Operation

For dainty hands, the remote control is a bit too wide and paunchy. The surface is slippery to the touch, especially if the user's hands are moist - LG's remote controls, for example, more sensibly offer a slip-free, textured surface.

Using a TV with DVD players, Blu-ray players, satellite receivers & Co. isn't always as easy as you'd imagine. The quality of the remote control and on-screen menu are also crucial for everyday use. Find out here how the UE 40 B 7090 fares on these points.

Remote Control:

On first glance, the button-layout is clear and logical. All buttons are large and have labels that are easy to read. But: The classic picture-format button is missing. In order to change aspect ratio, therefore, you have to press TOOLS and navigate to a sub-menu page. We found this a bit awkward, and since the standard picture format uses edge-cropping (overscan) even with HDTV material, it's a setting you're likely to want to use quite often.

The number pad has extra-large labels. Below it and to the left, you'll find an Enter button, another of which sits in the center of the navigation cross. It would have been more sensible to position the AV-input button below the number pad in place of the extra Enter button.

A navigation cross encircled by menu buttons offers convenient control.

Buttons relating to multimedia playback nestle below those for channel changing and volume adjustment. Pressing the TTX/MIX displays Teletext in the normal way; a second press puts the text screen alongside the TV picture, and a third press superimposes the text on the picture. Not exactly intuitive: If you then want to return to just the TV picture, you have to press the "TV" button, which is nowhere near the text button.

Easy orientation in the dark movie atmosphere: If you press the light-bulb button on the top right of the handset, all of the buttons glow a warm orange color for a few seconds. The buttons are comfortable to use and give a well-defined, firm press, so you'll not be in doubt as to whether you've actually pushed them.

Samsung supplies a second remote control with a compact, egg-like design. Sitting comfortably in the hand, this remote allows you to switch the TV on and off, as well as to change channels and adjust the volume.

On-Screen Menu:

The MENU button calls up the main menu screen. From here, you have access to all functions, such as picture, sound, channel settings, installation, AV inputs, and various system-setup options. The menu's design is attractive, and navigation is speedy - with the exception of some of the multimedia functions. Practical: The menu becomes significantly smaller when you make adjustments in the picture menu, so you can see your changes in the picture immediately.

The input menu provides convenient selection of video source devices. The TV recognizes those that are switched on and highlights the names in color. The SOURCE button is awkwardly positioned between the channel and volume buttons. It would have been more intuitive to place it near the number pad, as is the case with TVs from Grundig, JVC, and Sharp.

Channel Search and EPG:

The channel-search process works faultlessly for analog TV and DVB-T, but the Samsung UE 40 B 7090 couldn't receive all DVB-C channels - at least not in the test location in Germany. Channel management leaves some wishes open. The Samsung doesn't sort channels into a sensible order for either DVB-T or DVB-C - a sensible order would, for example, put public-service channels first, followed by private broadcasters. Also, the channel list fails to differentiate free-to-view from Pay-TV channels.

This is inconvenient and just plain irritating, since DVB-C allows reception of several hundred channels. To master this flood of content, the user needs decent management functions - even cheap sat-receivers generally have these on board, but they're missing on the Samsung. The Panasonic TX-P 42 GW 10 is an example of how this should work, offering sensible pre-sorting and subsequent sorting options.

Electronic Program Guide:

The Electronic Program Guide (EPG) works for digital reception and allows a decent overview of current TV action. In the upper left corner of the screen you see the TV picture, the upper right of the screen shows details of the selected broadcast, and the lower half of the screen shows the program schedule for six channels over a two-hour interval. A second mode displays only the title of the current and following broadcasts for the selected channel (commonly known as "Now & Next").

Connecting External Devices:

Space constraints mean the Samsung doesn't have the usual cinch connections, but instead accepts analog signals via mini-jack sockets. The necessary adapter comes with the TV as standard. It's easy to connect Blu-ray players and other digital sources via HDMI, and the input menu indicates immediately which devices are active.