I did a fair amount of research before buying this TV. The pro reviews from CNET and others were good, if a little tepid. But I did not want a plasma TV, as they are much heavier, thicker and use several times more electricity to deliver a picture. The reviews passed off these details, focusing solely on picture quality. There's only one thing I can say definitively about our new TV: if you're watching it from either side, you don't get a great picture. But if you watch from the front (and I assume you do) the picture can be anything from terrible to magnificent.
The default settings are terrible. In particular, there's some sort of "smoothing" or "anti-judder" effect that is on by default, and which makes everything look ... well, smooth. Life ain't smooth. I think this is what is sometimes referred to as the "soap opera effect". It's bizarre and disturbing. Turn it off. Oddly, it's in the Advanced settings.
The other default setting was "normal" picture setting -- "cinema" was a lot closer, with far less blue and unnaturally brilliant settings which doubtless look great when compared to the other TVs on parade at Best Buy, but tend to look like a cheap hooker when you get back to the room. The preceding is a metaphor, or perhaps a simile. But I do not know what a cheap hooker looks like when you get back to the room. I don't know what any hooker looks like when you get back to the room. All I know is that if, on TV you see a cheap hooker (regardless of his or her context), this TV will make all people look like that unless you make a few adjustments. Sadly, there's no "anti-cheap-hooker" setting.
After a few days and some family discussion, we came to find a set of settings that work for us. And damn, they look good! The blacks are black, the contrast is amazing, the definition is great, and the picture is totally awesome. More importantly (because I think great picture is likely possible with all TVs of this size and type) this TV has a really thin bezel, so it's all picture, and no dazzle to interfere with the styling of your living room. I am sure you could pay twice as much to get some other specs that sound fantastic, but having worked for a company that reviewed TVs (several years ago) I know that pretty much all of the features that you feel like are worth paying extra for are ones you'll never use or notice, and this is certainly the case for the ones the other TVs this one competes with "have". Don't waste your money -- great deal, just spend some quality time turning off all the BS settings that are turned on to make a TV look good in the showroom and use ones that make it look great where you watch. Trust me -- no other TV is going to be different when it comes out of the box.
| Brand Name | SAMSUNG |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 24.7 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 43.3 x 6.8 x 24.9 inches |
| Item model number | UN40EH6000 |
| Color Name | Black |
| Specification Met | Energy Star |
| Speaker Type | Built-In |
| Item Weight | 24.7 Pounds |
| Standing screen display size | 40 Inches |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Wattage | 44 watts |
