Black: 0.007
White: 29.92

Full-On/Full-Off Contrast Ratio: 4,274:1

All of the measurements were taken in the Movie mode, adjusted for the most accurate picture. The Cell Light was set to 20, Contrast to 90, Brightness to 57, and the Gamma to 0.

The full-on/full-off contrast ratio (above, sometimes referred to as the peak contrast ratio, the sequential contrast ratio, or the dynamic range) is a definite improvement over earlier Samsung plasmas we’ve tested, although it’s well above what we’ve seen from the best LED-backlit, local-dimming LCD sets. What you don’t get are the halos around bright objects against dark backgrounds sometimes visible with local-dimming LCDs.

The Color Tracking charts show how well a display adheres to the D65 standard white point; the tighter the overlap of the three primary colors, the nearer the result is to D65. Both charts here were taken in the Warm2 Color Tone setting. The 2D Before calibration result was respectable but improvable. After Calibration, the maximum Delta E was 4.1 at 20 IRE, and it remained under 3.01 from 30 IRE to 100 IRE. Delta E is a figure of merit that shows how close the result is to the standard D65 white point. Most experts recommend a Delta E value of 4 or less, which suggests that the eye cannot distinguish any improvement below this level. Some experts recommend no more than 3 for a visibly ideal result.

As with the LG 47LX9500 3D LCD set also reviewed in this issue, I was able to use both the Samsung’s White Balance and 10p White Balance controls together, starting with a basic two-point adjustment in the White Balance menu, then fine tuning it with the 10p controls. However, unlike the 10-point controls in the LG, which relate directly to the IRE levels used in most calibration test patterns, the 10p controls on the Samsung are simply labeled 1 through 10. This made the 10p adjustments more tedious and imprecise than on the LG. Nevertheless, they produced a useful improvement over the two-point controls.—TJN