With Pioneer claiming a monopoly on black reproduction on its excellent plasma televisions, it's nice to see Samsung pop up and say "actually, we've got something you should look at".
Traditionally LCD TVs worked by having an LCD panel, behind which was a backlight that was uniform and either on or off. LCDs emit no light of their own -- unlike CRT and plasma screens, which both produce light. This means that LCDs struggle to produce black because there will always be some light that will leak through the panel. Enter LED backlighting, which aims to produce deep, inky blacks. But does it work, or is it simply a £2,700 gimmick?
Design
The usual Samsung design ethic has been applied to the F96 series. The company remains a leader in aesthetics and we are always excited to get one of its TVs out of the box. This TV features the piano black finish we've come to expect from flat panel screens these days. The F96 adds a few extra design touches that improve it further.
It's worth saying that the F96 only comes in 52 and 70-inch models. Our 52-inch review sample is enormous and big enough to fill any lounge, so be prepared to clear a bit of space and throw out some unnecessary junk/family members if you're buying the 70-inch version.
Firstly, there is a blue LED stripe at the bottom of the screen. As with previous models, this can be disabled if you don't like it, but it also acts as a standby button, which we think is funky but not totally necessary.
On the right hand side of the screen there are some illuminated, touch-sensitive buttons which add to the functionality without distracting the eye too much.
There are a healthy selection of inputs at the rear and side of the TV, with three HDMI sockets -- one of which is on the side panel of the screen -- which we think is a suitable number for most people. Although if you had a hi-def disc player, PS3, Xbox 360 Elite, as well as Sky HD or Virgin's HD service, you might yearn for four.
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Vowani 27 October 2007
Good: The Samsung LE52F96 is probably the best LCD television set on the market today.
Bad: Navigation in the settings menu can be a bit sluggish at times. The black bezel is a dust magnet.
Comment: The Samsung LE52F96 is probably the best LCD television set on the market today. I am truly delighted by its functionality, quality and attractive design.
The LED SmartLighting backlight on the Samsung F96 allows for true blacks, it is as good as the best plasma displays.
Also, you get exceptional detail from 1080 sources with "Just Scan" mode engaged. It accepts 1080p/24 signals, and does away with telecine judder.
With proper settings tuning, you can achieve near-perfect greyscale display, and very natural looking colours.
Menu settings can be saved independently per input source.
It also has very decent speakers with quite good stereo separation and bass sound for a tv set.
It comes with many connectors, among which are 3 HDMI 1.3a ports.
Via the USB port, one can view photo slideshows, listen to MP3 music, and upload firmware updates.
For digital tv, it comes with a user-friendly on-screen program guide.
The remote control is well-designed.
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