Samsung LN52A750 LCD TV Real-World Performance

Real-World Performance
Before getting to my primary real-world tests, I took a quick look at chapter 8 of Mission: Impossible III on HD DVD at 1080i. The pan across the staircase that begins that chapter exhibited mild moiré, less than I've often seen. Shadow detail in the catacombs was fairly good, especially after I increased the Gamma setting. I admit that I prefer the brightness to rise out of black faster than is technically correct, so take this comment as you will.

I wanted to see if the improvements in the AMP function translated to some of the clips I played in my review of the 4671, so I started with Star Wars VI: A New Hope on THX-certified DVD. Sure enough, the vertical lines in the Death Star's hangar bay as Darth Vader's shuttle approaches were free of the artifacts I saw on the older set, even when AMP was set to High. Otherwise, detail was excellent and colors were superb.

Another scene that gave AMP fits on the 4671 is a moment near the beginning of Cars on Blu-ray—Lightning McQueen is being profiled as one of the leaders in the Piston Cup race, and he appears in front of an array of bright blue lights. This array was full of artifacts on the 4671, but there were only momentary hints of this on the LN52A750.

AMP definitely sharpened the motion detail in Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer on Blu-ray without introducing obvious artifacts. This was especially evident in the opening credits as they fly around the screen. The overall detail was stunning, from city skylines to facial pores. Colors were likewise gorgeous, blacks were deep and rich, and shadow detail in night scenes was quite good.

Seven Years in Tibet on Blu-ray offers a beautiful color palette and exquisite detail, both of which were artfully rendered by the LN52A750. The sweeping Himalayan vistas were breathtaking, and the intricate brocades were crystal clear. Even the FBI logo in the anti-piracy warning was sharper than I normally see. Brightly colored Tibetan buildings, the monks' dun-red robes, blue sky, and skin tones were all completely natural, the delineation of whites in the glacier was excellent, and shadow detail in night scenes was very good.

On the other hand, shadow detail in the duck-blind observation post near the beginning of Star Trek: Insurrection on DVD was only so-so, but AMP did sharpen the opening pans across the hay bales, village, and crops. The black of space was nice and deep, and colors continued to look entirely natural.

Like virtually all LCD TVs, the apparent black level rises as you move off axis, but not as much as lesser models. Still, I wouldn't want to be more than 30 or 40 degrees from the centerline.

As I mentioned in passing earlier, this TV's audio was one of its only weak points. The sound was quite closed in, and dialog intelligibility was poor. An external sound system is a must with this TV.

The only other nit to pick is the relatively high reflectivity of the screen—in fact, it looked more like a plasma than an LCD in that regard. I could see a sharp reflection of myself when the screen was dark. This could be a problem in rooms with light sources opposite the TV. Samsung claims this actually lowers the black level by not diffusing the reflection of light sources in the room.

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