Samsung UN55B7100 55" 120Hz LED HDTV Review

Conclusion

Samsung is one of those companies that very rarely miss the mark with their high-end TVs and their expertise in pushing out high quality products is nearly unmatched in my eyes. Naturally, there is a sudden drop in performance as you go into the lower price ranges but if you are a discerning customer, a Samsung TV is usually a safe bet. In the past I have looked at the LN52A850 which in my eyes remains one of the best 52” sets on the market even though it met with an untimely end. The LN55B650 also passed through my waiting arms and I was pleasantly surprised by its overall performance. Now, after a month of putting the UN55B7100 through its paces, my confidence in Samsung hasn’t diminished one bit.

Let’s face it; a review such as this one would be as boring as listening to a complete reading of War and Peace if it wasn’t for the glaring flaws that HDTVs usually exhibit. Indeed, many an LCD review has come out with a virtually litany of issues highlighting the shortcomings of today’s offerings. With the B7100 however I found myself really searching high and low in an effort to find anything that struck me as a shortcoming that would diminish this set’s price. I did find a major one (more on that a bit later) but Samsung has gone a come a long way in correcting it. Considering how harshly I usually judge a near-$4000 product, that’s saying something.

The real beauty of the UN55B7100 comes with the realization that such a thin TV can put out such a stunning combination of high-end picture quality and solid performance. It really is a technological marvel that will make you the envy of your friends, relatives and even the passerby who stops to watch through your open window. Movies were displayed with an amazingly wide contrast range and colors were really able to pop off the screen which gave the picture a great three dimensionality. The customized judder and blur reduction controls also work towards a near-complete elimination of the halos, ghosting and motion judder that have plagued so many other LCDs.

Even though movies came to life when viewed on this set, it was the gaming performance that really stole my heart. My PS3 pulls most of its duty as a Blu-Ray player but I have experienced the absolute train-wreck that comes about when trying to play fast-paced games on lesser LCDs. The UN55B7100 didn’t exhibit any of the problems I have come to associate with playing first person shooters on an LCD and it continued to shine in every other game I threw at it. There were some contrast issues in Resistance 2 but I am starting to believe the blame lies with the game and not the display.

Unfortunately, there were a few points where the B7100 tends to stumble. Contrast and color uniformity are generally excellent but no matter how much tweaking I did, there were still some movie and game scenes that took on an overexposed look. Then there was the general lack of black uniformity caused by excessive clouding / flashlighting. Samsung released a firmware that was supposed to take care of issue but it wasn’t able to completely eliminate it. I also find that this set is a bit too glossy to be used in anything but low-light conditions but that is a matter of personal preference rather than anything else.

The Samsung UN55B7100 is one hell of a TV but even after using it for weeks; I have come to the realization that I still haven’t found the holy grail of HDTVs. With a great picture, high efficiency and relatively good contrast, it’s pretty darn close to being one best but there is one thing holding me back from recommending it: the horrible uniformity in dark scenes. That however doesn’t stop it from being a technological marvel and as such, it gets a well-deserved Dam Innovative Award.


Pros:

- Blue Only mode allows for calibration
- Custom blur / judder reduction options
- Great picture quality
- Extremely high efficiency
- Good contrast


Cons:

- Some black level shifts
- Black uniformity is atrocious
- Eye-wateringly expensive