Samsung UN46B6000 LCD HDTV Review

Tour & Design

Front

The front of the Samsung UN46B6000 has the same black bezel with a subtle red finish and clear edge that we've seen on other Samsung HDTVs. Below the screen is the Samsung logo, with a barely discernable touch sensitive power button sitting underneath it. There's a red and white glowing light just below the front bezel, which we believe is there to draw attention to the power button. The rest of the on-tv controls are also touch sensitive and embedded into the bezel at the lower right.

Back

The back of the Samsung UN46B6000 has a clean matte black finish with various grills that act as vents. On the right side of the back you'll find all of the ports on the HDTV, arranged in a revers L with the ports facing out towards the right or down towards the bottom.

Sides

The Samsung UN46B6000 is an incredibly thin HDTV, measuring less than an inch thin, not including the stand of course. Although there are no features on either side of the HDTV, when looking at the television from the left you do see the left facing part of the revers L that holds various ports.

Stand/Mount

The Samsung UN46B6000's stand is a large rectangle with the same black/red styling as the bezel. Rising out of the center of the stand is a clear pillar that the HDTV sits on, which can rotate about 25 degrees in either direction.

Controls

The on-tv controls are the same touch sensitive controls we saw on the Samsung LN40B650. Unlike that HDTV, however, all the controls are not grouped together in one place. You will find the source, menu, channel +/- and volume +/- controls embedded into the beze on the front at the lower right. The power button, however, is found in the center of the lower part of the bezel just under the Samsung logo. This separation, combined with the fact that the touch sensitive controls are almost completely invisible and offer no tactile feedback, make them very difficult to use.

Remote Control

The Samsung UN46B6000's remote is a different design compared to other Samsung remotes we've seen. The look is similar with a glossy finish on the front and the buttons also look the same, albeit rearranged. The big difference is that instead of having the large bulge at the bottom of the remote for balance it's been replaced with a strangely curved bit of plastic at the bottom.

In The Box*(6.5)*

The Samsung UN46B6000 ships with a relatively standard set of accessories. There's a remote with batteries, a manual (on a USB key) and a cleaning cloth. There is no HDMI cable included. Getting the HDTV out of the box isn't too difficult, but there is some assembly required as the stand and the display need to be put together. This definitely requires two people as the thinness of the UN46B6000 means that the HDTV doesn't slot into the stand the way you would expect, instead it locks in the the back of the television.

Aesthetics*(7.0)*

Samsung's black with red finish design has drawn mixed reviews from the folks in our office. Some love it, and some hate it. People did like the clean lines of the UN46B6000, however, compared to the 'chin' that we saw on the LN40B650. The reviewer did like the design, appreciating the subtle red finish that adds a bit of color to the otherwise endless sea of black televisions.