Samsung UN55B7100 55" 120Hz LED HDTV Review

Picture Quality: SD Upscaling

Like it or not, the vast majority of satellite, OTA or cable television shows are broadcast via standard definition signals. This means for many of us the ability of HDTVs to upscale a standard definition image is paramount to our viewing enjoyment.

Our testing was done with a Bell 9242 HD PVR hooked up to the TV set via a DVI to HDMI adaptor.


Upscaling is anything but an exact science since the quality of standard definition (and HD) broadcasts widely varies from channel to channel. Overall, the B7100 upscales SD signals extremely well but there are some problems that mostly revolve around the source signal. Samsung has given this TV some tools which can actually help out with low quality broadcasts like the Digital Noise Reduction that removes some of the grain that sometimes appears. The DNR as it is referred to gets rid of the distracting graininess that sometimes pops up when watching some channels but it can also introduce image artifacts as well. Once again, we have a double-edged sword on our hands.


When using the Wide Fit option there is also some tendency for the image to be overly stretched which is one of my pet peeves when watching SD content on a TV such as this. On-screen menus from your set-top box will also be stretched far towards the outsides of the screen when using Wide Fit mode but I didn’t find this too much of an issue since none of the critical information was cut off.


The overall picture quality is actually quite good considering the source material I have been watching. Granted, there is a faintly unfocused look about the picture but to be honest with you, I have seen a lot worse, namely with the LN55B650 which made an upscaled image look like someone had rubbed it with a healthy helping of lube. What I will recommend against is watching high speed sports like hockey or auto racing on an upscaled picture due to a massive amount of ghosting. Seriously though, if you have the money for the B7100, you are probably able to afford all the HD sports channels you could ever want.