Samsung UE46F7000 46 Inch 3D LED LCD Smart TV Review

Tech News

Joined
Sep 15, 2004
Messages
29,589
Reaction score
470
Points
29,702
Location
Cyberspace
Reviewed by Mark Hodgkinson, 18th April 2013. The Samsung UE46F7000 is super smart, inside and out, and brings the full might of the Korean’s industry-leading connected platform to the party. It’s also capable of reference colour performance and striking contrast backed up by generally superb picture processing. There’s the odd hiccup, here and there, and the F7000 is quite considerably better in 2D than it is in three but it’s nevertheless worthy of an AVForums Recommended Award.
Read the full review...
 
Mark, in my experience of the F7000, putting Cinema Black on "Low" didn't make any difference to the letterbox bars. And putting it on "Mid" or "High" did make the bars darker, but then the entire picture would be going up and down in brightness constantly. Thus rendering Cinema Black useless. Forum members have all found the same issue with the F8000.
 
Mark I'd also be interested in your thoughts on this set vs the VT65? I know you're a plasma man at heart, but it'd be good to know whether you actually got used to and eventually preferred the sharp images outputted by the F7000? Are there things this set does better than the VT65 and vice versa?
 
Mark, in my experience of the F7000, putting Cinema Black on "Low" didn't make any difference to the letterbox bars. And putting it on "Mid" or "High" did make the bars darker, but then the entire picture would be going up and down in brightness constantly. Thus rendering Cinema Black useless. Forum members have all found the same issue with the F8000.

Hi

Interesting, I put the meter on it and the black level reading dipped, ever so slightly, but there's next to no difference by eye although it did (mostly) sort out the corner bleed. Agreed about the fluctuations on the other settings.

Mark I'd also be interested in your thoughts on this set vs the VT65? I know you're a plasma man at heart, but it'd be good to know whether you actually got used to and eventually preferred the sharp images outputted by the F7000? Are there things this set does better than the VT65 and vice versa?

It was a big change in picture and, like you say, I generally prefer plasma but I did get used to it and I dare say the next thing I move on to is going to look 'soft' initially.

PQ wise, the VT wins hands-down on almost all fronts I can think of but the F7 is better for Smart features, both in the range on offer and speed of execution. The 7000 can go incredibly bright whilst maintaining accuracy - there's one!

Quite different beasts, really, and I can understand how people would favour one image over the other but I think you know which I'd choose.
 
Last edited:
In the body of the review, under “Design and Connections”, it says: “It’s good to see that UE46F7000 comes equipped with four HDMI inputs, which are all side facing”. But one of the Pros is “Downward facing HDMI inputs”. Unfortunately, judging by the pictures of the set, I’m afraid the first is true.
 
In the body of the review, under “Design and Connections”, it says: “It's good to see that UE46F7000 comes equipped with four HDMI inputs, which are all side facing”. But one of the Pros is “Downward facing HDMI inputs”. Unfortunately, judging by the pictures of the set, I'm afraid the first is true.

*slaps own wrist*

Thanks for pointing that out, amended accordingly - they are all side facing as per review text.
 
Is there any evidence of over drive trailing? I game a lot and notice it in darker areas of a game like Deadspace. Shadows create a smearing effect when camera is turned.
 
Mark,

I noticed from the review, in the conclusion you say:

•More work needed on screen uniformity - especially with 3D

Yet in the Pro's on the right side you say:

Pros

•Much improved backlight uniformity in 2D

*confused* :)

I am looking at this TV, coming from an old TX-P42G10 which I have never been 100% happy with. I tend to prefer the crispness of LCD/LED displays. Judging by the threads on the forum, its still a lottery with both the F7000 and F8000.

Hmmm
 
Hi Mike

In a nutshell, screen uniformity was much better in 2D than 3 where a combination of the dimming technology and modest backlight setting I used made it very respectable in that department.

Sorry if that wasn't clear:)

Mark
 
Last edited:
The most annoying thing about this TV so far, without even buying it yet is that you can pick up the F8000 cheaper if you are savvy! :confused:
 
What are the viewing angles like? Compared to other LCDs of course.

Out of interest what did you set for sharpness?
 
I AM interested in the quality and abilities of this TV - but do you think the 'Specs' section could include how big the TV is?

