Samsung C5000 1080p LED LCD HDTV Review

Samsung’s C5000 series of Full HD (1080p) LED backlit LCD HDTVs for 2010 includes the 46 inch UN46C5000, 40 inch UN40C5000 and 32 inch UN32C5000. This series has some award winning siblings in the form of the Samsung C7000 and C6500 series LED LCDs which were both CES 2010 Innovations Honorees. The LED edge backlighting delivers an impressively high dynamic contrast ratio of 3,000,000:1 puts it around a factor of 10 ahead of conventional CCFL fluorescent LCD HDTV from a couple of years ago.

Samsung C5000 LED LCD HDTV

LED edge lightning allows the C5000 models to be extremely thin (1.2 inches) and eminently suitable for wall mounting. The thin bezel surrounding the screen has a red Samsung Touch of Color design. The white LEDs used by Samsung provide a wider color gamut (105% of broadcast standard) than conventional fluorescent backlighting enabling more realistic color reproduction particularly in the deep reds and greens. The high contrast delivered by the LED backlight arrangement translates into stronger blacks and whites. Incorporated into the display panel is Samsung’s ultra clear panel technology which enhances contrast and reduces reflections which can destroy picture quality.

The Samsung C4000 series has the same specification to the recently reviewed C5000 models except for; 720p HD vs 1080p Full HD, 2,000,000:1 vs 3,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio,

AllShare

AllShare brings a new level of HDTV connectivity to compatible Samsung mobile phones/devices utilizing a network (wired or wireless) DLNA connection. On your screen you can view call arrivals, SMS messages and schedules set on your mobile phones. There is a My Mobile screen for looking at your Contacts, Calendar and Document Viewer. As well, it’s possible to play multmedia files including videos, photos and music stored on your mobile phone. While this HDTV doesn’t directly support Internet access you can in effect cheat by browsing Web pages using a Samsung mobile phone that supports ScreenShare functions. Another device you may wish to access with AllShare is your PC.

Game Mode

Samsung C5000 models have a Game Mode which enhances the detail seen in dark areas, sharpens the picture, speeds up the image processing response and enhances the sounds of game being played. It’s a single button solution for quickly optimizing picture and sound quality when using gaming consoles.

Media Play

When a USB is connected to a C5000 model HDTV a popup window appears with the option to select Media Play. However, Media Play applies to both USB and network sourced content playback. For network playback from a PC one needs to ensure the Samsung PC Share Manager is permitted to run by the firewall. Media Play supports USB Mass Storage Class (MSC) devices so you can use a thumb drives or USB HDD but, not through a USB HUB. The Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) used by Windows based media players is not supported.

Most impressive about Media Play is the extensive range of supported file formats which include .avi (including Divx), .mkv, .asf, .wmv, .mp4, .3gp, .vro, .mpg, mpeg, .ts, .tp, .trp. Check the user manual (link below) for more detail on file formats.

The video player will handle a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Controls provided include; Play, Pause and Resume as well as Search with files and folders listed in either date or alphabetical order. JPEG images up to a maximum resolution up to 15360 x 8640 pixels are supported and can be shown as a slide show with background music or simply as thumbnails. For convenience music files can be sorted by Artist, Album Genre, or Mood.

Picture Quality Adjustments

Samsung C5000 LED LCD HDTVs have an extensive range of picture adjustments available. Importantly, settings for each connected external device can be adjusted and stored. The expert patterns for picture calibration are particularly appealing and practical.

Wide Color Enhancer Plus: analyzes each pixel stretching them to their 3-dimensional limit for full and lifelike colors.
Mode: Dynamic – bright room, Standard – normal environment, Natural – for reducing eye strain, Movie – dark room.
Black Tone: Select black level to adjust the screen depth.
Dynamic Contrast: Adjust the screen contrast.
Shadow Detail: Increase the brightness of dark images.
Gamma: Adjust the primary color intensity.
Expert Pattern (Off / Pattern 1 / Pattern 2): Use Expert Pattern function for picture calibration.
RGB Only Mode: Displays the Red, Green and Blue colors for making fine adjustments to the hue and saturation.
Color Space (Auto / Native / Custom): Adjust the range of colors available to create the image.
White Balance: Adjustment of color temperature.
Edge Enhancement: Emphasize object boundaries.
xvYCC: Setting xvYCC mode increases detail and color space when watching movies from an external device connected via HDMI or Component jacks.
LED Motion Plus: Removes drag from fast scenes with a lot of movement to provide a clear picture.
Color Tone: (Cool / Normal / Warm1 / Warm2)
Size: 16:9 Zoom1: moderate magnification. Zoom2: stronger magnification. Wide Fit: entire screen.
Digital Noise Filter: Reduce any static and ghosting from broadcast signal.
MPEG Noise Filter: Reduces MPEG noise to provide improved picture quality.
HDMI Black Level: Selects the black level on the screen to adjust the screen depth.
Film Mode: TV automatically senses and processes film signals to adjust the picture for optimum quality.

Samsung Power Savings

Energy Efficiency

As with other HDTV manufacturers, Samsung has been working hard to make it’s 2010 models even more energy efficient. In fact, the strict Energy Star 4.0 minimum standards are exceeded by an impressive 57%.

Samsung HDTVs are easy on the planet—and on your eyes. Our unique Eco Sensor measures the intensity of the room’s light and automatically calibrates the brightness of the image on the screen. In a brightly lit environment, the picture brightness grows even brighter, and in dim surroundings, brightness is reduced. So now you’re not wasting energy on a bright screen when it isn’t needed. Enjoy the best picture possible with a TV that’s aware of its surroundings.

Features improving energy efficiency include:

Energy Saving: Display brightness adjustment in response to an Eco (light) Sensor to reduce power consumption. It’s a pity that Samsung haven’t picked up on the concept of Sony’s ambient sensor which adjusts the picture color for best viewing under different quality lighting for example, fluorescent vs incandescent lighting.
Picture Off: The display is powered down but the audio continues – for use during music playback.
Eco Sensor: Picture settings are automatically adapted to the brightness of the light in the room.
No Signal Power Off: Adjustable time interval for shutdown following loss of signal.

Anynet+

Samsung C5000 models have Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC) which allows HDMI connected peripheral AV consumer electronics, such as a DVD player, to be controlled by the Samsung remote control. It saves having a forest of remotes to shuffle.

Connections

4x HDMI v1.3 (back)
1x Digital Audio (Optical)
1x PC Input (D-sub)
1x Conponent (Y/Pb/Rr)
1x Ethernet (LAN)
2x RF In
2x USB 2.0 (side)

Software upgrades can be performed using a USB to load the latest firmware update from samsung.com. Software upgrades allow the manufacturer to fix bugs and make improvements after the HDTV has left the factory.

The C5000 series don’t have local dimming however, for 2010 Samsung has released Pinpoint Dimming with the edge-lit C8000 and C6800 series which provides local dimming similar to what has been available for full array LED LCD displays. Samsung’s superb B8500 series of full LED array backlit LCDs with local dimming is also well worth considering. To understand the differences between backlighting arrangements read our comparison of edge lit and full array backlighting LED LCDs.