The Short Form

$4,999 (list) / SAMSUNG.COM / 800-726-7864

Snapshot

Samsung scores with a new high- tech LCD that gives plasma some serious competition in the black- level department

Plus

• Deep, rich blacks and detailed shadows • Superb video processing

Minus

• Picture contrast is reduced for off-axis viewers • Glossy screen reflects room light

Key Features

• 1080p resolution • LED backlight with local dimming • 120-Hz display • Deep Color/xvYCC display options • AnyNet+ HDMI • Inputs: (4) HDMI 1.3, (2) component and (2) composite video, S-video, RF antenna/cable, USB, and Ethernet • 53¾ x 34¾ x 13¼ in; 91¼ lb

Ten months might not seem like a long time, but it’s an eternity when it comes to TV technology. If you read “The Great Flat-Panel Face-off” (February/March 2008), you’ll remember that we found that a state-of-the-art plasma TV can generally outperform the best LCD model. But we also said that LCD technology still has plenty of tricks up its sleeve, and that we could expect more major advances before too long. Well, with the release of Samsung’s latest top-of-the-line LN55A950 LCD, that time is now.

LCDs have always been good at delivering the kind of bright and punchy image that keeps them flying off the shelves in brightly lit Costcos. But their picture contrast and shadow detail have never been quite as impressive as the finest plasmas. Unlike a plasma, where each pixel generates its own light and can be turned on and off individually, most LCDs use a fluorescent backlight that’s constantly on, with the LCD crystals opening and closing sequentially to block the light. This system is less than perfect because each pixel lets a tiny bit of the light bleed through even when fully shuttered, resulting in a decreased overall black level.

One solution is to replace the fluorescent light source with an array of white LED lamps, allowing the TV to selectively turn illumination down or even off for areas of the image that are very dark or black. Samsung used this technology in the LN-T5281F model featured in the flat-panel face-off, and it can also be found in the LN55A950.
While the LED backlight is probably the LN55A950’s most significant feature, this flagship model also includes a head-spinning array of other features and adjustments. A 120-Hz screen-refresh rate is now pretty standard on top LCDs, but the 950’s version lets you choose between three levels of motion smoothing. You can connect the Samsung to a home network and use the set’s Ethernet port to stream video from your computer; you can also connect online to a Samsung server that provides constantly updated news, stock prices, and local weather forecasts.

Samsung calls its current house style “A Touch of Color,” due to the thin colored stripe embedded into the frame of the TVs. With sets from the 950 series, that stripe is gray (a touch of gray?), and the frame has a very subtle woven effect that looks a bit like fish scales. The focus here was obviously more on features and performance than on trying to create a super-narrow frame or slender panel, so the 950 is actually somewhat bulkier than some of the latest super-slim models.

Along with the Ethernet connection, you get a comprehensive array of inputs, including four HDMI 1.3 ports, two component-video inputs, an RGB computer input, a USB port, and an RF connection for the set’s ATSC tuner. The remote is one of the best I’ve encountered in a while, with a logical layout and a fully backlit keypad. You don’t even need to track down the light button since a built-in motion sensor lights up the keypad automatically whenever the remote is moved. There are six aspect-ratio modes available (depending on the input-signal format), including a dot-for-dot mode called Just Scan. Unfortunately, instead of having a simple dedicated button that lets you cycle through the aspect-ratio options, you have to perform several keystrokes using the onscreen menu.

SETUP

The 950 series has the most comprehensive set of picture controls I’ve ever encountered on a TV. Picture settings can be adjusted independently for each input. Out of the box, the Movie mode with the Warm 2 color temperature had the most accurate picture, although as with several recent TVs I’ve tested, the preset color points were pushed out somewhat beyond the standard (see Test Bench).

Samsung clearly felt that it had something to prove with this set’s black-level performance, since there are no fewer than four adjustments that directly affect black level. Particular care needs to be taken with the Dynamic Contrast control. At its higher settings, it can eliminate deep shadow detail completely from very dark images by turning the LED backlighting off for certain zones.

