Samsung TVs and "side grey"

Status
Not open for further replies.

TyneBridges

Established Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2007
Messages
198
Reaction score
20
Points
94
Age
65
Location
Gateshead
A simple question, hopefully, for a forum user with a Samsung TV, but one that the user manual I've downloaded doesn't answer. I'm considering buying a UE46F6500, which has had very good reviews. It seems that Samsung LED/LCD TVs show the side bars for 4:3 mode in grey rather than black, which sounds quite distracting to me. I can see from the manual that it's possible to change the colour, but do the options include black, or switching off "side grey" altogether?

This seems a weird feature to include since, as far as I can tell, "burn in" is only a problem with plasma TVs and not LED or LCD screen technology.
 
I'll answer this question myself in case this is useful to anyone else. It looks as if Samsung has confused the issue unnecessarily with its downloadable "E-Manual" that said it was for the UE46F6500 but, on closer inspection, contains no reference to this model, or any specification, dimensions etc. It looks as if this is a generic manual and not for a specific model. Maybe this part of the document refers only to plasma screens?

Anyway, I managed to visit John Lewis and ask a salesman there. He showed me a 4:3 programme on the same model and the side bars were black, not grey. Question answered.
 
I can confirm that 4:3 sidebars on both my UE55F8000 and UE40F6740 are both black as are top/bottom bars on 2.35:1 material.
 
I'll answer this question myself in case this is useful to anyone else. It looks as if Samsung has confused the issue unnecessarily with its downloadable "E-Manual" that said it was for the UE46F6500 but, on closer inspection, contains no reference to this model, or any specification, dimensions etc. It looks as if this is a generic manual and not for a specific model. Maybe this part of the document refers only to plasma screens?

Anyway, I managed to visit John Lewis and ask a salesman there. He showed me a 4:3 programme on the same model and the side bars were black, not grey. Question answered.

Have you bought this tv yet? I'm looking at it myself but couldn't find a users thread in here to get much feedback about it.
 
No, not yet. In the past I always considered Sony the brand to buy but the Samsung seems to get better reviews than the Sony equivalents and (importantly) Samsung appears to be the only maker of smart TVs with BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4od and Demand 5 built in. If this is incorrect, then I'd be grateful if anyone reading this could put me right. I agree that clear information seems to be in short supply. (There is an owner's thread here - without many postings - but I started a new one because it was a general question about the brand.)
 
Last edited:
You are correct that the Samsung SmartTV platform is the only one thus far to offer all on-demand services and I have to say they work very well.
Their APP store is also well supported wth all the main video on-demand suppliers and (for me anyway), that gem of an APP...Plex.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom