Introduction

Slim, dark, and thrifty - this liquid crystal display (LCD) TV from Korean manufacturer Samsung is something special. In particular the light source, which is responsible for making the LCD picture visible, differs from the norm: Instead of fluorescent tubes, the UE 46 B 7000 uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs). It's a question for Samsung whether to confuse buyers with the term "LED TV" - in correct, technical terms, this is still an LCD TV.

Nevertheless, the alternative backlight technology does show its influence: Unlike the standard practice, up till now, of placing the backlight behind the screen, Samsung has arranged the LEDs around the edges. The TV is therefore just 2.9 centimeters deep. The LEDs should also mean the UE 46 B 7000 uses less power than its predecessors - and, indeed, less than modern competitors that use normal fluorescent tubes.

The Samsung is able to vary the intensity of the white LEDs, but this version of LED technology does not allow the localized backlight dimming ("local dimming") found in many top LCD TVs. Nevertheless, the TV claims to offer deeper black representation than is possible with fluorescent tubes.

It's not just the novel backlight that puts the 7000 series, available from spring 2009, in the upper class. The manufacturer also hopes to optimize the picture with 100-Hertz technology. And, what's more, the TV also promises to keep on entertaining when TV channels become boring: Thanks to sophisticated network and multimedia features, the UE 46 B 7000 can play back the user's photos and videos as well as clips from the online portal YouTube. This article finishes with a look at what the competition has to offer in the same size and price class.

Picture Technology

The UE 46 B 7000 displays HDTV pictures in maximum sharpness, with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels ("full HD") - a sensible choice for a screen of this size. 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 PAL countries) appear at double the frequency (100 Hz). In countries with a 60-Hertz TV frame rate ("NTSC countries" - the USA, Japan, South Korea, parts of South America), the Samsung doubles the rate to 120 Hertz.

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

Performance in practice:
So, that's how the theory goes - but how does the TV perform in practice? Televisions.com has already begun testing a 40-inch model of the 7000 series, the UE 40 B 7090. In the "Movie" preset, this little brother of the UE 46 B 7000 displays a natural-looking, vivid picture with decent colors and realistic sharpness. Despite our worries that it would suffer from glare, the high-gloss, deep-black filter panel is not that reflective, and successfully increases the impression of sharpness.

The analog TV picture lacks some fine detail, but digital terrestrial and cable TV (DVB-T/DVB-C) differentiate fine details better (see also the "Tuner" section). Even with the optional "100-Hertz Motion Plus" setting, the fastest camera pans show shortcomings: The picture doesn't blur, but fast movements judder in TV material in a way we're only used to seeing with film-based content. The 40-inch model's "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 46 B 7000's little 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, the curve is bent into an S-shape, meaning the 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.

On the smaller model, black-and-white movies such as the classic "Casablanca" take on a slightly sterile look, and the darkest grayscales show 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. Our overall impression of the smaller 7000-series TV was that the picture isn't totally honest, but is vivid and a pleasure to watch.

Additional Features

The network functionality is an attractive extra of the UE 46 B 7000. The TV can 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.

In the home network, this Samsung becomes a universal playback device: Pictures and music can play back over the network from 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 UE 46 B 7000 supports a wide range of file formats. As container formats, it will accept .avi, .mkv, and .asf. These container formats, in turn, 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 UE 46 B 7000 only supports DivX up to a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. It'll also play back Windows Media Video (.wmv), .mp4, .3gp, .vro, and .mpg files. Last but not least, the TV 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 online portals from Samsung itself or from Yahoo, which bring together video and photo services from the World Wide Web. Available offers currently include the video portal YouTube and the photo service Flickr. The Samsung UE 46 B 7000 not only plays 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

As well as analog cable TV and analog terrestrial TV (where still in use), the UE 46 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 use a dish to receive your TV signals, you're still going to need a separate satellite set-top box. The TV's analog inputs accept video signals in the PAL, Secam, and NTSC formats.

Connections

There's a price to pay for the TV's flat construction - the UE 46 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 isn't really enough. What's more, the Scart socket only accepts RGB and composite video signals - S-Video signals simply aren't welcome.

