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  • Introduction

  • Overall Design

  • Front

  • Back

  • Sides

  • Stand/Mount

  • Controls

  • Remote Control

  • In the Box

  • Black Level

  • Peak Brightness

  • Contrast

  • Tunnel Contrast

  • White Falloff

  • Uniformity

  • Greyscale Gamma

  • Color Temperature

  • RGB Curves

  • Motion Performance

  • 3:2 Pulldown & 24fps

  • Resolution Scaling

  • Formats

  • Viewing Angle

  • Reflectance

  • Video Processing

  • Calibration

  • Video Modes

  • Ergonomics & Durability

  • Button Layout & Use

  • Programming & Flexibility

  • Connectivity

  • Placement

  • Audio Quality

  • Menu Interface

  • Instruction Manual

  • Internet Features

  • Local Media Playback

  • Other Media

  • Power Consumption

  • Value Comparison

  • Blacks & Whites

  • Color Accuracy

  • Motion

  • Viewing Effects

  • Connectivity

  • Value Comparison

  • Blacks & Whites

  • Color Accuracy

  • Motion

  • Viewing Effects

  • Connectivity

  • Value Comparison

  • Blacks & Whites

  • Color Accuracy

  • Motion

  • Viewing Effects

  • Connectivity

  • Conclusion

  • Model Series Comparison

  • Photo Gallery

  • Ratings & Specs

  • Introduction
  • Overall Design
  • Front
  • Back
  • Sides
  • Stand/Mount
  • Controls
  • Remote Control
  • In the Box
  • Black Level
  • Peak Brightness
  • Contrast
  • Tunnel Contrast
  • White Falloff
  • Uniformity
  • Greyscale Gamma
  • Color Temperature
  • RGB Curves
  • Motion Performance
  • 3:2 Pulldown & 24fps
  • Resolution Scaling
  • Formats
  • Viewing Angle
  • Reflectance
  • Video Processing
  • Calibration
  • Video Modes
  • Ergonomics & Durability
  • Button Layout & Use
  • Programming & Flexibility
  • Connectivity
  • Placement
  • Audio Quality
  • Menu Interface
  • Instruction Manual
  • Internet Features
  • Local Media Playback
  • Other Media
  • Power Consumption
  • Value Comparison
  • Blacks & Whites
  • Color Accuracy
  • Motion
  • Viewing Effects
  • Connectivity
  • Value Comparison
  • Blacks & Whites
  • Color Accuracy
  • Motion
  • Viewing Effects
  • Connectivity
  • Value Comparison
  • Blacks & Whites
  • Color Accuracy
  • Motion
  • Viewing Effects
  • Connectivity
  • Conclusion
  • Model Series Comparison
  • Photo Gallery
  • Ratings & Specs

Introduction

Overall Design

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For an entry-level set, the UN32C4000 looks nice. We don't necessarily like glossy black plastic bezels, but that's an unfortunate constant amongst lower-end sets. The TV is also incredibly thin, and would look great mounted on the wall.

Front

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The Samsung UN32C4000's screen is surrounded by a glossy black bezel. Its touch controls are located in the lower right corner of the bezel, but the markings are pretty faint.

Back

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The back of the TV has a backwards L-shape indent that's lined with ports.

Sides

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The TV is quite thin: there really isn't much room for features. The left side has a few ports, but they're indented a bit far.

Stand/Mount

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The stand is an oval of glossy black plastic and it doesn't swivel.

Controls

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The touch button controls are located on the front of the TV, in the lower right hand corner.

Remote Control

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The remote is the standard Samsung affair: sort of big, large buttons, smooth edges, backlight that only illuminates some buttons.

In the Box

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In the Samsung UN32C4000's box, you'll find the remote, batteries, and manuals.

The TV is somewhat of a pain to assemble, because the stand is two parts: you have to screw an intermediary piece into the base, which you then screw onto the TV. It's not difficult, just a bit of added labor.

Black Level

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A deep black level is mandatory for maintaining a high contrast ratio. We measured the Samsung UN32C4000's black level at 0.09 candelas per square meter (cd/m2), which is a very deep black. The UN32C4000 can actually achieve deeper blacks, but not without some sacrifices. Like most Samsung HDTVs, the UN32C4000 has an auto-dim feature: when the picture being displayed is dark, the screen will dim, allowing deeper blacks and, theoretically, enhanced detail in dark areas. The trade-off here is decreased detail in the areas that actually are bright. Older models had a less subtle dim that would occur in choppy, noticeable stages. Here the dim seems to be much smoother and less likely to draw the eye. Even though Samsung has clearly improved this feature, we really wish they'd include an option to switch it off. More on how we test black level.

Peak Brightness

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Peak brightness serves two purposes: allowing for greater detail in bright scenes and drowning out any external light. Typically all you need is 200 cd/m2 to ensure a bright picture, but if your TV is by a window, you might want to bump up the backlight so your picture doesn't get washed out by sunshine.

We measured the Samsung UN32C4000's peak brightness at 330.24 cd/m2, which is plenty bright. You should have no troubles with external light, and the TV has more than enough of a spectrum to provide full detail in bright areas. More on how we test peak brightness.

Contrast

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As mentioned above, many TVs employ auto-dimming or other processing shenanigans to get artifically deep black levels you'll rarely see in normal viewing. As such, when we're parsing out a contrast ratio, we don't measure a 100% black screen against a 100% white screen. This is why none of our contrast ratios are even close to the 7,000,000:1 ratios you'll see in advertisements.

We measured the Samsung UN32C4000's contrast ratio at 3669:1. This is a very high contrast ratio: very few TVs get above 4000:1 using our system of measurement. Expect a high contrast image from the UN32C4000, which should enable a high degree of detail. More on how we test contrast.

Tunnel Contrast

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For the most part, the UN32C4000 had a consistent black level. There were just two exceptions: when the screen was mostly black and when the screen was mostly bright. When the screen is mostly black, the backlights will dim and get an average of 0.03 cd/m2 (when virtually all of the screen is black, the TV will get about 0.01 cd/m2 or lower); when the screen is mostly bright, the TV will only be able to maintain a black level of about 0.20 cd/m2, which really isn't great. More on how we test tunnel contrast.

White Falloff

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The UN32C4000 had some issues maintaining its white level too, which was a side-effect of the auto-dim we mentioned above. When only 15% of the screen is bright, the auto-dim starts kicking in, subtly at first. As the bright area gets smaller, though, the screen is only outputting about half its normal luminance. More on how we test white falloff.

Uniformity

Greyscale Gamma

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A TV's greyscale gamma describes how the set emulates all the greys in between the deepest black and brightest white. Since our eyes see based on contrast, as the colors brighten, each step up is larger than the last. To our eyes, 0.20 cd/m2 is twice as bright as 0.10 cd/m2, just as 300 cd/m2 is twice as bright as 150 cd/m2.

The ideal slope of the greyscale should be about 2.1. We measured the UN32C4000's greyscale gamma at 2.71, which is significantly more aggressive. A curve that's too aggressive means there's too much differentiation between adjacent shades. You might notice that gradual color transitions don't look like a smooth gradient, but rather concentric bands. More on how we test greyscale gamma.

Color Temperature

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We really didn't see any issues with the Samsung UN32C4000's color temperature. The TV runs a bit warm through most of the spectrum, but not perceptibly so. The only point where the TV has a perceptible color temperature shift is its deepest black, so you're not likely to notice it. You shouldn't have any issues here. More on how we test color temperature.

RGB Curves

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The UN32C4000 performed well on our color representation test, but it wasn't perfect. The curves themselves have some minor bumps, which indicates a lack of fine details. On top of that, the red and blue curves level off sharply towards the saturated end. This means that there isn't nearly enough differentiation between bright colors for our eyes to register the difference. Green also peaks a bit early, but only a bit of detail is lost. More on how we test RGB curves.

