Samsung UN46C7000 Review - 46″ 240Hz 3D Ready LED TV

The UN46C7000, is a 46 inch 3D LED TV from Samsung featuring edge lit LED backlighting technology. This 3D ready television is part of Samsung’s mid range 7000 Series of 3D TVs. Although the 7000 series lacks a few of the bells and whistles of the 8000 and 9000 series 3D TVs from Samsung, it still has excellent features coupled with great picture quality and 3D performance. For a detailed review of the UN46C7000, check our UN55C7000 review as this TV is similar in all respects except screen size to the UN55C7000.

Appearance

The UN46C7000 features a stunning look thanks to it’s LED edgelit backlighting that allows for a slim profile of 1.2 inches. In addition, the 7000 series of 3D ready TVs from Samsung feature a 1 inch bezel which is substantially smaller in comparison to the LED TVs from 2009. The 7000 series also features Samsung’s Touch of Color styling, called ‘Mystic Earth’ in the case of this series. The slim profile and small bezel makes the UN46C7000 an extremely attractive television set.

Picture Quality

Samsung’s C7000 series has demonstrated excellent picture quality for the most part with extremely dark blacks and great screen contrast. While the black filter used by Samsung to improve black levels certainly helps, it does tend to cause a slight loss in shadow details in dark scenes. The UN46C7000 does a great job when it comes to color fidelity and saturation. Images tend to be a little oversaturated at times, but it does look really nice, and this can always be dialed down from the setup menu.

The UN46C7000 features a 46 inch 1080p 240Hz screen capable of displaying content at 1920 x 1080 resolution. However, when displaying moving images (videos) these televisions are capable of a vertical resolution of around 800-900 lines of moving resolution. However, keep in mind that it is exceptionally hard to tell the difference between a 1080p video and one with 900 lines of resolution, so this certainly isn’t a deal breaker.

Like the other Samsung 3D TVs in the 7000 series, this television set supports Samsung’s 240Hz Automotion Plus feature which interpolated standard 60Hz signals to 240Hz signals, thus enabling smoother video playback and minimizing ghosting and motion blur issues. While this works well for sports, it is advisable to turn this feature off on the UN46C7000 in the case of television or video content as it can make the video look cheap and fake due to the additional image processing.

3D Technology

The Samsung UN46C7000 displays 3D content via a frame sequential technique. Each image for the left and right eye is flashed alternatively on the screen, and active shutter glasses are synced with the TV so that each eye is able to view the corresponding image on the screen in a sequential manner.

Samsung 3D Glasses Samsung 3D glasses have been released just in time for the new 3D content that is being made available. These 3D Glasses from Samsung are bundled along with a free copy of the 3-D Blu-Ray version of Monster’s vs Aliens and are meant to be used with the C7000, C8000 and C9000 series of Samsung 3D HDTVs. The 240Hz display of the UN46C7000 allows for a 120Hz viewing refresh rate per eye, thus minimizing flickering and eye fatigue and providing a smooth viewing experience.

Optimal Viewing Distance

The optimal viewing distance for the UN46C7000 3D TV is around 6 to 9 feet. This maximizes the benefit of a 1080p display while providing you with a larger field of view, and thus, an immersive 3D experience. Read more about the Optimal Viewing distance for your 3D TV to learn about the various factors that govern the selection of a 3D TV for a given room size and budget.

Other Features

The Samsung UN46C7000 is internet enabled via a standard ethernet port. Internet access on the TV allows for the use of Samsung’s “internet@TV” software capabilities. Samsung is also going to provide an iPhone like App Store which allows for the streaming of movies and images from Netflix, Youtube, Flickr, Picasa as well as a host of other news and media content providers straight to your 3D TV. USB 2.0 support allows you to play videos, view slideshows or listen to music effortlessly.

The Verdict

In this review, we find the UN46C7000 to be an attractive and sleek 3D TV with great picture quality, excellent black levels and a 240Hz 1080p LCD panel that helps minimize ghosting and motion-blur in fast moving scenes. While the higher end Samsung 3D TVs in the 8000 and 9000 series have slightly better picture quality and a larger number of extra features, the UN46C7000 strikes a good balance between price and features+quality. All in all, we certainly recommend this 3D TV to consumers. For more information, user reviews and price comparisons, feel free to browse through Amazon’s UN46C7000 page. Other 3D televisions to consider for this screen size are the Samsung UN46C9000 and the Samsung UN46C8000.