For the remaining analog connections, Samsung uses two 3.5-millimeter jack sockets. One accepts YUV signals, the other takes composite video signals and stereo sound. The input-device ends of the supplied adapter cables offer standard cinch sockets. In our tests of the smaller UE 40 B 7090, these connections allowed the TV 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: The TV provides four such inputs, all of which use the latest HDMI version (1.3). It also has a VGA input for analog computer signals, joined by a handy 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 another practical feature of the Samsung TVs. The UE 46 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. None of the 7000-series models, however, have a headphone socket.

Operation

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

The on-screen menu is the same across the 7000 series, so our impressions from the UE 40 B 7090 will also apply to the 46-inch version. The menu is attractive, but the large number of extended setup options even confuses 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 through the cable TV channels awkward. Furthermore, 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 badly positioned.

Design / Model Variants and Pricing

Samsung offers the TV with a black-transparent or red-transparent frame.

Available models/recommended pricing for the UK:

UE 46 B 7000 WW
red-transparent, 2,000 GBP, 116.8 centimeters/46 inches screen diagonal.

UE 46 B 7020 WW
black-transparent, 2,000 GBP, 116.8 centimeters/46 inches screen diagonal.

Optional Accessories

Samsung's WMN1000BXXC wall bracket sells from around 100 GBP online. Costing from around 250 GBP, the optional sound bar (HT-WS 1 G) attempts to produce Dolby surround sound from just one unit.

Alternative models: A brief comparison

as of: 08.05.2009

JVC LT-47 DV 1, around 1,400 GBP.

This TV from the "Victor Company of Japan" (JVC) offers an inch more screen diagonal than the Samsung - for significantly less money. A glance at the feature list explains why: The JVC's tuner only receives analog cable and DVB-T, and the TV provides no network access at all. It does, however, accept photos and music files from a USB stick.

The 100-Hertz technology attempts to display fast-moving objects with well-defined edges. With just three HDMI inputs, the JVC is one behind the Samsung's four. But it beats the Samsung in terms of conventional AV connections: The LT-47 DV 1 has two Scart sockets, a headphone output, and an S-Video input for camcorders.

Panasonic TX-P 46 G 15, on pre-order for 1,300 GBP.

As the most prominent plasma-representative, Panasonic is really giving Samsung a run for its money with the 46 G 15. The G 15 costs far less than the UE 46 B 7000, but easily matches up - and even offers a little more - in terms of features.

The tuner can do everything that the Samsung's can, but also has an integrated digital satellite tuner. Instead of the Samsung and Yahoo portals to which Samsung TVs enjoy access, the TX-P 46 G 15 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.

The manufacturer specifies an average power consumption of 240 watts - this is significantly less than for the previous year's models. Nevertheless, it's more than twice what the Samsung requires.

Sony KDL-46 W 4500, from around 1,300 GBP.

Stemming from the 2008 model-year, the W 4500 lacks some features seen even in cheaper 2009 Sony TVs. It has a network connection, but can only access content over a home network from a DLNA server. The tuner is level with the Samsung's: It also supports digital cable TV, but not CI Plus. The backlight uses conventional fluorescent tubes and runs at 100 Hertz.

The Sony KDL-46 W 4500 can also display digital photos over the USB connection, and has three HDMI inputs - one less than the UE 46 B 7000. It does, on the other hand, provide two Scart sockets and a headphone output, beating the Samsung on both counts. As with the Samsung rival, however, you'll search in vain for an S-Video connection on this Sony.

Sony KDL-46 EX 1, 2,590 GBP.

Sony wants nearly 600 pounds more for the KDL-46 EX 1 than Samsung does for the UE 46 B 7000. Is it worth the extra? Well, with a depth of 5.7 centimeters, the Sony is almost double the thickness of its Samsung rival, but is still a very slender bit of kit. Sony could therefore have run into the same problems as Samsung when finding space for connections, but Sony's solution is way more convenient: The manufacturer supplies the TV with a separate connections box, which sits next to the stash of AV devices and transmits all the signals to the TV wirelessly. All the TV needs, therefore, is a power connection.

