LCD TVs have long struggled to deliver the deep blacks and bright whites of their plasma siblings, but Samsung's new Series 9s have finally put paid to plasma's dominance.
Eye-pleasing picture capabilities aside, the 46-inch LA46A950 is a head turner thanks to its understated faux-carbon fibre fascia which is
a pleasant change from the fingerprint magnet glossy black finish used by most manufacturers.
Picture perfect
After un-boxing the LA46A950, I put it through its paces and wasn't disappointed. Unlike earlier models, the LA46A950 didn't suffer from the usual LCD TV woes.
Light bleed or image distortion and discolouration when from viewed from an angle didn't exist. More importantly, the LA46A950 cranked out astonishing contrast levels thanks to the use of intelligent LED backlighting.
Its 100Hz image processing also meant that fast moving on screen objects remained fluid with no noticeable judder. The picture was so good that I'd wager that all but the most knowledgeable AV wonks would mistake it for a high-end plasma.
Playing several DVDs and Blu-rays was also an eye opener. Every flaw in older, cheaper or poorly-mastered DVDs stuck out like the proverbial dogs' bollocks.
My Superbit DVD copy of Labyrinth however was so crisp that I could've sworn it was in native HD. Real HD in the form of my Blu-ray copy of the BBCs Planet Earth was staggeringly good.
Back to black
The secret sauce for the LA46A950 is its use of intelligent LED backlighting. Where most LCD tellies are illuminated by a single backlight at a constant rate over the entire area of the screen, it uses ultra-bright LEDs behind on-screen pixels.
By intelligently illuminating LEDs in bright areas of the screen and dimming or extinguishing them for dark spots, the Series 9 delivers inky backs and brilliant whites.
The LA46A950 is also input laden: in addition to 4 HDMI inputs, there's composite, S-Video, component, SPIDIF, and even cooler still, an Ethernet port for streaming content over your home network.
You can also hook up a USB stick to play music or photos and can access built-in children's stories, recipes and games. It's also got Freeview HD (for which there should be a warning on the box to tell you that you may bruise your jaw once it hits the floor when you see it for the first time).
My only real grizzle with the television lies with its front-mounted controls. These are tricky to find when the lights are down (e.g. when watching a movie).
This however wasn't a show stopper as the bundled remote more than made up for this. The master remote is a comfy number - buttons tended to be where my sausage sized fingers thought they should be and Samsung also thoughtfully supplied a second, simplified remote for basic functions (e.g. on/off, channels and volume).
Stylish looks are backed by a solid feature set whilst its video output borders on being impossibly good.
Specifications
RRP$6,499
Contact: www.samsung.co.nz
Screen Size : 46"
Resolution : 1920 x 1080
Dynamic Contrast Ratio : 2,000,000:1
LCD 100Hz
Review: Samsung gets serious with Series 9
Samsung's 46-inch LA46A950 high-def LCD television.
LCD TVs have long struggled to deliver the deep blacks and bright whites of their plasma siblings, but Samsung's new Series 9s have finally put paid to plasma's dominance.
Eye-pleasing picture capabilities aside, the 46-inch LA46A950 is a head turner thanks to its understated faux-carbon fibre fascia which is
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