of Samsung's 'auto-dimming' function which has a few undesirable side effects. In some instances, auto-dimming had a detrimental effect on screen brightness with picture detail became difficult to discern in some instances. With slight inconsistencies around the screen edge, backlight uniformity can become a little erratic at times.
While backlight uniformity is an issue, it never intrudes to a degree that viewing pleasure is affected to an unacceptable level. Auto-dimming is triggered through complicated algorithms which analyse patterns used for setting gray scale through APL (average picture level), and thankfully, the system rarely produces overly noticeable inconsistencies.
Testament in part to the ability of Samsung's core picture processing engine, the B8000 demonstrated a supreme Standard Definition performance. With very little on screen noise and commendably smooth rendition of a Freeview source, Samsung have managed to carry across a reputation for class leading SD performance on their mainstream LCD TV's to their flagship LED range.
With a colour palette which delivers its hues with a vibrancy that few flat panel TV's can match, the UE-46B8000 begins to look like one of the more accomplished 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. Colours are delivered with an intensity that make the rich environments, often depicted in nature programmes for example, a joy to watch.
Hook up the UE-46B8000 to a High Definition source however and you will enjoy an altogether different experience. Scenes from our Blu-ray copy of 'Planet Earth' compelled us to reach out and touch - the impression of reality being so strong. Every imaginable nuance of detail is presented in a flood of vibrantly rendered colours, a truly involving and addictive experience.
Sceptical of the various forms of frame rate enhancement, we were pleasantly surprised to find that 200Hz processing seemed to make a difference, even over Samsung's own 100Hz systems. This difference is not dramatic, but there is in our opinion a tangible improvement in picture smoothness and a reduction in 'blurring' which was more evident on the 100Hz equipped UE-40B7000 we recently tested.
Conclusion
With their LED equipped screens you get the feeling that Samsung are pushing LCD technology to extreme; an extreme that is however, with a few minor glitches, producing some of the best pictures we have seen from any TV. While there are those that will always prefer the way Plasma technology converts an incoming signal, Samsung's LED based TV's are undeniably are force to be reckoned with.
Samsung UE-46B8000