I don't mean the 46in screen size - but the LxHxD - so I know whether it will fit the space I have available.

All the tech stuff is great but this I need to know.

Cheers, daveac (cooperda)
 
Hey Mark.

Thanks for the review. I havent got this tele yet but will be very soon. I am going to use the picture perfect thread to help me set up the picture properly.

Any chance you can post your preferred settings for 2D and 3D so i can compare once i have set it up using the picture perfect thread.
 
Hi, is it just me or this review is posted under wrong section - 3D LCD TVs instead of LED?
 
Can you elaborate on the "undue judder with 1080p24" material? What does it look like?

I have a 55F7100 and have been unsatisfied with the 1080p24 performance with frame interpolation disabled. High contrast motion is so bad it looks like the objects are blinking. I've been trying to convince myself this is a normal problem with 24fps, but your comment in this review makes me wonder if it's a Samsung flaw.
 
I have got the 40 F7000. I am impressed with how the Blu-Ray version of the Sweeney looked. After checking on Picture Perfect I had to change some of my advanced settings though. I had 1 bit of bleed and a couple of compression artifacts. However other than that 6 or so seconds I could see nothing wrong. I am also not a tech sort of person so I doubt my Picture set-up is correct either.
 
I would love to have your calibration values, since I found warm2 to red as you mentioned in your test and warm1 a little too cold. Could you post them?
 
I know they vary from one to another but i just want to see maybe they fit on mine :D
 
Hi Mark and users.

Congratulations for the amazing review. ( I've bought my tv based on it).

I have recently bought this tv samsung ue46f7000, and like most users i've went to picture perfect setings, but the image is not very natural, can you please, please post your calibration settings for this tv. I've read your complete review and made the changes you refer, but still it lacks depth , and color, and the whites have a slight redish aura.
Please help us users to try to make our tv set, the most correct picture (at least the ones that can't afford professional calibration).

Looking foward to read your feedback.

My sincere best regards.

Nobrega
 
Try lowering the contrast to about 80 to get rid of the reddish Tint. Depending on the surrounding light in your room reduce the auto background lighting to about 8. Movie mode with warm2. Gamma to - 1. Color room to native. Then give feedback.
 
Hi tonarmshq, thanks for the prompt reply. The red aura it still there, it can be well noticed in the exterior part of the eyes. (It’s like they're devils). Depth has improved slightly, but color still lacks (probably I must use custom in color, but for that I need the settings.
Today I will post my full settings so that you and the others can help me ok?
Thanks for the help.
 
Hi all.

these are the settings that i like the most for my tv Samsung UE46F7000.

But they are not perfect in SD channels, and in HD they are near.

I thank you in advance for any feedback.


Calibration Picture Settings

Picture Mode

Movie
Backlight
11
Contrast
80
Brightness
45
Sharpness
5
Color
50
Tint
G50/R50
Picture size
Screen fit
PIP
Off


Advanced Settings

Dynamic Contrast

Off
Black Tone
Off
Flesh Tone
-1
RGB Only Mode
Off
Color Space
Auto
White Balance
(See Table A below)
10pt White Balance
Off
Gamma
0
Expert Pattern
Off
Motion Lighting
Off


Picture Options

Color Tone

Warm2
Digital Clean View
Off
MPEG Noise Filter
Off
HDMI Black Level
Low
Film Mode
Auto2
Motion Plus
Off
Cinema Black
Off


Table A
White Balance

R-Offset

25
G-Offset
25
B-Offset
25
R-Gain
25
G-Gain
25
B-Gain
25
 
Hi, Mark and all
Can you please post your calibration settings or correct mine, yesterday in the evening with the room lights off, watching SD channels, in some scenes with a little more movement I’ve got some red halo around body’s or faces.
Please help us out.
My sincere best regards,
Nóbrega.
 
Hi dudes
Had this model for a week now, very pleased apart from there is clouding, anyone else have this ?, it's only visible when the picture is almost completely dark, watched INSIDUOUS 2 the other night with lots of scenes of people walking around in the pitch dark and it was a bit distracting. Cannot stand the colour tone on either warm 1 or 2(much to orange looking), much prefer the standard setting.
where is the perfect picture thread ?...sorry new to this.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom