Sony KDL40Z4500 Review

In Sony’s efforts to expand their LCD TV empire by catering to buyers with different requirements and budgets, they have come up with more range and models of Bravia LCD televisions than you can shake a stick at. We have tested the latest W4500 series, and are waiting for the imminent X4500 series to hit the stores, but where does the Z4500 series – unveiled at IFA 2008 as the world’s first 200Hz LCD HDTV – fit into the picture (no pun intended)? Today we’re going to have a look at the Sony KDL40Z4500 and find out…

Note: The specific model we tested was the Sony KDL40Z4500U (which denotes the 3-pin-plug United Kingdom version), but the terms KDL40Z4500 and KDL40Z4500U will be used interchangeably throughout this review.

Design

The Sony KDL40Z4500 HDTV reprises the “Midnight Sky” theme previously seen on the W4000 series: its glossy black bezel is sprinkled with sparkly flecks which become visible upon closer inspection. A thin pane of transparent perspex extends below the bezel frame to carry a horizontal speaker bar spanning the width of the LCD TV, creating a distinctly Sony-esque “suspended-in-air” effect.

The illuminated Sony logo, the backlit touch-sensitive control buttons at the bottom right of the panel, and the LED indicators embedded on the glass-like perspex are no doubt swanky touches. But Sony have also not forgotten the practical side of things, judging from the inclusion of a pair of recessed handgrips at the back of the television to facilitate easier lifting onto the swivelling pedestal stand.

Midnight Sky bezel, transparent perspex, horizontal speaker bar

The chassis of the Sony KDL40Z4500 is bulkier and heavier than the W4000 and W4500 series. While this was probably necessary to accommodate the extra motion-enhancing gadgetry, the Sony KDL40Z4500 can look cumbersome when pitted against slim-profile LCD televisions which are increasingly popular with manufacturers and consumers alike.

Connections

Connectivity on the Sony KDL40Z4500 is no different from that on the W4500, featuring 3 instead of 4 HDMI inputs, a USB 2.0 port, a DLNA-compatible ethernet port, and a Digital Media Port among other standard connection interfaces.

Rear: 2 x HDMI, VGA, component, 2 x Scarts, aerial, LAN port, DM port, audio outs

CI slot, USB, HDMI, composite video, headphone

Operation

The Sony KDL40Z4500 LCD HDTV sports the same user menu and EPG (both the standard Sony and the alternative Guide Plus+ versions) found on the W4500 series.

Just like the television panel, the bundled infrared remote control is chunkier, no thanks to some extra buttons at the top of the remote which can be used to control other compatible equipments. Another ergonomic blunder is how some important buttons encircle the central navigation keypad, which means that some conscious effort, precision and dexterity are required to avoid hitting the wrong key. On the plus side, pressing a button on the top left of the remote control will light the keys up with neon blue glow to save you from fumbling in the dark.

Calibration

Given the continued omission of white balance controls at user-menu level even for a high-end model like the Sony KDL40Z4500, it’s hardly surprising to find that its post-calibration charts and measurements are very similar to the W4000 and W4500 series. [Colour Temperature] “Warm 2” was plus-red relative to D65:

[Colour Temperature] “Warm 2″ CCT

[Colour Temperature] “Warm 2″ RGB Tracking

[Colour Temperature] “Warm 1” was plus-blue:

[Colour Temperature] “Warm 1″ CCT

[Colour Temperature] “Warm 1″ RGB Tracking

[Colour Space] “Standard” yielded accurate primary chromaticities:

[Colour Space] “Standard” CIE chart with reference to HD Rec. 709

[Colour Space] “Wide” resulted in an extended colour gamut with oversaturated green, which was further exaggerated by [Live Colour]:

[Colour Space] “Wide” CIE	[Live Colour] “High” CIE

Benchmark Test Results

Dead pixels	None
Screen uniformity	No clouding and backlight bleed if calibrated
Overscanning on HDMI	0% with [Display Area] set to “Full Pixel“
Blacker than black	Passed
Black level	Excellent (0.06 cd/m2 calibrated)
Black level retention	Stable
Primary chromaticity	Excellent with [Colour Space] “Standard“
Scaling	Above average
Video mode deinterlacing	Average; limited jaggies reduction
Film mode deinterlacing	Poor; Failed 3:2/ 2:2 cadences in 480i/ 576i
Viewing angle	75°
Motion resolution	[Motionflow] “Standard” and “Max“: 1080; “Min“: 750; “Off“: 300
Digital noise reduction	Acceptable at baseline
Sharpness	Undefeatable edge enhancement on 1080i/1080p
1080p/24 capability (PS3)	Accepts 1080p/24 video signal; no telecine judder
Input lag	0-10ms in [Game Mode] or over VGA; 16-31ms otherwise

