Samsung LN32C550 LCD HDTV Review

Color Accuracy

Color Temperature*(8.08)*

The Samsung LN32C550 did a good job of maintaining a consistent color temperature, right up until the darkest part of the test, where it started to dip into a bluish hue. Overall, though, we were pleased with the performance. (More on how we test Color Temperature.)

RGB Curves*(5.56)*

The Samsung LN32C550 did not excel in our RGB color testing. As you can see from the chart below, each of the channels – red, green, and blue – has extreme amounts of stair-stepping. Normally, we want to see smooth lines. Next, there's the problem of peaking. This is the flattening of the lines in the upper-right edge of the lines, which represents the highlights. It was a problem we could confirm with our own eyes: the Samsung LN32C550 simply can't resolve any more color detail after a certain brightness level. The red and blue channels are particularly egregious. ( More on how we test RGB Curves.)

The color strips below are digital recreations of the response for each channel, compared with the results from three similar TVs.

Color Gamut*(5.02)*

The Samsung LN32C550 did reasonably well matching up to the rec. 709 color standard. The green point matched up well, as did the white point (those circles in the middle), but the blue and red points were a little askance. (More on how we test Color Gamut.)

The table below has all the hard data points that are visualized in the graphic above.