The box also contains a TV tuner. This matches that of the Samsung: analog cable and DVB-T/-C (also in HD), but no CI Plus. This Sony candidate uses fluorescent tubes to illuminate its screen, which uses 100 Hertz technology. Televisions.com has already tried out the wireless technology on the smaller KDL-40 EX 1. In practice, it's not as seamless as you'd hope. If people walk across the room, the picture quality wavers; you risk missing out on fine details in a Blu-ray movie, for example.

The Sony TV also displays photos via USB, but lacks a network connection. The connections box hosts three HDMI inputs, and the fourth is on the TV itself. In terms of Scart, the Sony and the Samsung are level: Both offer just one such connection.

Sony KDL-46 Z 4500, 2,300 GBP.

What's better than 100 Hz? 200 Hz, right? With the Z series, Sony has opened the door to ever more impressive numbers. In fall 2008, the Japanese manufacturer was the first to advertize 200 Hertz technology. As you can find in many of our site's descriptions of the latest TVs, numerous manufacturers have now picked up the gauntlet and begun heralding their own 200-Hertz TVs.

With almost all announcements of this type, bear one thing in mind: The technology alone is not the attraction - to be worthwhile, it should also actually have a positive effect on the picture.

The 40-inch brother of the Sony KDL-46 Z 4500 already impressed Televisions.com with the quality of its 200-Hertz technology: This Sony's motion depiction is, indeed, especially fluid. But, the typical movie-theater judder has also vanished; this won't impress many movie fans. Still, those that want to can turn the setting off for movies.

The TV tuner in this Sony is, again, comparable with that of the Samsung. In terms of multimedia, too, the Z 4500 doesn't lack much when compared to its brand-new competitor: Videos and photos display on the Sony's screen over a DLNA-equipped home network, but the TV cannot access the Internet. Photos will also display from USB storage devices.

With three HDMI inputs, the connectivity is a little thin in comparison to the Samsung UE 46 B 7000, but the Sony does offer two Scart sockets and a headphone connection. The Sony, too, lacks an S-Video input for camcorders.

Toshiba 46 SV 685 D, available from August 2009, price not yet confirmed.

Available from summer onwards, Toshiba's SV 685 D is a warning shot for its Korean competitors. The 46 SV 685 D aims to optimize moving pictures using 200-Hertz technology. This Toshiba TV's screen uses selectively adjustable LEDs as its backlight - this "local dimming" promises even deeper blacks than the Samsung UE 46 B 7000 can offer. The so-called "Resolution +" technology is supposed to provide optimal up-scaling of traditional PAL pictures to the screen's higher resolution. The tuner is comparable with the Samsung's - it displays analog cable TV pictures, DVB-T, and DVB-C. But, like the Samsung UE 46 B 7000, this Toshiba does not support CI Plus.

On the other hand, the Toshiba's audio setup is well ahead of the Samsung's: With the new "Dolby Volume" technology, the TV will attempt to eliminate irritating volume changes between movies and ad breaks, as well as the volume differences between individual TV channels. The Audyssey equalizer, revered by home-theater fans, is supposed to produce top sound from this flat-panel TV.

Using "Quick HDMI", the 46 SV 685 D aims to halve the time taken to switch between HDMI sources - the corresponding source (the Blu-ray player or satellite-TV receiver) must, however, already be switched on. With four HDMI inputs, two Scart sockets, an S-Video-capable camcorder input, and a mini-jack headphone output, the 46 SV 685 D offers significantly more connectivity than the Samsung.

In terms of multimedia, however, the Toshiba and Samsung largely level up: If your home PC network includes a DLNA server, the 46 SV 685 D will also play back multimedia files over the network. The TV should also be able to access content from the Internet - further details were unavailable at the time of publishing. Digital photos play back from an SD memory card, and the USB port allows you to access JPEG photos, MP3 music files, and DivX videos.

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 46 B 7000:

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

Photos: Manufacturers

Last updated: May 8, 2009