Aug 03, 2011 03:49 PM
94598 Views
(Updated Aug 03, 2011 11:38 PM)
I recently bought the Samsung UA46D6600 46" LED-LCD 3D TV. I compared Sony, LG and Samsung. LG was quickly eliminated after comparing the display quality, features etc. Sony(EX-720) and Samsung were quite even stevens. I was bought on Sony when I first started my homework. But along the way, I realized that Samsung was the better bet. I will mention the differences in the points below.
Here is my take on it:
Pros:
Looks lovely on the wall. Extremely thin, and has borders that are almost non-existent. So when the TV is on, the display spans from one edge to the other. Sony had a definitely thicker frame, even with the monolithic design. Trivial point actually.
Fantastic rendition of HD video. Very crisp. Sandard definition video is also well rendered. Found the Sony to be comparable. Picture quality was more life-like, I felt on Sony, though. But this was something I could easily change in the picture settings on Samsung at home.
Clear motion 400 seems like a handy feature. There;s hardly any blur while watching action filled content like sports, movies etc. Sony was comparable
Internet capabilities are awesome. It supports Wi-Fi without having to buy a dongle. Plus the default ethernet cable. Web browser is pretty decent. I found Sony to be not as capable. Dont think they had good web browsesr. No apps etc. And No Wi-fi built in. You'd need dongle costing 6K! And to use Skype, you'd need a special cam costing 5K! With Samsung you only need a normal webcam connected through the USB port. Havent tried it out though.
Samsung apps is quite acceptable, but needs improvement. Being able to install apps using Social Hub is a nice feature and is actually fairly easy to use. This, along with the internet and connectivity features were what clinched the Samsung deal for me.
Cons:
Colors look a little oversaturated and therefore unreal. However, you can change the settings to bring it to a more realistic level, as I found out pretty quickly. Sony looked better tuned out-of-the-box for a realistic picture.
Audio Output and quality really sucks. Makes you rush to the store again to buy a Home Theatre System. Havent bought mine yet. Still doing research. Sony was slightly better I believe, though HTS would still be needed.
3D technology still in its infancy. Good to have the feature, though it will take a while to get more 3D content through BD or better through cable. Didnt find a huge difference in the 3D rendition of the content they were playing. Honestly, I didnt do much of a comparison here.
2D to 3D conversion is mostly marketing gimmick. Not used it much anyway. Did not care to compare with Sony.
Lack of qwerty interface makes using the web browser and searching stuff on, say YouTube, an ordeal. It is like texting using a normal cell phone, but more cubersome.
Overall, the applications are on the slower side. Takes a while to come up etc.
No 3D glasses provided with the TV
Though I mention quite a few cons, you will notice that some are minor, correctable ones, some are due to the state of technology in general. Nothing that takes away from the brilliant product.
I will add to this review once I use other features that I have not used. But so far, it certainly looks like a very good buy. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a large screen LED-LCD TV
A word about Samsung service - the installation guys came on time and were quite ok. They did sell me a multi-video-connector to which you can connect multiple inputs(DVD player, set-top-box etc) and you can control the input to the TV using a switch on this connector. It was a useful thing I thought, for now, until the AV receiver arrives.