PERFORMANCE

Once I’d determined the optimal settings for all the various picture adjustments, I settled down to watch the Blu-ray Disc of Batman Begins. With plenty of dark scenes that show subtle gradations between gray and black, this movie let me really get a handle on the Samsung’s ability to reproduce shadows. Right from the start, I noted that the letterbox bars were truly black; it was all but impossible to see where the screen met the frame in our light-controlled testing facility. And shadow details in dark images, such as those in the black ninja armor at the start of Chapter 11, showed greater definition than I have ever seen on an LCD.

The Samsung’s color performance was also strong. For example, the opening scene at the prison camp in Batman Begins revealed a natural color palette on the TV that highlighted both the differing shades of blue in the prisoners’ garb and the greenish-brown hues of the mud. I also caught an excellent high-def transfer of Airport on HDNet Movies, and was struck by the impressive array of early-’70s interior colors. (Goldenrod, anyone?) Again, the overall color palette looked totally natural, even if some of the matte shots of the cockpit seemed hideously dated.

The 120-Hz frame mode was especially effective at eliminating judder, though the differences between the low, medium, and high settings were hard to see clearly. The moving shot along the skyline at the start of Chapter 7 in Batman Begins looked amazingly sharp, without a hint of blurring, edge enhancement, or detail loss visible in the vertical and horizontal lines of the buildings.

Standard-def material from both DVD and cable TV was well served, with the Samsung’s video processor doing a fine job of upscaling images. The DVD of Seabiscuit actually looked a bit sharper with the TV performing the upscaling instead of my Blu-ray player.

As with most LCDs, the 950’s picture tends to wash out and lose contrast as you move well off-axis. But the problem is much less severe than it was with the Samsung LN-T5281F we used last year for our plasma-vs.-LCD face-off. This set does have the same kind of highly reflective glossy screen as that model, however.

BOTTOM LINE

While testing the LN55A950, I got the impression that Samsung wanted to prove once and for all that an LCD TV can effectively compete with plasma TVs. The 950 manages to overcome most of LCD technology’s traditional weaknesses, even if Samsung has yet to perfect off-axis performance. And while undeniably expensive, it demonstrates that any traditional notions of what LCD can and can’t deliver are now void.

TEST BENCH

Color temperature (Movie mode/Warm2 color temperature before/after calibration):
20-IRE: 6,728 K/6,713 K
30-IRE: 6,880 K/6,512 K
40-IRE: 6,978 K/6,572 K
50-IRE: 6,851 K/6,505 K
60-IRE: 6,932 K/6,625 K
70-IRE: 7,014 K/6,365 K
80-IRE: 6,997 K/6,504 K
90-IRE: 7,069 K/6,556 K
100-IRE: 7,139 K/6,606 K

Brightness (100-IRE window): 35.0/37.8 ftL

Primary Color Point Accuracy vs. SMPTE HD Standard

Color	Target X	Measured X	Target Y	Measured Y
Red	0.64	0.64	0.33	0.34
Green	0.30	0.31	0.60	0.60
Blue	0.15	0.16	0.06	0.07

With the “Movie” and “ Warm 2” options selected, the Samsung’s grayscale was slightly bluer than standard, measuring +569 K off the 6,500K benchmark from 20 to 90 IRE. User menu calibration brought this to within +/- 140K, a very good result. The TV’s measured color points fell somewhat outside the SMPTE HD standard, although these could also be adjusted with the user menu controls. The color decoder showed a slight -2.5% pull for red and green, although this was not adjustable within the user menu.

Screen uniformity was the best I’ve encountered with an LCD display, although the very best plasmas still deliver a slightly more uniform field at very low light levels. Off-axis viewers will note a loss of contrast, with deep blacks getting washed out, but this set did somewhat better than previous Samsung LED-backlit models that we tested on that point. (There is little degradation in picture contrast up to about 40 degrees from center, and even beyond that angle, off-axis color shift is minimal.) Still, this is an area where plasma clearly does better. The set’s glossy screen was designed to enhance its contrast, so care should be taken to avoid bright objects near the seating area, as they will show up reflected on screen.

Video processing was superb. The film pulldown mode worked very well, and the set could display full-resolution 1080p signals even with moving images —but only when the Auto Motion Plus circuit was turned off. On the plus side, Auto Motion Plus did noticeably reduce judder on slow panning shots, while LED Smart Motion was effective at minimizing motion blur. The sets upscaling made standard-definition sources look natural and clear, while noise reduction was effective at the lowest setting.