Below we've posted a few gradient strips, so you can see how the UN32C4000 and some of its competitors emulate the red, green, and blue spectra. Vertical bands indicate lost detail, and if the black comes in too early, it indicates dark scenes will have very little detail.

Motion Performance

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Motion Smoothness (5.75)

The Samsung UN32C4000 didn't have particularly crisp movement, even with the MotionFlow feature enabled. When images panned around the screen, many fine details were lost. Eyes turned into dark ovals, noses disappeared, and mouths smudged into red streaks. With the MotionFlow disabled, the effects are even worse.

Motion Artifacting (8.00)

Although movement on the TV was pretty blurry, we really didn't see much motion artifacting at all. Solid blocks of color trailed shadows behind them, and fine patterns looked a bit jittery, but that was about it. More on how we test motion performance.

3:2 Pulldown & 24fps

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The TV handles 3:2 pulldown about as well as any other lower-end HDTV: not particularly. Fine patterns will flash as they move around the screen. Turning the CineMotion mode to Auto1 or 2 will help reduce the more obnoxious flashes, but it won't eliminate the effect entirely. One of our tests uses a slow pan over an empty football stadium, since the backs of the seats create a pattern. In the clip, we saw a very noticeable crawling effect on the seat backs. It looked like someone had overlaid a group of concentric circles that warped over the area as the camera panned. More on how we test 3:2 pulldown and 24fps.

Resolution Scaling

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For this test we check and see how the TV handles non-native content. Unless all you're doing is watching DVDs, the UN32C4000 is going to be upscaling or downscaling content in some capacity. Unfortunately, the UN32C4000 doesn't handle 1080i or 1080p that well, so you might run into issues with broadcast HD or Blu-ray playback. More on how we test resolution scaling.

480p

The TV really didn't have a problem with 480p (standard definition) content. There was a 2% overscan, which was odd for the format, but the TV didn't suffer from any other issues.

1080i

The TV had some real issues here. We saw significant Moire interference, which means the TV can't render specific fine patterns, leading to artifacting. Typically Moire interference creates larger, simpler patterns over what's supposed to be displayed; in the case of the UN32C4000, we saw no such consistency. Random portions of the original image would be replace with some sort of artifact pattern, such as a rolling gradient, large crosshatch, or diagonal stripes. We also saw issues with plain black text against a white scree. There were thick, vertical bands where the text alternated between looking thin and looking bold.

1080p

We saw all the 1080i issues in 1080p as well.

Formats

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The Samsung UN32C4000's native resolution is 720p. This is a few notches below the highest HD format, 1080p.

Viewing Angle

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We measure a TV's viewing angle by measuring the black and white levels at various points away from sitting dead front and center. We stop when the TV's overall contrast falls below 50%. For the UN32C4000, that point was just shy of 34° away from dead center, giving the TV an overall viewing angle of 67°. That's a decent viewing angle for an LCD. Due to their display technology, LCDs typically don't have great viewing angles: try looking at your monitor from a non-perpendicular angle and watch the contrast just disappear.

Even though the UN32C4000 performed well for an LCD, however, it in no way compared to a plasma. Many plasmas never fall below the 50% contrast mark, even when you're almost at a 180° angle.

Reflectance

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The Samsung UN32C4000 isn't very reflective. External light will diffuse into a large, faint glow on the screen. When the image on the screen is dark, the glow will be noticeable; when it's of a medium brightness, you really won't notice it. Although the screen wasn't totally immune to to external light, you probably won't run into any issues. Just keep the TV away from a window that catches a lot of sunlight and you'll be fine.

Video Processing

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The TV has a handful of video processing features, listed below.

Calibration

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Since TVs don't come out of the box perfectly calibrated, we make sure we tweak the settings first to ensure the TV is performing at its peak. To do this, we use a CS-200 ChromaMeter and DisplayMate, which is a professional TV calibration suite.

