Picture Adjustment Diversity:
The noteworthy diverse picture adjustment options in the "Detailed Settings" allow the enthusiast to define separate color balance (RGB Gain/Offset controls), color space, and gamma settings for each input.

Screen Menu:
Televisions.com gives kudos to the menu designers: Despite the considerable number of settings on show, the menu still looks chic and manageable. Quite simply exemplary.

Some minor design flaws, however, can be irritating. The channel list, for example, actually changes the channel as you flick through the list - quickly getting to the channel you want is a challenge.

An equally impractical problem: Buttons for switching in and out of Teletext mode are placed far away from each other. The slightly blurry text in the DVB-T menu is another minor nuisance.

To derive the most natural TV picture, Televisions.com recommends using the "Movie" preset and turning off the noise filter. Calm studio recordings benefit most from this and reward the viewer with clean, crisp details. Faces, however, lose some differentiation during motion shots, and in camera pans we frequently noticed saw-tooth effects on diagonal lines. Movies, meanwhile, display free from flicker or jagged edges.

The "100 Hertz Motion Plus" setting, which is activated in the factory setup, is a matter of taste. It does increase the legibility of slow finance tickers but does nothing to improve the sharpness of fast-moving objects. As confirmed in our test, motion sequences sometimes look artificially smooth and occasional disturbances could be observed in the form of pixel noise along moving edges. In any case, even with Motion Plus switched off, the Samsung delivers decent motion clarity. A caveat: Backlight illumination is a player here. The brighter the lamp, the more blur in fast-moving objects. Picture material input via Scart acquires a strong violet color cast, and when using S-Video colorful picture details badly wash out.

If you want to connect a DVD player or satellite receiver, this is best done through the HDMI inputs. The advantage is an adjustable color matrix, as well as resolution, directly at the HDMI source itself. 576i-YUV, input via HDMI, gave a blurry picture and - at least with our Denon DVD-2930 DVD player - a flashing line was briefly visible at the right-hand edge of the picture. On switching the player over to RGB output, both errors disappeared.

With test patterns from Blu-ray discs and PCs, both connected via HDMI, the Samsung's detail reproduction is outstanding. Even the finest details, such as pixel-sized checkerboard patterns, are displayed clearly and interference-free. Blu-ray movies are played back judder-free in 24p format. Even with 1080/60i playback, the Samsung gets rid of the pulldown judder that would normally result from converting 24 frames per second to 60. In the dimly lit love scenes in Chapter 5 of "Casino Royale", the LCD offers decent picture depth, which diminishes as soon as you move away from the ideal viewing angle.

With bright pictures, the Samsung gives an impressive HDTV picture, but after a few scenes you notice the not-so-accurate colors, which is equally irritating with TV, DVB, and HDTV images. Dark grayscales have a permanent violet tint, slightly discoloring black-and-white scenes. This problem can be alleviated with the help of the RGB color controls by increasing the level of the lacking green components. On the other hand, neither the poor differentiation of brown shades nor the slightly artificial look of skin tones can be altered. Saturated reds also look a little too strong.

Computer Operation:
A very good, pixel-perfect PC image: We did, however, notice some line flicker when contrasting colors met on the screen.

Sound Quality:
Apart from the weak bass, the speakers produce well-balanced sound, but because they radiate indirectly, speech is sometimes muddy.

Mode: Movie 

Size: Just Scan

Contrast: Max.

Brightness: 48

Sharpness: 5   

Color: 50

Tint: R50-G50           

Gamma: -1

Black Adjust: Off     

Dynamic Contrast: Off

Color Space: Auto     

White Balance: All set to 25

Edge Enhancement: Off       

xvYCC: Off

Color Tone: Warm 2  

Flesh Tone: 0

Digital NR: Off         

100 Hz Motion Plus: Off

* applied to realistic playback from HDTV/Blu-ray material through the HDMI interface in a darkened environment. Manufacturing and HDMI playback device deviations may necessitate slight adjustment.

The Samsung, which weighs almost 44 kg, sits atop its supplied swivel stand.

More connections can be found on the side of the unit.

With four HDMI connections, this LCD is well future-proofed.

Button layout is adequate.

The glossy, ruby-red casing looks great but scratches easily.

The Samsung's good picture quality relies heavily on viewing angle.