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  • Introduction

  • Front

  • Back

  • Sides

  • Stand/Mount

  • Aesthetics

  • Display Size & Technology

  • Formats & Resolution

  • Brightness, Blacks and Contrast Ratio

  • Color

  • Motion & Refresh Rate

  • Viewing Angle

  • 3D Glasses

  • 3D Effect

  • 3D Motion

  • Audio & Video Ports

  • Internet & Other Media

  • Placement

  • Remote

  • Controls

  • Menu

  • Conclusion

  • Series Comparision

  • Specs

  • Introduction
  • Front
  • Back
  • Sides
  • Stand/Mount
  • Aesthetics
  • Display Size & Technology
  • Formats & Resolution
  • Brightness, Blacks and Contrast Ratio
  • Color
  • Motion & Refresh Rate
  • Viewing Angle
  • 3D Glasses
  • 3D Effect
  • 3D Motion
  • Audio & Video Ports
  • Internet & Other Media
  • Placement
  • Remote
  • Controls
  • Menu
  • Conclusion
  • Series Comparision
  • Specs

Introduction

Front

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The front of the UN60D7000 is dominated by the LCD panel, but the bezel that surrounds this is one of the main design changes from previous models. Samsung has managed to shrink the electronics around the edge of the display to create a bezel that they claim is just 0.2 inches wide, and has added an angled edge to the bezel that reflects the surrounding colors, helping the display to blend into the environment. This smaller bezel also makes the overall size of the display smaller, with Samsung claiming that their 55-inch model can fit into a space designed for a 52-inch screen.

Back

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We were not able to get a good look at the back of this display, but the glimpse that we got showed a pretty standard Samsung design, with panels covering the ports and sockets.

Sides

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The UN60D7000 is not the thinnest model out there, but it isn't the fattest, either, at about two inches thick.

Stand/Mount

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The stand of the UN60D7000 is X-shaped and ties in well with the overall design aesthetic of the display. It is not especially large, but it should be easily wide and deep enough to keep the display from tipping or falling.

Aesthetics

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The UN60D7000 is an extremely attractive display, with a simple, clean design that helps to highlight the TV panel, not the things around it. The front is free of buttons or lights except for a single patch light on the bottom right corner that glows gently to show that the display is turned on.

Display Size & Technology

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The UN60D7000 is built around an LCD panel that is Full HD resolution, so it can display the full 1920 by 1080 pixels of the highest HD video resolutions. This is an edge-lit display, where the LED backlights are placed around the display edge. While this keeps the display thinner, it also means that the display cannot perform local dimming, where the backlight dims in darker areas of the screen.

Formats & Resolution

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The UN60D7000 is a Full HD display, so it can handle all of the currently used HD broadcast formats, right up to the 1080p of a Blu-ray disc player. It can also handle lower resolution signals, such as the 720p format that many sports programs are broadcast in.

Brightness, Blacks and Contrast Ratio

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We were not able to test the properties of this display at the CES show, but the demo footage that Samsung was showing had deep blacks and bright whites, so we anticipate that it could be a strong performer in our tests.

Color

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The sample footage that Samsung was showing at the CES show had clean, attractive colors, but we did see some evidence of contouring, where subtle shifts of color (like the fading halo of light around a lightbulb) showed bands and patches of a single shade, producing a visible contour in the image. However, we can't be certain that this was caused by the display until we are able to get a model into our lab for a more in-depth examination.

Motion & Refresh Rate

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The UN60D7000 offers a 240Hz refresh rate, which means that it takes the 60Hz TV signal that it receives, and creates 3 frames for every one in the original signal. The idea is that this produces smoother motion in scenes with fast motion, and the sample footage on show at CES certainly looked good. However, we have found that the 240Hz processing we have looked at in previous models that we have tested has only shown a very slight improvement over the 120Hz processing used on cheaper displays. Again, we will know for sure when we can get a model in for review.

Viewing Angle

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The display unit of the UN60D7000 that we looked at had a very wide viewing angle: we only found that the image began to visibly fade and loose contrast at angles of around 30 to 40 degrees off axis. But it is worth remembering that the units that we looked at were hand-picked for exhibition, so we will wait to see how the final units shape up when we review them.