Power Consumption

Default ([Picture Mode] “Standard“)	164 watts
Calibrated ([Picture Mode] “Cinema“)	111 watts
Standby	14 watts with [Quick Start] engaged; <1 watt otherwise

Notes On 200Hz LCD Panel

Sony probably needed to use a slightly different LCD panel for a problem-free implementation of its 200Hz Motionflow system, and various characteristics of the screen certainly gave this away. Even out-of-the-box, we immediately noticed less clouding and backlight bleed on the Sony KDL40Z4500 HDTV than on the W4000 or W4500 series. The Sony KDL40Z4500’s edge in screen uniformity was also maintained off-axis, though it must be pointed out that its contrast and colour washed out slightly earlier than the W4000 and W4500 when viewed from an angle.

Although the dynamic contrast of the Sony KDL40Z4500 was quoted at 80,000:1 (vs. the 50,000:1 of W4500), the native contrast of the LCD panel actually measured marginally lower. Dispensing with any contrast enhancing gimmickry (which boosts top-end brightness and/or blacks at the expense of highlight and/or shadow detail), the deepest black level we could achieve after calibration was 0.06 cd/m² – which of course is still excellent for an LCD TV – if we did not want to sacrifice peak brightness too much. At the other end of the spectrum, highlight detail and red channel started clipping pretty early when we gradually increased the [Contrast] value, effectively holding us back from raising the ceiling of the television’s dynamic range.

Without engaging [Motionflow], baseline motion resolution on the Sony KDL40Z4500 HDTV was measured to be 300 according to Chapter 31 of the “FPD Benchmark Software For Professional” test disc. Setting [Motionflow] to “Standard” was enough to boost motion resolution to 1080, the highest we’ve ever recorded on an LCD television. Even the “Min” setting delivered a motion resolution of 750 – surpassing all other LCD TVs we’ve tested to date – though the image did seem less stable (the scrolling lines flickered more) compared to either “Standard” or “Max“.

As expected, there’s no improvement in the quality of video processing on the Sony KDL40Z4500 compared to the W4500 according to our benchmark tests, as both employ the Bravia Engine 2 (BE2).

Picture Quality

High Definition (Blu-Ray)

Just like the W4500 (and the W4000 before it), the Sony KDL40Z4500 LCD HDTV turned in a breathtaking high-def performance underpinned by excellent blacks and colour fidelity, depicting the dreary darkness and the intentionally desaturated colour palette in Underworld on Blu-ray with convincing accuracy. And even though none of the colour temperature presets yielded D65 greyscale, we still managed to appreciate the blue tint deployed extensively throughout the film.

Perhaps because of the slightly different LCD panel used, calibrated gamma was 2.1 on the Sony KDL40Z4500 (it was 2.25 on the W4500), and unfortunately no gamma control was available in the user menu to bring this closer to spec. While videophiles may lament the brighter (maybe a touch too bright) shadow detail and marginally reduced punchiness/ “pop” compared to the 2.2 ideal, at least all the subtleties in the darkest crevices in Underworld were portrayed clearly for all to see.

Animated movies can provide a stern test for motion-compensated frame interpolation (MCFI) algorithms due to their digitally-rendered textures and lighting effects, and what better film than the absolutely flawless (in terms of picture and audio quality) Blu-ray transfer of Kung Fu Panda to grill the Sony KDL40Z4500’s 200Hz Motionflow system.

The Sony KDL40Z4500 passed the test with flying colours: we genuinely did not witness any interpolation artefacts throughout the movie with [Motionflow] set to “Min“. This setting was sufficient to improve clarity during medium-fast pans (for example when Shifu surveyed the courtyard at around the 51:57 mark), yet its inevitable “video” effect was still tolerable to those who cherish the filmic look of 24p material.

Standard Definition (Freeview Digital TV)

For live action sports however, we certainly wouldn’t hesitate in setting [Motionflow] to “Standard” for an even higher motion resolution, though to be honest we struggled to see any significant advantage over the 100Hz Motionflow on the W4500 series. During England’s football friendly against Germany on ITV1, we did notice the odd sparkles around the high-contrast areas of moving objects (e.g. the names and numbers on the back of the players’ shirts), but thankfully these were pretty much negligible amidst the onslaught of compression artefacts like mosquito noise and macro-blocking stemming from the broadcast source.

