Samsung LE46F86BD

It's LCDelightful!

Write down the things you want out of an HDTV - chances are this 46-inch set has every one. For starters, the screen sports a full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, so it's happy to take 1080p pictures and display them without losing a single pixel of detail. And it'll also accept 1080p pictures at 24 frames per second, so Blu-ray and HD DVD films are shown at the proper speed. Bravo. And the goodies don't stop there. Samsung has shoehorned in its new 100Hz Motion Plus processing in an attempt to counteract LCD's traditional "issues" with motion. Moving pictures tend to judder on LCD screens, you see - and this tech doubles the frame rate to smooth things out. It works pretty darn well, although you still spy the occasional jerk or artefact, and upping it to its higher settings results in the picture taking on a weird, unnatural quality. There's bags of crisper than crisp detail with Hi-Def movies and games, and the black levels are the finest, deepest we've seen on an LCD telly so far - even the murkier scenes in BBC HD's The Tudors retained an impressive slice of definition and detail. Standard def material looks rather more average, with England's Rugby World Cup match against the Aussies looking soft and slightly out-of-focus - although that's perhaps not a bad thing considering the "boyish good looks" of some of the participants. With three HDMI sockets (all the latest v1.3 spec) and bags of other options, you've got plenty of ways to connect up your kit, and the sound quality from the near-invisible speakers is fine. And everything's wrapped up in an inoffensive-looking shiny black shell with glowing touch controls. We love touch controls, especially when they glow!

Posted by T3 Online on 2007-10-10