ON TEST / 40IN LCD TV

Verdict Approx price 1,300

Samsung LE40A656

Beautifully styled 1080p set with pictures to match
BSuperb HD pictures and design EOccasional 100Hz glitch; you need to take care with some picture settings
WHAT DO YOU do if you already make what are regarded as the prettiest LCD TVs in the business? You just make your next ones even nicer, of course. Cue Samsungs haute couture LE40A656. adhesive or screws, which is an industry rst. Youll nd plenty of stuff to make you happy among its connections, too. For instance, you get a generous four HDMI sockets, all built to the v1.3 specication for Deep Color compatibility and all capable of receiving 1080p/24fps sources of the sort output by most Blu-ray players. Other connection highlights include a D-Sub PC input, an optical digital audio output and a USB 2.0 port for playing JPEG or MP3 les. In terms of key specications, the 40A656s screen incorporates a

The rivals

/ Toshiba 40XF355
This 40in TV takes up the same space as most 37in TVs. Reviewed: Issue 328

Features

Samsung is marketing its new A656 TVs as the touch of colour range, for, subtly injected into the familiar glossy black bezel, is a deep red tone that becomes more visible the further out the bezel extends. This makes the set look completely distinctive. Whats more, the sets chassis is constructed without any
/ Loewe Individual Compose 40
Enables you to choose elements of the design yourself and can be upgraded with features too. Reviewed: Issue 326
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1,920 x 1,080-pixel resolution and promises a supremely high contrast ratio of 20,000:1, delivered with the assistance of the inevitable dynamic backlight system and clever ltering technology that screens out onscreen reections. Another key feature is 100Hz processing, which doubles the normal PAL refresh rate in a bid to reduce LCDs traditional problems with blur and resolution loss when portraying motion. Other points of interest are a 120MHz mode for purer playback of 24fps sources, three levels of black level boosting, gamma
Theres a really wide range of tones on show, most of which look likeably natural///
controls, colour space and esh tone adjustments, edge enhancement, noise reduction and picture-in-picture features.

Ease of use

Despite having a fearsome array of features, the 40A656s pretty, easily navigable onscreen menus and excellently laid out, backlit remote control ensure that you never get frustrated with exploring everything on offer. In an ideal world, the instruction manual could have gone into slightly more detail in one or two areas, but its otherwise good.

Picture

Some of Samsungs previous attempts to improve its LCD motion handling such as its Movie Plus mode havent entirely blown us away. But, thankfully, the 100Hz engine here is right on the money. Even made to work extremely hard with a few sporting events, for instance, it goes about its business impeccably, massively reducing the usual blurring effect as well as making movement more uid. Whats more, even during moments of extreme motion, such as when a camera pans across a football pitch, the picture doesnt fall prey to signicant amounts of artefacting as the processing struggles to keep up (provided you avoid the sets OTT high 100Hz setting). Just occasionally you spot a faint halo around a moving object, or an edge ickers for a split second. But
these are small prices to pay for all the benets the system brings. The motion handling also excels when showing a 1080p/24fps Blu-ray movie especially since the considerable reduction in motion blur afforded by the 100Hz system means theres less to stand in the way of the sets truly mesmerising ne detail response, which makes every last one of its 1,920 x 1,080 pixels count in dramatic fashion. Samsungs already strong position vis--vis LCD black levels is also enhanced by the 40A656. Its automatic contrast system is remarkably subtle, largely avoiding the common brightness stepping problem, and the screen can deliver much deeper, richer blacks than most rivals. Joining the black levels in helping the 40A656 produce extremely dynamic pictures are some strikingly bold colours yet crucially these rich hues still look unusually natural by LCD standards. Samsungs Digital Natural Image engine hasnt always proved the best at upscaling standard-denition sources to ll a full HD screen. Yet on the 40A656 things are much improved, with little of the usual noise and colour tone issues that affect LCD visible. If we had to be picky about the 40A656s pictures, as well as the very minor 100Hz glitches weve reported, we also must take issue with the ludicrously garish Dynamic picture preset the TV ships with (change it to standard, pronto) and some slightly plasticky skin tones during standard-denition viewing. But thats really the sum total of the negative stuff.

Fact le

/ 40in LCD TV / 1,920 x 1,080 pixels / 100Hz Motion Plus processing / USB input with MP3/JPEG playback / Touch of Colour design
/ Time in Lab: 3 days / Serial No: 712KCWC51833 998mm 83mm
Playback Test Colour temperature Contrast ratio Luminance Colour Frequency response
Rating 6,499K 310:1 77.26fL
Power consumption: Standby: 1W In use: 173W Lab notes: Hard to nd much to fault. Extreme RGB tweaks achieve best colour temperature

Spec check

Screen size & shape: 40in, 16:9 Tuner: Digital and analogue Sound system: Nicam stereo with SRS TruSurround XT Resolution (pixels): 1,920 x 1,080 HD Ready: Yes Quoted contrast ratio: 20,000:1 Quoted brightness: 500cd/m Processing: DNIe and 100Hz Motion Plus Screen dimensions: 998(w) x 638(h) x 83(d)mm Weight: 20kg / Other features: Gamma and white level adjust; NR; Movie; standard & Dynamic picture presets; manual backlight adjustment; xvYCC colour; esh tone adjust; Edge Enhancement; Dynamic contrast; pixel for pixel mapping; SRS Trusurround XT audio; CEC on HDMIs / Sockets: Inputs: 4 HDMI v1.3; 2 Scarts (1 RGB); component video; S-video; composite video; D-Sub PC; stereo audio; CAM slot; RF; digital audio; USB 2.0. Outputs: optical digital audio; headphone / Contact: 303 www.samsung.co.uk

Sound

Unfortunately the 40A656s audio doesnt reach the same heights as its video, thanks to a fundamental lack of bass to underpin music or movies. Its not a total dead loss, though, thanks to the width of the soundstage and the sets talent for portraying subtle effects in the mix.

Value

Considering youre getting a true design statement of a television with some of the best connectivity in the business, not to mention 40in of the most excellent LCD picture quality ever, we think that the 1,300 price looks very fair Z
Aside from some slightly feeble sonics, the 40A656 is about as close to allround irresistible as a TV gets
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