Otherwise, as long as a sensible viewing distance was adopted, Freeview channels with reasonable bit-rate were immensely watchable on the Sony KDL40Z4500 LCD television due to its deep blacks, accurate colours and above average scaling.

HD Console Gaming (Sony PS3)

We’re not sure if the theoretically faster LCD panel played a part here, but the input lag we measured on the Sony KDL40Z4500 was typically 15-20ms lower than that on the W4500, even with [Motionflow] engaged. Of course, the playing field would be levelled if [Game/Text Mode] was activated: the input lag on both TVs would drop to a mouthwatering 0-10ms, which – alongside vibrant colours and exceptional detail – paved the way for an utterly immersive gaming experience.

The downside is that [Game/Text Mode] automatically deactivates the 200Hz Motionflow system on Sony KDL40Z4500, but we’ll choose a lag-free gaming response over a slight reduction in motion blur any day, particularly for reflex-dependent multiplayer first-person shooters such as Call Of Duty 5: World At War.

Conclusion

The deep blacks, accurate colours and low input lag on Sony’s latest high-end (W series and above) LCD HDTVs need no further praise, so we’re left to comment on the Sony KDL40Z4500’s 200Hz Motionflow implementation.

The good news? There are surprisingly few kinks for what effectively is the first incarnation of 200Hz MCFI technology. Now the not-so-good news: any resultant improvement in motion clarity isn’t really leaps and bounds ahead of what 100Hz LCD televisions currently offer when it comes to real-life viewing.

So while the Sony KDL40Z4500 holds the current record for the highest motion resolution we have measured on an LCD TV so far, pound-for-pound we think that the Sony KDL40W4500 (equipped with 100Hz Motionflow) represents better value-for-money.

Sony KDL40W4500 Review

Although we liked the Sony Bravia W4000 LCD series we tested back in May 2008, we bemoaned the lack of 100Hz technology, user menu white balance control, and proper film mode deinterlacing. The Sony KDL40W4500 LCD TV is blessed with 100Hz Motionflow technology, but does it address the other deficiencies? Let’s find out in today’s review.

Note: The specific model we tested was the Sony KDL40W4500U (which denotes the 3-pin-plug United Kingdom version), but the terms KDL40W4500 and KDL40W4500U will be used interchangeably throughout this review.

Design

Just like the W4000, the Sony KDL40W4500 HDTV sports a transparent segment of perspex between the slightly glossy LCD screen and the finely perforated speaker grille. The bezel and (to a lesser extent) the speaker grille are finished in polished black; and the ensemble is underlined by a thin silver strip spanning the entire width of the frame. Whilst not as slim as some of the latest offerings from rival manufacturers, the KDL40W4500 manifests solid build quality and a touch of stylistic sophistication – check out the embedded LED indicators on the glass-like perspex, and the illuminated logo – that has Sony written all over it.

Connections

The Sony KDL40W4500 LCD television only has 3 rather than the now-commonplace 4 HDMI inputs, but compensates by offering these additional multimedia interfaces:

• A USB 2.0 port that allows you to view JPEG photos or listen to MP3 music through a USB thumbdrive, digital camera or camcorder (with the appropriate USB cable).
• A DLNA-certified ethernet port that you can use to view photos and listen to music from compatible networked devices.
• A Digital Media Port which lets you view playlists, artists, albums and track information, and of course listen to music through connected portable devices such as Sony Walkman, MP3 Player, iPod, or Sony Ericsson phone. The connecting adaptor is not included with the television, and needs to be purchased separately.

Rear: 2 x HDMI, VGA, component, 2 x Scarts, aerial, LAN port, DM port, audio outs

CI slot, USB, HDMI, composite video, headphone

Operation

The XMB-driven user menu on the Sony KDL40W4500 is essentially unchanged from that on the W4000, except for the inclusion of [Motionflow] and [Game/Text Mode] options in the [Features] submenu:

In addition to the decidedly bland but functional Sony EPG we’ve previously witnessed on the W3000 and W4000, the Sony KDL40W4500 also provides an alternative version powered by Guide Plus+ which takes about 30 minutes to set up for the first time.

