Samsung UN40B6000 40-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV Review

February 9, 2010 by admin
Filed under HDTV Reviews

I originally ordered the Samsung LN40B650 and was fairly certain that I had made a good choice.I don’t know why but I starting second guessing my decision, which led me to review the Samsung LED LCD televisions. While the reviews were not extremely glowing, the Samsung LN40B6000 looked like it could better the picture of the CCFL LN40B650 and I canceled the order for CCFL and went with the 6000 series LED television. One of the “cons” of the edge-placed LED televisions is a noted lack of screen uniformity but that is for larger screen sizes and I thought the 40 inch screen would not be as prone to that problem.

Some thoughts and observations:

1.The clear screen is very good – I have 3 windows, and a bright ceiling light; there are no reflection problems. In some of my earlier posted Amazon photos, a window reflection was evident on the screen, but not really noticeable in real-life viewing. I found, however, if I looked for the reflection, I could see it. I reshot the photos in lower light to better illustrate the performance of the ln40b6000. The first photo shows how good the screen image is when viewed directly on; this quality remains solid to 15 – 20 degrees of center. The image does lighten but I disagree that it rapidly deteriorates to poor quality even up to a viewing angle of 45 degrees; it’s still a good image.
2. Out of the box the picture is good, but after using the settings recommended by CNET, with some slight personal adjustments, the picture for many Blu Ray pictures are as good as I’ve seen.
3.Despite the stated mega contrast ratio of 3,000,000:1, the gamma setting needed to be adjusted to at least +2 or +3 (highest) values to keep dark scenes properly contrasted. One interesting fact regarding the off-center viewing is that contrast for dark lit scenes actually improves.
4.The sound is NOT bad; the two LN40B6000 rear/downward firing speakers in custom mode produces respectable sound for a television set.Now, if you want theater-quality surround sound, then this TV is going to fall far short of such expectation, but what set would not?My suggestion is to go into sound mode; select custom, select graphic equalizer (set 100HZ to max; 300HZ to 3/4 range); set SRS Trusurround HD to “On” and give a listen. If you’re still not happy, buy a sound bar.
5.The backlit remote is nice for nighttime viewing and is fairly user friendly.
6.The Samsung Blu Ray and UB40B6000 automatically recognize one another which may play a role in the exceptional picture that is produced.

The bottom line is that LN40B6000 produces a very good to excellent picture, and the sound is decent for a television set – is it worth the couple of hundred dollars more than its CCFL counterpart?I cannot say with certainty, but my hunch is that it is. However, where its performance may exceed say the LN40B650 is most likely limited to direct viewing +/- 20 degrees off center. After that the CCFL set may hold an advantage.

Update 9/25: I have read the reviews regarding limited viewing angles, but I have not noticed the dramatic degradation that has been observed by others.For comparison, I have placed 3 images under typical dark viewing conditions (note all camera settings are in static manual mode, no photo editing performed). The series of photos uploaded on Amazon do not come close to the actual picture on the screen in terms of quality, but they do demonstrate relative difference in picture color and contrast as the viewing angle is moved from center – please note photo placement captions. Overall, I am VERY happy with the LN40B6000 performance and have every intention of keeping it. The picture is outstanding when viewed directly, and may diminish with increased viewing angle, but it’s more of an excellent to good, than a good to terrible.My wife keeps complaining that the picture is too good – that it’s like watching a movie being made instead of viewing a movie – it does not make sense to me either.

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Product Description:
The brilliant Samsung LED TV experience starts with the UN40B6000. Its incredible mega contrast provides blacker blacks and whiter whites along with enriched color expression. Its ultra-slim 1.2″ depth is the slimmest HDTV yet, and that includes the tuner! The exclusive touch of color design complements any room, and infolink puts up to date information right at your fingertips. Best yet, Samsung LED TVs use 40% less power than conventional LCDs.