3D Glasses

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The UN60D7000 is a 3D ready display, which means that it includes everything needed on the display itself to play back 3D content from a 3D Blu-ray disc or 3D broadcast. However, Samsung told us that it would probably not come with the 3D glasses: they would need to be purchased separately. The appropriate glasses to buy would be the new Samsung SSG-3700SRs. These are the same active shutter glasses that are used by most other displays, but instead of an Infra Red signal, they receive a Bluetooth signal from the television, which is less likely to be interfered with by remote controls for other devices or lights. The glasses also have the battery on the back of the arms, instead of on the front, which makes them feel a little lighter on the nose and more comfortable. These glasses also come with a wireless charging system. At present, no price has been set for the glasses, so we do not know how much these will add to the cost of the display.

There's no getting around the fact that 3D glasses make you look ridiculous (and possibly feel ridiculous too).

The power button makes the glasses usable for viewing 3D by turning on the active shutter feature.

3D Effect

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Samsung was offering a number of examples of 3D playback on this display, and we found that these produced a good 3D effect, with a good feeling of depth and very few visible glitches. However, we will have to wait and see how well this translates into a real world test when we run our own tests in the near future.

3D Motion

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3D content often has a jerky, stuttery look to it when viewing on a poor HDTV. We didn't see any evidence of this in the demos that we saw with the UN60D7000: motion looked smooth and natural.

Audio & Video Ports

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UN55C7000 that we reviewed last year. This offered 4 HDMI ports and a single each of component, composite and VGA inputs.

The ports are located under two panels on the back of the display. In order to preserve the thin profile of the display, the analog input and network ports on last years models required the use of included adapters, which made them more awkward.

Internet & Other Media

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here.

The display also comes with a number of apps, and more are available through the Samsung Apps Store, which allows the user to buy and download apps to run on the TV. These apps include ESPN SportsCenter and NBA Game Time, both of which shows sports scores and stats on the screen while other content is being displayed.

Placement

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The placement of the ports under panels on the back of this display is a problem if you want to get to them: you will have to move the display a long way to be able to reach them. There is also no side HDMI port, so if you want to frequently plug in a device such as a digital camera or camcorder, you will need to leave the cable in place.

Remote

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here. If you are looking for a new remote control experience, the UN60C7000 is compatible with the RMC301D Touch Control, which is a cellphone sized remote with a 3-inch LCD screen. Instead of a slew of buttons, it uses a 3-inch touch screen, with a speaker and microphone. The LCD screen and touch control is used to control the TV, allowing you to change channels, set up streaming content or control apps in a more convenient way than the usual remote, as well as offering features like channel and schedule search through an on-screen QWERTY touch keyboard. It is also able to mirror what is on the TV screen on the remote screen, so you can keep the movie going if you need to step out for a second. This mirroring also includes Internet streaming content, but it wasn’t clear if copy protected content such as Blu-ray discs would work. The Touch Control can also be used as an independent device, browsing the web or watching YouTube videos on the device directly without involving the TV.

Controls

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Samsung tried an interesting approach with the controls of the UN60D7000: rather than sully the pristine front with buttons and lights, they put them on the back of the display body, behind the bottom right corner. The idea is that you reach around the display and navigate the buttons by touch. We weren't able to try this out (the people manning the Samsung booth leapt out and stopped us whenever we tried), but the idea is an interesting one and should work okay when you learn to find the buttons by touch. In the photo below, you can see the panel that the buttons are on at the back of the display.

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Because the controls were untouchable and the remote was not available, we were unable to access the on-screen menus to see if they had changed from previous models.

Conclusion

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The UN60D7000 is at the high end of Samsung's range for 2011, although it is likely to be cheaper than the flagship UND8000 range. It is missing some of the higher-end features of the more expensive models, such as the 480Hz motion processing and the LED screen remote. But the UN60D7000 is still a display that boasts an impressive feature set. Samsung told us that the UN60D7000 would be available in the first half of the year, but did not supply any details of price for this model or the other ones in the UND7000 range.

Series Comparision

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As well as the 60-inch UN60D7000, the UND7000 range of HDTVs includes 55 and 46-inch models. All of these models share a similar set of features to the 60-inch model.

Specs

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Meet the tester

Richard Baguley

Richard Baguley

Contributor

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Richard Baguley is a veteran writer who has written about technology ranging from Alphabet to Zip file utilities. He has contributed to pretty much every major tech publication, including Amiga Format Magazine, PC World, Wired, CNET, Toms Guide, Forbes, and many others. He lives in the Boston metro area with his wife, dog, and an indeterminate number of cats.

See all of Richard Baguley's reviews

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