Even though the Guide Plus+ version looks more attractive due in no small part to a small window crisply displaying the current channel (shame about the separate advertisement column beneath it though), there is a slight delay between pressing the [Guide] button on the remote and the Guide Plus+ listings appearing on screen, so more often than not we found ourselves reverting to the standard Sony EPG for daily use.

Sleek and responsive, the Sony KDL40W4500’s remote control is the same as those bundled with the W4000 and V4000 LCD TVs we’ve reviewed recently. In terms of background noise, the Sony KDL40W4500 emitted a soft low-pitched hum from the rear of the panel especially when there’s content on screen. Viewers with sensitive hearing may find this distracting at night or during quiet scenes, but sitting 6 feet from the television with normal TV volume, we were never troubled by the hum.

Calibration

Greyscale

Disappointingly, there remains no white balance control (which would have helped tremendously in greyscale calibration to D65 standard) in the user menu of the Sony KDL40W4500 HDTV. As things stood, we had to make do with one of their [Colour Temperature] presets, of which “Warm 2” came closest to D65:

[Colour Temp] “Warm 2″ CCT

[Colour Temp] “Warm 2″ RGB Tracking

Even for someone who’s used to D65 images, the resultant picture may look too warm/ yellow/ red. There is certainly a case for setting [Colour Temp] to “Warm 1“: although “Warm 1” deviates even further from D65 than “Warm 2“, the picture may actually be more tolerable to the uninitiated because of its bluer (and hence brighter) cast.

[Colour Temp] “Warm 1″ CCT

[Colour Temp] “Warm 1″ RGB Tracking

Colour

“Colour Like No Other“… we’ve always been impressed with the colour accuracy on Sony’s high-end Bravia LCD televisions (i.e. W and X series), and the Sony KDL40W4500 continues this fine tradition. With [Colour Space] set to “Standard“, the primary colour points were as close as they come – remember this is achieved out-of-the-box without any colour management system (CMS) available – to HD Rec. 709 specifications:

[Colour Space] “Standard” CIE chart with reference to HD Rec. 709

Because the [Hue] control is greyed out unless the KDL40W4500 receives an NTSC video signal, we were not able to align the slightly-off yellow and magenta secondary colour points. Who knows… had Sony included white balance controls in the user menu, the secondary colours would probably fall nicely into place once we calibrate greyscale to D65.

[Colour Space] “Wide” CIE	[Live Colour] “High” CIE

[Colour Space] “Wide” led to an oversaturated colour gamut (green in particular); escalating the level of [Live Colour] would progressively exaggerate the colour inaccuracies.

Benchmark Test Results

Dead pixels	None
Screen uniformity	Clouding and backlight bleed reducible to negligible levels
Overscanning on HDMI	0% with [Display Area] set to “Full Pixel“
Blacker than black	Passed
Black level	Excellent (0.05 cd/m2 calibrated)
Black level retention	Stable
Primary chromaticity	Excellent with [Colour Space] “Standard“
Scaling	Above average
Video mode deinterlacing	Average; limited jaggies reduction
Film mode deinterlacing	Poor; Failed 3:2/ 2:2 cadences in 480i/ 576i
Viewing angle	Good for an LCD TV (90°)
Motion resolution	650 with [Motionflow] engaged; 300 otherwise
Digital noise reduction	Acceptable at baseline
Sharpness	Undefeatable edge enhancement on 1080i/1080p
1080p/24 capability (PS3)	Accepts 1080p/24 video signal; no telecine judder
Input lag	0-10ms in [Game Mode] or over VGA; 30-50ms otherwise

Power Consumption

Default ([Picture Mode] “Standard“)	172 watts
Calibrated ([Picture Mode] “Cinema“)	90 watts
Standby	14 watts with [Quick Start] engaged; <1 watt otherwise

Screen/ Backlight Uniformity

Out-of-the-box, we witnessed an alarming amount of patchy unevenness (”clouding”), and backlight bleed on the top left and bottom right of the LCD screen when watching very dark scenes on the Sony KDL40W4500 in a dimly-lit viewing environment. However, proper calibration (hint: set [Backlight] to “Min“) attenuated these to negligible levels… only the harshest critics would still complain about the remaining trace of backlight bleed at the top left corner, and lightness at the sides of the screen.

Irrespective of whether the Sony KDL40W4500 was calibrated or not, off-axis viewing aggravated the screen/ backlight uniformity issues on top of the usual black level, contrast and colour washout typical of LCD screens. If you’re looking for a HDTV that delivers near-perfect screen uniformity with wide viewing angles, plasma is the way to go.