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All of our calibration is done in conjunction with the DisplayMate software.

](http://www.displaymate.com/)

Video Modes

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As an entry level set, the Samsung UN32C4000 doesn't have many video modes. You can choose from Standard, Dynamic, or Movie mode.

Ergonomics & Durability

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The remote control that ships with the Samsung UN32C4000 is pretty decent for an entry-level set. The remote's curved edges fit comfortably in hand and the buttons are all large and spaced out, so you won't have to hen peck them from a grid of raised rubber.

The exception is d-pad, which is made of hard plastic. The d-pad buttons are also flush with the surrounding surface, making it unnecessarily hard to use without looking down.

Button Layout & Use

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The buttons are laid out intelligently, with important buttons grouped in a cluster. There's also a backlight, but it doesn't illuminate the d-pad.

Programming & Flexibility

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The remote for the UN32C4000 can control Samsung's Anynet+ devices.

Connectivity

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Input Ports (4.75)

The Samsung UN32C4000 covers the basic input ports, but since it's so thin, it doesn't have an overabundance.

Output Ports (2.00)

The TV has two audio outputs: a digital audio out and a headphone jack.

Other Connections (1.00)

The Samsung UN32C4000 has an EX-LINK port, which will let you easily network the device with other Samsung EX-LINK devices.

Media (1.00)

The TV has one USB port, which you can use to connect a HDD or other USB-based memory device for media playback.

Placement

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The TV is very thin and intended to be wall mounted, so there are only side-facing and down-facing ports. The down-facing ports are a bit annoying, since if you aren't mounting the TV, they're a bit hard to access. While the TV doesn't swivel to allow easy access to its ports, the TV is very small and very light, so it shouldn't be much work to just pick it up and rotate it.

Audio Quality

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The built-in speakers on the Samsung UN32C4000 are about on par with other entry-level sets we've reviewed. They'll sound better than the speaker on your iPhone, but they're nowhere near as good as a separate sound system.

The TV carries Samsung's standard suite of audio settings, including presets, an equalizer, and a simulated surround sound effect. The surround sound doesn't really work (it never does), and makes the TV sound a bit tinny and light on the bass. It also gives the sound a different quality, like it's being played out a set of rear-facing speakers (there are none), but we wouldn't call that surround sound.

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The menu interface on the Samsung UN32C4000 is the same as on nearly all Samsung HDTVs, and equally clean, simple, and efficient. It's hard to beat this menu system. The main submenus are lined along a vertical axis. Some of the items have pop-out sub-submenus, but the aptly placed 'Return' button on the remote always assures you safe passage back to the previous screen.

Instruction Manual

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The instruction manual that comes with the Samsung UN32C4000 is informative of all the TV's features. It features an index and a glossary, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding what you need. Our only complaint is that the features' descriptions seems a bit brief.

You can find the Samsung LN32C550's manual online here, in myriad languages.

A manual for so many TV models, they have to be further categorized by type.

Internet Features

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The Samsung UN32C4000 doesn't have any internet features.

Local Media Playback

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The UN32C4000's photo viewer is actually pretty good. Just plug in your USB device and enjoy a wonderful world of slideshow creation options, such as transition type, speed, zoom, and background music. The photo-viewing world is truly your oyster with the UN32C4000!

The Samsung UN32C4000 can also play music clips and video clips via USB. Unfortunately, the menu for doing this is dumb, like we've seen on most TVs. First you have to choose the media type—photo, video, or music—and then go looking through folders for content. All non-conforming content is blocked out. In this day and age, is it really so hard to just view all items in a folder and have the TV just know when use the appropriate viewer?

Other Media

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There are no other media features.

Power Consumption

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Even with its backlight on max, the Samsung UN32C4000 won't cost a lot.

Below we've compared the UN32C4000 to a few competing LCD HDTVs, none of which are particularly costly.

