The Samsung SP-A 600 B is a one-chip DLP projector that’s been on the market since summer 2009 and currently sells from about 1,500 GBP in the UK. In the US, Samsung lists the device for 1,799.99 USD, but it’s advertised online for about 1,650 USD.

Reviewed by Florian Friedrich on February 18, 2010

Powerful light output.
Superb 24p reproduction.
Excellent colours in the bright lamp mode.
Simple operation.
Sharp zoom optics, right up to the edge of the picture.

Weaknesses in the de-interlacing.
Colour errors in eco mode require a firmware update.

This Samsung has nothing to fear from similarly priced competitors — the colour purity, sharpness, and brightness are all the best that money can buy. Weaknesses in its de-interlacing and faulty non-primary colours in eco mode slightly water down the otherwise positive impression. A recent firmware update rectifies the colour problem, but the user cannot install the update themselves — affected devices require servicing by an expert dealer or by Samsung itself.

Most Important Connections:

2x 1x 1x 1x 1x

Features

Besides the obligatory analogue video inputs, the Samsung also has two HDMIs.

Whereas our reference projector, the Samsung SP-A 800 B, has a 0.95-inch DLP chip, the SP-A 600 B’s chip measures just 0.65 inches, allowing Samsung to shrink the overall dimensions of the projector and its optics. But the developers have nevertheless chosen a quality lens and have given this ‘little’ projector a high-grade 1.3x zoom.

The A 600 B accepts interlaced video in 576i format via both of its HDMI inputs, but doesn’t then allow the user to activate film mode. The video processor fails to convert interlaced HD material in 1080i format into flicker-free progressive video — other projectors perform significantly better in this respect. We also thought it was a shame that the Samsung was so loud (30 decibels) in its bright lamp mode.

Operation

Although the remote control is small, it offers many useful direct-access buttons.

During installation, the integrated test patterns and the option to adjust some picture settings directly from the remote control are a great help. There’s even a function for freezing the image, which is especially practical for weather maps or finance tickers. Also very practical is the “Info” button, which displays data relating to the video format and picture setup.

Like the A 800 B, the A 600 B allows you to project images in monochrome using just the red, green, or blue components of the image. With the appropriate test patterns, this allows fast, simple, and accurate adjustment of the colour saturation.

Light, Colours, and Contrast

Thanks to its powerful 220-watt lamp, the Samsung produces a high light output of 653 lumens in its colour-optimised “Movie1” mode. The preset’s colour temperature measures about 6,800 Kelvin and remains constant when you turn up the contrast — so long as you’re watching films and not PC signals, which have a wider dynamic range.

The SP-A 600 B strictly upholds the colour guidelines. The 6,800-Kelvin colour temperature tends only very slightly towards cyan.

As you can see in the CIE diagram, the Samsung’s “Movie1” preset delivers almost perfect colours. Even in comparison with our reference projector, this device’s big brother, there’s little recognisable difference — respect! You have to look extremely closely to see the minimal touch of green in some shades of yellow. In a stepped greyscale pattern, the SP-A 600 B adds a tiny blue-green tint, but you can quickly neutralise this by increasing the red component by one point in the colour temperature menu. And there’s a happy side effect here: The adjustment results in an even better colour temperature of 6,600 Kelvin. Unlike many LCD competitors, this Korean DLP introduces no irritating colouration (shading) in grey areas.

The contrast is also impressive: The A 600 B produced some superb values, such as the ANSI contrast of 550:1 or the in-picture contrast of 1,720:1. But, since the projector lacks an iris, the maximum On/Off contrast is only slightly higher at 1,920:1. This makes the gamma value of 2.6 in the “Movie1” mode seem almost a bit too dark. Unfortunately, there are only two other gamma settings: One is very bright at 2.05; the other, the “Graphic” mode, gives an s-shaped curve with a factor of 2.1.

The SP-A 600 B’s eco mode is quiet, at just 24 dB, but introduces colour errors in yellows and magentas, which therefore sit far wide of the CIE triangle.

Picture Quality of Standard-Definition Signals

The Samsung uses the latest video technology, producing high-quality processing of conventional interlaced signals. Coloured patterns in S-Video and composite video signals resolve extraordinarily accurately, and the de-interlacing is decent. But you’ll only get truly superb picture quality via the YUV input, which is a touch sharper and even allows you to deactivate picture-cropping (overscan).

If errors appear in the uncropped image, the “Zoom 1” picture-format setting is one solution — this crops the image more subtly than the overscan setting does. The video processor produces an excellent picture from TV material: White lines on football pitches show clean scaling and no stair-step effects.

If you switch on the “Film Mode” in the picture menu, the Korean projector displays films with almost no flicker. But this menu option is missing for HDMI-576i signals, meaning films arriving digitally show permanent flicker during motion. We therefore recommend only supplying up-scaled films via HDMI. The Samsung then impresses with natural colours, high contrast, and gorgeous sharpness. Rainbow effects are only very rarely visible.

Picture Quality of High-Definition Signals

Here, the video processor sometimes struggles to get into a stable film mode with 1080i film-based material. But, again, you have to look extremely closely to see the fine flicker on the seaplane’s stripes in the fourth chapter of “Casino Royale”, for example. With TV material, on the other hand, the de-interlacing works perfectly: HDTV documentaries or sports broadcasts from HD satellite receivers display in top quality. Fast motion, on the other hand, tends to produce slightly blurred multiple edges on contrast-rich patterns. Most LCD projectors in this price class handle fast camera pans better thanks to their modern motion-enhancement technologies.

One-chip DLP projectors display even the finest patterns with no colour errors and with a smooth, clear pixel raster. The SP-A 600 B also has razor-sharp optics.

The Samsung handles judder-free 24p reproduction excellently. Movie fans with a big Blu-ray collection can therefore lean back and enjoy — we’ve never seen such perfect movie pictures in this price class. The Korean projector impresses both in striking, bright scenes and gloomy, dark scenes with natural-looking colours — no loud shades, no screaming reds, no toxic greens. Black-and-white films look flawless — from the deepest black through to the purest white — and the lens’s sharpness impresses: Test patterns and digital photos resolve sharply right up to the edge of the picture. One advantage of one-chip DLP technology is that it doesn’t suffer from the coloured fringing that convergence errors or coarse pixel structures can bring about. The high ANSI contrast and the brightness of the projection round off an already extremely impressive performance.

The SP-A 600 B’s dark gamma characteristic only hits problems in home cinemas with light-coloured walls. When scattered light overwhelms weaker variations in dark colours, you’ll start to yearn for a brighter gamma setting.

Ideal Settings

Mode: Movie1

Contrast: 58

Brightness: 50

Sharpness: 0

Color: 50

Color Temperature: 6500K

Gamma: Film

Digital NR: Off

Black Level: Low

Overscan: Off

Lamp Mode: Bright

Color Standard: HD

These settings apply to realistic playback of HDTV/Blu-ray material through the HDMI interface in a darkened environment. Manufacturing and HDMI playback device deviations might necessitate slight adjustment.

Lab Results

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