Video Processing

The video processing qualities of Sony’s Bravia Engine have always left us a bit underwhelmed, and unfortunately the KDL40W4500 fared no better in this regard. While standard-def upscaling was above average, video mode deinterlacing remained mediocre with almost no smoothening of jagged edges in the rotating wheel, bouncing bars and waving flag tests.

Film mode deinterlacing was similarly poor on the Sony KDL40W4500 LCD HDTV. Even with [Film Mode] engaged, the Sony KDL40W4500 took quite a long time to detect (and, once detected, struggled to keep a lock on) 3:2 cadence over 480i. Perhaps more relevant for UK and European users, the Sony KDL40W4500 failed to detect and process 2:2 cadence over 576i. The only consolation was that the KDL40W4500 was able to deinterlace correctly film-based 1080i content with [Film Mode] engaged.

Picture Quality

High Definition (Blu-Ray)

Given the television’s ability to deliver excellent black-level performance and accurate colour palette, Iron Man on Blu-ray looked fantastic on the Sony KDL40W4500. To our surprise, the absence of D65 greyscale didn’t really detract from the eye-popping movie viewing experience all that much (even during the well-shot daylight scenes)… the vibrant yet natural colours and the penetrating sense of depth and dimensionality more than made up for the slightly warmer colour temperature.

With [Display Area] set to “Full Pixel” to achieve 1:1 pixel mapping with zero overscan, the Sony KDL40W4500 HDTV extracted and presented the fine details inside the movie – for example the grains of sand in the Afghanistan desert and the sophisticated intricacies of Iron Man’s armour – with exquisite clarity. Up-close, the film grain (which creates a grittier and more realistic atmosphere) during the opening desert scenes did appear a tad harsh on our eyes due to a small trace of undefeatable edge enhancement, but from a sensible viewing distance of 6 feet away this never posed any problems. Of course, we would have preferred it if Sony had allowed us to do away with even the slightest hint of excessive sharpening, especially when it comes to absolutely pristine 1080p signals that need no further enhancement.

As we’ve come to expect from the latest Sony Bravia LCD TVs, the KDL40W4500 handled 1080p/24 video signal from the PS3 beautifully without exhibiting any sign of telecine judder, as evidenced by the smooth-as-butter pan when the camera pulled away from the ravishing reporter inside Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) living lounge to reveal his luxurious mansion perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean at around the 00:09:20 mark.

Engaging Sony’s [Motionflow] 100Hz technology did introduce a whiff of video-like flavour to the original 24p filmic quality of Iron Man, but it’s certainly the least offensive among all the motion-compensated frame interpolation (MCFI) implementations we’ve seen on LCD televisions to date. To its credit, [Motionflow] indeed reduces motion blurring: as the camera tracked Tony Stark’s limousine at the beginning of Chapter 6, the “YF-22″ label on the fighter jet model and the definition of the clapping crowd were simply clearer with [Motionflow] on than off.

Standard Definition (Freeview Digital TV)

The motion resolution benefit of [Motionflow] extended to standard-definition content as well, particularly fast-action sports like the Carling Cup football highlights on ITV1. And the good news is, interpolation artefacts (that used to plague older 100Hz technologies) were few and far between, limited to the odd shimmers around moving players which could easily be overshadowed by mosquitoe noise inherent in highly compressed video anyway.

Despite its subpar video and film mode deinterlacing, the Sony KDL40W4500 delivered quite an alluring SD image thanks to its above average scaling, deep blacks and realistic colours. Just make sure that both [Noise Reduction] and [MPEG Noise Reduction] are disabled, as they tend to blur the picture detail and introduce motion smearing.

HD Console Gaming (Sony PS3)

There’s a valid reason why Sony included a [Game/Text Mode] on the KDL40W4500 (there was none on the W4000): according to our measurements, engaging [Game/Text Mode] on the Sony KDL40W4500 reduced input lag from typically 30-50ms (whether [Motionflow] was engaged or not doesn’t make a difference) to 0-10ms.

So while we were enthralled by how the Sony KDL40W4500 portrayed the phenomenal detail, texture and lighting effects in Call Of Duty 5: World At War, it was the almost lagless gaming response that helped us rake in the points and climb up the ranks in online play.