Value Comparison

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The C4000 bests the C350 in all but two areas: contrast ratio and price. If you really care about a bright set, don't mind a slightly plasticky-looking TV, and want to save a few bucks, the C350 is an attractive option to the C4000.

Blacks & Whites

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The C4000 had a slightly deeper black, but wasn't as bright as the C350. The C350 had a higher contrast ratio.

Color Accuracy

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The C4000 had better color performance than the C350.

Motion

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The C4000 had very little motion artifacting but was also had more motion blur than the C350.

Viewing Effects

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The LN32C350 has a significantly wider viewing angle than the C350.

Connectivity

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The C4000 has two HDMI ports to the C350's analog audio output. Seems like a good trade-off for the C4000.

Value Comparison

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The LG didn't perform as well as the Samsung, but it does cost a lot less. If you're on a budget and don't mind a bit of a knock to picture quality, the LG makes a good option.

Blacks & Whites

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The LG was brighter than the Samsung, but the Samsung had a much deeper black level. The Samsung also had a higher overall contrast ratio.

Color Accuracy

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The LG had marginally better color performance.

Motion

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The Samsung had less motion artifacting than the LG, but the LG had less motion blur.

Viewing Effects

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The Samsung had a larger viewing angle than the LG.

Connectivity

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Neither TV has many ports due to their small, thin form factor. The Samsung has more HDMI ports, but the LG has an additional set of component video and analog audio inputs.

Value Comparison

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This is a battle over quality. The Samsung performed marginally better in all our performance tests—especially viewing angle, a test the Sony outright failed—and offers slightly better media playback via its USB port, but it costs a bit more than the Sony does.

Blacks & Whites

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The Samsung had a deeper black level, but wasn't as bright. Overall, though, the Sony's contrast ratio wasn't quite as high as the Samsung's.

Color Accuracy

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Both TVs had solid color representation, but the Samsung had a much more even keel to its color temperature compared to the Sony.

Motion

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Both TVs had blurry motion, but the Sony featured more motion artifacting than the Samsung.

Viewing Effects

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The Samsung's viewing angle was significantly larger than the Sony's.

Connectivity

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Neither the Sony nor the Samsung have many ports due to both being very thin. The Samsung squeezes in two extra HDMI ports where the Sony has an additional set of component video inputs.

Conclusion

The Samsung UN32C4000 seems like it's made for people who want something better than typical entry-level picture quality. When compared to other 32-inch HDTVs, the UN32C4000 tends to out-perform its rival in most areas, including aesthetics. The TV wasn't perfect, though, and one of its more obvious failings was how poorly it handled 1080i and 1080p content. The TV is also a bit pricey at $700, despite its overall quality. For that kind of money, we'd expect some internet content as well.

If you don't mind paying extra, the UN32C4000 definitely offers more than the run-of-the-mill 32-inch set. We're just not sure the quality justifies the price.

Model Series Comparison

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The UNxxC4000 (Series 4 LED) is an entry-level series of 720p LED LCD HDTVs. The only feature of note on the series is the USB port, which allows for photo, music, and video playback off of a USB memory device.

{{photo_gallery "Front Tour Image", "Back Tour Image", "Sides Tour Image", "Stand Photo", "Controls Photo", "Remote Control Photo", "Connectivity Tour Image 1", "Connectivity Tour Image 2", "Connectivity Extra Photo", "Menu Main Photo", "Menu 2 Photo", "Internet Features 1 Photo", "Internet Features 2 Photo", "Internet Features 3 Photo", "Local Media Playback 1 Photo", "Local Media Playback 2 Photo"}}

Ratings & Specs

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Meet the tester

Mark Brezinski

Mark Brezinski

Senior Writer

@markbrezinski

Mark Brezinski works on the Home Team, reviewing refrigerators, minifridges, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, air purifiers, and fans.

See all of Mark Brezinski's reviews

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