Samsung UN55D7000 55 inch LED HDTV
Nov 23rd, 2011 | By SimonI know many people are jealous that I get to test different TVs but let me tell you that it is hard work. ;) I’ve got to subject myself to hours of use! In order to fully enjoy a TV you have to be able to see it. Not every room allows you to have a TV stand where you sit directly in front of the screen. In cases where you need to rotate the panel a few degrees to the left or right the Samsung UN55D7000 allows you to do so. You have approximately 15 degrees clockwise and counter-clockwise movement.
This allows you to maximize your viewing angle. In cases where you still don’t sit perpendicular to the screen the Samsung UN55D7000 has an amazing viewing angle. Even at what felt like 170+ degrees you can still make out fine details and colors.
To test out the TV I enjoyed a variety of sources: TV, PC, HDMI and network sources. All of them came out crystal clear even when watching videos or playing music off a wireless connection. Here is a sample of “I am Legend”.
The Samsung UN55D7000 doubles as a monitor for my HTPC. The 55″ screen is large enough to read the news off a webpage with the 1920×1080 resolution. With the amazing color quality this TV can easily double as a monitor of large size photo editing or CAD drawing.
Much like the previous few Samsung TVs that I’ve reviewed, the UN55D7000 is capable of 3D display provided you have a 3D source. The UN55D7000 does not come with 3D glasses, a huge negative in my books fora 3D TV. Samsung uses the 3D HyperReal Engine but I believe there has been some kind of tweak made to the engine. Samsung boasts that there is less ghosting, images are razor sharp and fluid when using the 3D converter. I for one actually believe them, when watching Monsters vs Aliens in 3D, the images seem to pop out of the screen more than with some of the older TVs that I’ve had. Before I use to say the image was only mediocre compared to that of an IMAX 3D experience, but the UN55D7000 surprised me. While I don’t have as many 3D samples to try out with, I’ll have to say that the Series D 3D engine has gotten some great improvements this year.
That being said, testing a TV is subjective, what you interpret will be different than what I interpret. I always recommend to friends that when you’re shopping for a TV you find a retailer that has them all out on display. This way you can stand in front of a few different models and see if your eyes like it. To take away from some of the subjectivity, I like to have a look at two technical subjects you’ll read about on the next page.