Information on the Samsung UE 32 B 7000 LCD TV

More black and lower power consumption are Samsung's promises for this LCD TV. These improvements stem, the manufacturer claims, from the type of backlight technology: Instead of fluorescent tubes, this liquid crystal display uses LEDs to illuminate its picture. In this model, the LEDs are arranged around the edges of the screen and not, as usual, behind it - this keeps the casing slim.

The localized backlight dimming ("local dimming") found in many top LCD TVs is not possible with this version of LED technology. The TV nevertheless promises deeper blacks than are possible with fluorescent lamps - Samsung has pitched this flat-panel into the TV upper class.

The manufacturer also hopes to optimize the picture with 100-Hertz technology. If, even with several hundred channels, there's still nothing on TV, the UE 32 B 7000 will entertain its viewers with sophisticated network and multimedia functions. This article finishes with a look at what the competition has to offer in the same size and price class.

Picture Technology

The 32-inch (81.3-centimeter) screen displays HDTV pictures in maximum sharpness, with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels ("full HD") - this isn't absolutely necessary for a screen of this size at normal living-room viewing distances, but also won't do any harm. Actually, the high resolution makes TVs of this size ideal as computer monitors or for video editing. In such situations, full HD resolution is both sensible and visible. You can find details on the ideal viewing distance in our "TV Buying Guide".

Samsung advertizes the 7000 series as having "100-Hertz Motion Plus" technology. Strictly speaking, it actually has 96-/100-/120-Hertz technology. Blu-ray pictures in the original movie frame rate (24 frames per second) appear at 96 Hertz - in other words, at four times their original frequency. Ordinary TV pictures from countries using 50 Hertz (Western Europe and China, known as the PAL countries) appear at double the frequency (100 Hz). With 60-Hz signals (NTSC DVDs, 60-Hz Blu-ray discs), the Samsung doubles the frame rate to 120 Hz.

What's more, the 7000 series models don't simply repeat the existing images, but actually generate additional ones. The technique is known as motion interpolation, or motion prediction, and aims to make camera pans and moving objects appear smoother and more fluid, while still increasing sharpness.

TV performance in practice:
So, that's how the theory goes - but how does the TV perform in practice? Televisions.com has already begun testing the 40-inch model of the 7000 series, the UE 40 B 7090. In the "Movie" preset, this big brother of the UE 32 B 7000 displays a natural-looking, vivid TV picture with decent colors and realistic sharpness. Despite our worries about glare, the high-gloss, deep-black filter panel is not that reflective, and successfully increases the impression of sharpness.

The analog TV picture lacks a little fine detail, but digital terrestrial and cable TV (DVB-T/DVB-C) differentiate fine details better (see also the "Tuner" section). Despite the optional "100-Hertz Motion Plus" setting, the fastest camera pans still show shortcomings: The picture doesn't blur, but fast movements judder in TV material in a way that we're only used to seeing with film-based content. The 40-inch model's additional "Blur Reduction" mode is no help: The edges of images then simply look distorted. Apart from this, the TV processes video signals faultlessly, and the Scart-RGB input produces a detail-rich, accurate picture - good news for DVD players and satellite-TV receivers.

The UE 32 B 7000's big brother also renders HDTV-resolution images excellently. With test patterns from a Blu-ray disc, the TV reproduced fine details perfectly. Motion also appears correctly in Blu-ray movies, which display without 60-Hz-pulldown judder, regardless of whether the signal arrives in 24p, 60i, or 60p format.

But: The picture always looks a little exaggerated, for all types of source device. The TV's non-standard gamma curve is at fault here. The gamma curve determines how bright different grayscales will appear on the screen. On the UE 40 B 7090, this curve is bent into an S-shape, meaning brightness differences within an image don't match the original. The gamma controls allow the user to set darker or lighter curves, but not to alter the contrast distortion.

The larger model also gives black-and-white movies, such as the classic "Casablanca", a slightly sterile look, and the darkest grayscales a blue tint. Nevertheless, in dark scenes, the Samsung cuts excellent form for an LCD. The automatic LED-adjustment, which you cannot deactivate, dims the brightness quickly and effectively, leading the UE 40 B 7090 to achieve a dynamic contrast ratio of over 10,000:1, without producing irritating pumping effects. The overall impression of the larger 7000-series TV: The picture isn't totally honest, but it's vivid and by no means unpleasant to watch.

Additional Features

Network functionality is one outstanding extra of the UE 32 B 7000. The TV will connect to a PC network using a standard Ethernet cable. Alternatively, Samsung makes a WIS 08 wireless adapter (WLAN, Draft-N, 300 megabits per second, around 20 GBP online), which connects to the TV's USB port. According to Samsung, other WLAN adapters will not work with this TV. The TV requires a router to be able to access a PC network, and Internet functions mean the router will need a broadband Internet connection.

Within the home network, the TV can play back pictures and audio stored on a PC in the home office, for example. For this, you must have a PC running DLNA server software. Samsung supplies a suitable program (PC Share Manager 2.0) for Windows PCs with the TV as standard. Alternatives include the latest version of the free Windows software Windows Media Player or programs such as "TwonkyMedia Server" (about 18 GBP), for example, which offers more convenience and more flexibility in terms of operating system.

The Samsung UE 32 B 7000 supports the following file formats: .avi, .mkv, and .asf. These container formats support various codecs: DivX 3.11, 4.x, 5.1, and 6.0, XviD, H.264 (BP/MP/SP), MPEG-4 ASP, and Motion JPEG. The 7000 series only supports DivX up to a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. The TV will also play back Windows Media Video (.wmv), .mp4, .3gp, .vro, and .mpg files, and, last but not least, it can handle MPEG program and transport streams (.ps/.ts) - these can use MPEG-2, H.264, or VC1 encoding.

For audio formats, this Samsung accepts AAC, HE-AAC, AC3 (Dolby Digital), Dolby Digital Plus, LPCM, MP3, and ADPCM (μ-law, A-law). JPEG photos with up to 15,360 x 8,640 pixels should also display correctly.

The 7000-series TVs can also access certain types of Internet content. These appear on a portal either from Samsung itself or from Yahoo. Available offers currently include the video portal YouTube and the photo service Flickr. This Samsung TV can't only play back multimedia files over the network: It also accepts videos, music, and photos via storage media connected to one of its two USB sockets - according to the manufacturer, it will even access hard disks.

Tuner/Video-processing

The models for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have identical tuners. As well as analog cable TV (and analog terrestrial TV, where still in use), the UE 32 B 7000 receives both digital terrestrial (DVB-T) and digital cable (DVB-C) signals. Both tuners support the common HDTV standard MPEG-4, but this Samsung series does not support the forthcoming "CI Plus" unified access system. In other words: Customers that want to receive digital programs using CI Plus encryption will still need a set-top box - and will have to put up with the added irritations of an extra remote control and additional cabling.

In countries that still use CI access systems (as opposed to CI Plus) for cable or DVB-T, the Samsung 7000-series models should be able to display encrypted channels. A digital satellite tuner is missing altogether - if you're using a dish to receive your TV signals, you're still going to need a separate satellite set-top box. The TV accepts video signals in the PAL, Secam, and NTSC formats.

Connections

You pay the price for the TV's flat construction - the UE 32 B 7000 has no Scart sockets. Instead there's only a special type of socket that can connect to a Scart cable with the help of the supplied adapter. This seems like a bit of a shaky solution.

And those hoping to use older devices - satellite TV receivers, Pay-TV access boxes, VHS recorders, DVD players - will quickly hit problems with the 7000 series, since a single Scart socket really doesn't suffice. What's more, the Scart socket only accepts RGB and composite video signals - S-Video, from a camcorder, for example, is simply not welcome.

For the remaining analog connections, Samsung uses two 3.5-millimeter jack sockets. One accepts YUV signals, the other composite video signals and stereo sound. The input-device ends of the supplied adapter cables offer standard cinch sockets. In our tests of the UE 40 B 7090, these connections were sufficient to display YUV signals from DVD players accurately in PAL or NTSC resolution; for HD signals, however, the quality suffered.

High-definition signals are better served by the more modern HDMI connection: All of the models and country-specific versions in the series provide four such inputs, all of which use the latest HDMI version (1.3). The 7000 series offers a VGA input for analog computer signals, joined by a mini-jack audio input. The audio input is also useful when connecting PCs to the TV digitally using a DVI-HDMI adapter - although DVI and HDMI are fundamentally compatible, DVI doesn't carry sound. This is a very practical aspect of the Samsung TVs.

The UE 32 B 7000 can use its optical "TosLink" connector to relay digital sound from an HDMI device or from one of the digital tuners to an external AV receiver, but none of the 7000-series models provide a headphone socket.

Operation

The Samsung comes with two remote controls: One covers the full range of functions; the other, more compact, handset controls just the volume and channel changing. The TV's remote control can operate any CEC-compatible devices connected by HDMI. Samsung markets this function as "Anynet+".

The on-screen menu is the same in all TVs in the series, so our impressions from the UE 40 B 7090 will also apply to the 32-inch version. The menu is attractive, but the numerous extended setup options confuse even TV experts.

Operation is also tricky during TV viewing: You can only access the aspect ratio setting indirectly through the "Tools" button, and we found navigating though the cable TV channels awkward.

In addition, the TV doesn't sort the channels into a sensible sequence (important channels first) or separate them into free and Pay-TV channels. The side navigation buttons are also badly positioned.

Design / Model Variants and Pricing

Samsung offers these TV with an either black-transparent or red-transparent frame.

Recommended pricing for the UK:

UE 32 B 7000 WW
red-transparent, 1,200 GBP, 81.3 centimeters/55 inches screen diagonal.

UE 32 B 7020 WW
black-transparent, 1,200 GBP, 81.3 centimeters/55 inches screen diagonal.

Optional Accessories

Samsung offers an "ultra-slim" wall-mount for larger models in the series (WMN-1000BXXC). At the time of writing, no information was available about a similar product for the 32-inch model.

Alternative models: A brief comparison

as of: 12.05.2009

Panasonic TX-L 32 V 10, price not yet confirmed.

This Panasonic TV takes a cheap approach - in contrast to the Samsung - making do without LED backlighting for its LCD panel. Apart from that, these Korean and Japanese rivals see eye to eye.

Like the Samsung, the Panasonic hopes to display moving objects with crisp edges, thanks to 100-Hertz technology and "Intelligent Frame Creation". The tuners are also largely comparable. The TX-L 32 V 10, however, has an integrated satellite TV tuner, so you won't need a set-top box to receive the UK's new freesat service. Instead of the Samsung and Yahoo portals to which Samsung TVs enjoy access, the TX-L 32 V 10 connects to the online "VIERA Cast" portal, and displays content made available there by YouTube or Bloomberg TV, for example.

If a DLNA server is running in your home PC network, this Panasonic will also play back digital photos, videos, and music. The Panasonic lacks a USB socket, but will play back photos and videos from an SD or SDHC memory card.

Philips 32 PFL 9604 H, price not yet confirmed.

From summer 2009, this Philips TV will give Samsung a run for its money. Those buying the Philips will have to make do without LED backlighting - to be fair, though, this Dutch competitor is likely to be significantly cheaper than the Samsung model.

The 32-inch Philips does, however, use LEDs elsewhere: The Philips-exclusive "Ambilight" system illuminates the wall behind the screen, making the TV's environment match the picture's content. This ultra-modern equivalent of a TV lamp is far from a simple marketing gimmick; it actually makes the picture seem larger, and the additional light in the room will do the viewer's eyes a favor.

Like the Samsung, the Philips runs its screen at 100 Hertz, and, thanks to the "Perfect Natural Motion" system, moving images should appear with crisp edges. In terms of multimedia, too, Philips is a step ahead of Samsung: The PFL 9604 H not only accesses a selection of Internet offers organized by Philips ("Net TV") - it also provides a Web browser, allowing you to view any website of your choice.

Televisions.com has had the chance to get a first impression of this function: The TV can't display Flash videos on Web sites, and the remote control is a tedious way to enter an Internet address. But: If you want to flick through your favorite Internet news site, the Philips offers better functionality than comparable current models from Panasonic, Samsung, or Sony.

The tuner in this Philips is bang up to date: Besides analog cable TV, it also handles digital cable and DVB-T. In both cases, where HDTV broadcasts exist, the TV will display these too. With CI Plus technology, the cable tuner is also ready for the encryption processes that various cable operators plan to use in the future. Satellite TV users, however, will continue to need an external satellite receiver. The 32 PFL 9604 H offers an impressive five HDMI inputs - at the time of writing, no information was available about other connections.

Sony KDL-32 E 5500, price not yet confirmed.

This TV is due to hit the market within the year as part of Sony's 2009 BRAVIA range. Like the Samsung UE 32 B 7000, the Sony also provides 100-Hertz technology, but those opting for the KDL-32 E 5500 will have to live without LED backlighting. In terms of network facilities, this TV scores almost equally with the Samsung: If a DLNA server is running in your home PC network, the Sony can connect to it and play back multimedia content.

Unlike Samsung, Sony does not have its own Web portal for presenting selected content, but the KDL-32 E 5500 uses its "AppliCast" function to access news tickers ("RSS feeds") of the user's choice, displaying news items along the side of the screen at the touch of a button.

Televisions.com has already tried out this feature on some TVs from Sony's W 5500 series: It can be tedious to tap in the addresses on the remote control - but you only have to do this once. The Sony TVs then display text and - if present - photos from the news stories.

The KDL-32 E 5500 also accepts multimedia files from USB sticks. The tuner is a step ahead of the Samsung's: It supports CI Plus for digital cable TV, so you should be able to view channels using this type of encryption without an additional set-top box. The Samsung can match the Sony's four HMDI inputs, but only the Sony offers a headphone output, along with a second Scart socket.

About our product previews

Experienced experts produce these product preview pages using manufacturers' specifications, along with test data we've produced for other models and subjective assessments of the product's market chances.

We comprehensively research the information we use, but data of this kind quickly becomes out of date as a result of day-to-day variations in the market and the appearance of new products.

The information in our own tests is more reliable, especially statements relating to quality or comparisons with other TVs. Since we cannot test every single device, however, and because we're interested in your opinion, we're grateful to receive any user ratings or user opinions for this TV - especially if you own the model yourself, but also if this preview provided enough information for you to form your own judgment.

Many thanks in advance!

The team behind this product preview:

People involved in producing this article on the Samsung UE 32 B 7000:

Author(s): Karl-Gerhard Haas
Editor in Chief: Florian Friedrich

Photos: Manufacturers

Last updated: May 12, 2009