The Samsung UN46C7000 3D LED 240Hz TVs are littered with Web apps and “Wi-Fi-ready” (add a link stick adapter and you’re good to go). They also have decent image quality, an attractive, ultra slim design and a remote control that looks old Razr phone.
The UN46C7000 features a thin, shiny, black rounded edges and perches on a silver X-shaped swivel stand. A thin silver line frames the top and sides of the ring, culminating in a thicker line at the bottom. The mirrored silver standard is unique, but a little too prominent for my taste. Fortunately this is the perfect television for wall mounting. It is very thin, and its gates are lined on the sides – in parallel, not perpendicular to the screen. The TV is so thin, in fact, that many of the ports require an adapter and doesn’t need additional oem software.
Thankfully, Samsung provides adapter cables for Ethernet, cable / antenna, PC, digital audio in, Component (audio), component (video), and A / V-in. The set comes with four HDMI ports and two USB ports, too.
The remote is thin, and brushed silver, like the keyboard on a Motorola Razr phone. In fact, the remote is a lot like text on a Razr – it’s hard to get used to, and it offers little physical feedback. Because the keys are flush with each other and separated only by thin, plastic elevated lines, it is difficult to operate the equipment for navigation without looking at it.
The remote control offers a number of special keys, including for Yahoo Widgets, 3D TV and InternetTV. Samsung InternetTV service comes with several free apps (among them, Blockbuster on Demand, Facebook, Google Maps, Netflix and Vudu), and the app links to a store where you can download additional free or paid applications. The Yahoo Widgets button brings up a small bar along the bottom of the screen, with a customizable widgets for each household member.
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Samsung first installation guide, called Plug & Play, scans for channels and invites you to determine variables such as language, fashion (home or store demo), antenna / cable and the date and time.
The UN46C7000′s on-screen menus are very attractive, with icons for different types of media (photo, video, etc.) and add the media play the menu to give one of the four backgrounds for viewing photos. Pressing the Content button on the remote brings a rotating list of types of content (channels, InternetTV, Media Play, etc.) without obscuring the picture.
The TV only has four preset picture modes (dynamic, standard, natural and film), but there are quite a few custom settings. Adjustable settings range from standard (backlight, contrast, brightness and sharpness, for example) to advanced (including dynamic contrast, RGB only mode, white balance and ten points), with both a menu of options and an advanced photo options menu.
HDTV picture quality on this looks good at first, but closer inspection reveals a number of glaring flaws. The UN46C7000 Aced our horizontal and diagonal panning tests, yet displaying a cityscape with no sign of judder or blur.
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Unfortunately that did not translate smoothness in moving images. In one of our scenes from The Dark Knight, windows on a building seemed to jump up and down, and the pattern on a tie Morgan Freeman went all over the place. Using the Auto Motion Plus function to adjust the refresh rate did nothing to help the party to go to tie Morgan Freeman – in fact it only served to make the previously super smooth panning shudder a bit.
The UN46C7000 shows a good contrast, with very black blacks. But the picture was generally over-saturated – especially in our DVD up-conversion tests. In a scene from The Phantom of the Opera, were so over-saturated colors, the picture is acquired a greenish cast. One judge commented that the supersaturation, combined with the way colors appear to bleed together produced the effect of colors on a 16-bit computer monitor.
Looking at the contents of this set from a different angle than “dead-on” problems, too. If you move a few feet on both sides, fading colors, contrast is dull, and the image fades to a shadow of her dead in the picture. The set also sufffered an LED-backlight bleeding: When we light during a clip from The Dark Knight, we found some pretty clear discoloration in the upper corners.
The preset audio modes: Standard, music, film, clear voice, and to explain (for hard-of-hearing viewers). An equalizer can also calibrate your audio settings. The surround sound is not great, but it has enough depth to be credible.
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The UN46C7000 comes with good documentation – a fairly thorough quick-start sheet and a clear, illustrated 66-page manual. The manual is also available online.
If you’re in the market for a set that looks good, when activated, but even better when it is off, the Samsung UN46C7000 a better choice for you than rivals. And when 3D TV in your future or you have a certain fondness for Razr phones, HDTV will not disappoint.
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