Samsung UN46C6800 2D LED HDTV (TPV 100)

Samsung’s UN46C6800 is from their top-tier 2D range, and features LED backlighting with 120 Hz screen refresh and Internet connectivity with a growing range of available apps

RECOMMENDED SETTINGS

• Color: 45
• Tint: G50/R50
• Sharpness: 0
• Picture Mode: Movie
• Backlight: 7
• Color Tone: Warm2
• Gamma: 2
• HD size (pixel-to-pixel): Screen Fit
• Energy Saving: Off
• Eco Sensor: Off
• Black Tone: Off
• Dynamic Contrast: Off
• Color Space: Auto
• Flesh Tone: 0
• Edge Enhancement: Off
• LED Motion Plus: Off
• Digital Noise Filter: Auto
• MPEG Noise Filter: Auto
• Film Mode: Auto 2
• Auto Motion Plus: Custom
• Blur Reduction: 2
• Judder Reduction: 5 

PERFORMANCE

Blu-ray Evaluation: Salt

Detail
To get to the Samsung’s 1:1 pixel-for-pixel mode, choose the Screen Fit option for the sharpest picture.

Color
A number of this movie’s indoor scenes feature a rather muted, pale color palette that tends to emphasize grays over colors, and Ms. Jolie’s flesh tones are occasionally marred with a gentle tinge of yellow, but that’s not the fault of the Samsung. The outdoor scenes however are beautifully captured and rendered superbly. The Samsung’s Movie mode and color mode Warm2 combine to provide exceptional color gamut accuracy, scoring a solid “A” on the test bench, a feat that most LCD-based flat panels rarely attain.

Blacks
Better deep blacks are to be expected from a premium LED-equipped set, and the Samsung delivers excellent inky blacks. The default backlight setting is a tad on the high side though, and trimming it back three notches still provides a sufficiently bright picture in a moderately lit room.

Shadow Detail
A scene in a dockside warehouse is dimly lit, and the Samsung is able to render dark shadowy details easily. Do take note of our recommended settings, which include disabling dubious features such as Black Tone and Dynamic Contrast, as these can actually hinder shadow detail reproduction. As is typical for LCD flat panels, off-axis viewing revealed some contrast washout, but not by much (LED sets are getting better at this, but they still have a ways to go to match the very wide viewing angle of plasma sets). There’s also a bit of vertical contrast washout, so purchasers intending to wall mount the set should consider a tilt-equipped mount so the set can be angled directly toward the principal viewing area.

Artifacts/Noise
Although the set was evaluated with every feature that might cause picture brightness fluctuations disabled (the usual modus operandi here), the movie’s end credits displayed noticeable picture brightness vacillation. The first few end credits appear a few seconds before the movie fades to black. Once the screen background went black, the credit text dimmed dramatically. Single or two line credits were dimmed substantially, almost to the point of illegibility, and as the credit roll continued with more credits crowding the screen the brightness improved somewhat, but not nearly to the level it should have been (this was cross-checked against a reference Pioneer Elite Kuro plasma set parked directly next to the Samsung, which exhibited no such behavior).

Broadcast HDTV Evaluation: Real Time With Bill Maher (HBO via Dish Network)

Detail
The Samsung delivers a wonderfully crisp picture, and small details like the capsules on the show’s participants’ lapel microphones are easily visible.

Color
At the default color setting, flesh tones are just a bit on the rich side (something we’ve seen with other Samsung sets tested recently). Trimming the color back five steps sets things right, and here the Samsung delivers flesh tones that are roughly on par with what you’d see from a top-performing plasma—high praise indeed, since it wasn’t that long ago no LCD flat panel even came close in this regard.

Blacks
The show’s opener features a video montage with a black bar along the bottom of the screen displaying that evening’s guests via white text. When the set is properly adjusted, the bar appears as black as the set’s black bezel surrounding the screen. Mr. Maher wears a black suit with a black tone-on-tone patterned tie on this episode, and both are very well reproduced.