Conclusion

The Sony KDL40W4500 is the logical next step up from the W4000 series, adding a functional 100Hz MCFI system to excellent blacks, accurate colour gamut and almost no input lag (with the appropriate configuration). Had Sony offered white balance controls in the user menu, implemented better video and film mode deinterlacing, and got rid of the undefeatable edge enhancement however slight, the KDL40W4500 could have been a potential world beater (though it’s not inconceivable that Sony are reserving the best features for their flagship X4500 range). Nevertheless, these relatively innocuous flaws do not stop the Sony KDL40W4500 from being one of the best LCD HDTV in its price class.

Samsung LE55A956 Review

At a time when other big brands like Sony and Philips were scampering to jump on the LED backlight bandwagon, Samsung was already readying its second generation for public consumption, having been the first electronics manufacturer to release an affordable consumer-grade LED-backlit LCD HDTV – the F96 – last year. A couple of months ago, our review of the entry-level (in LED LCD TV terms) LE40A786 gave us a glimpse of how far Samsung’s LED backlighting technology has progressed; today we focus our attention on the gargantuan Samsung LE55A956, their current LED-backlit LCD flagship model.

Design

The Samsung LE55A956 LED LCD TV will impart a quiet yet elegant tone of authority to any (suitably-sized) living area. Its now-familiarly-reflective Ultra Clear Panel™ is framed by what appears at first glance to be minimalistic black/ charcoal gray bezel. However, close-up inspection under brighter lighting reveals a subtle honeycomb pattern embellishing the entire bezel. These patterns are overlaid by a sheet of translucent plastic which extends beyond all 4 borders of the bezel to deliver a sweet “frame-in-frame” effect. A vertical column of touch-sensitive control buttons – stylishly paired with another column of LED indicators which light up sequentially when the Samsung LE55A956 is switched on – at the bottom right of the LCD panel completes the exquisite aesthetics.

The Samsung LE55A956 HDTV is gracefully supported on a glossy black, rectangular glass base. To our surprise, the pedestal does not swivel, a departure from last year’s design.

Connections

Rear: 3 x HDMI, VGA, component, 2 x Scarts, aerial, Svideo, network, audio outs

Side: HDMI, USB, composite, NO headphone jack

Operation

The Samsung LE55A956 maintains essentially the same EPG and cascading on-screen menu we’ve seen throughout their 2008 range of flat panel HDTVs, though it must be pointed out that on the LE55A956, overall navigation was more sluggish and not as responsive. Perhaps the complexity of Samsung’s LED backlight algorithm has taken a toll on the speed of menu rendering.

In addition to the polished black surface (a magnet for smudging fingerprints) and the well-sized, clearly-labelled buttons, the LE55A956’s infrared remote control sports a clickable scroll wheel that can be physically rotated (like those found on the first generation of Apple Ipods). Although conceptually innovative, the scroll wheel turned out to be more hindrance than help: the aforementioned on-screen navigational delay made it difficult for us to judge how far we’ve scrolled along the menu options; yet when we reverted to clicking for manoeuvring the menu, the scroll wheel was still sensitive enough to draw us into making the occasional mistake (e.g. accidentally scrolling one extra step).

In standby, our Samsung LE55A956 HDTV review sample emitted a high-pitched whine from the back of the television. Whilst audible from 1.5 feet away, this annoying standby whine went away as soon as the Samsung LE55A956 was switched on.

Calibration

Greyscale

Out of the box, [Picture Mode] “Movie” with its default [Colour Tone] “Warm2” yielded the greyscale closest to D65 standard:

Pre-calibration CCT with [Picture Mode] “Movie” & [Colour Tone] “Warm2″

Pre-calibration RGB tracking and delta errors (dEs)

The greyscale was still plus-blue overall. This was easily rectified by adjusting the RGB cut and gain controls in the [White Balance] submenu to keep delta errors (dEs) less than 4 from 30% stimulus onwards:

CCT after greyscale calibration in “Movie” [Picture Mode]

RGB tracking and delta errors (dEs) after greyscale calibration

Colour

[Colour Space] “Auto” CIE	[Colour Space] “Native” CIE

Just like on the LE40A786, [Colour Space] “Auto” was undersaturated while [Colour Space] “Native” was oversaturated (green in particular). Tweaking the red, green and blue mixtures for each primary and secondary colours inside the [Colour Space] “Custom” submenu allowed us to map the coordinates as close as possible to high-definition Rec. 709 standard:

Post-calibration CIE chart with reference to HD Rec. 709

Benchmark Test Results

Dead pixels	None
Screen uniformity	Perfect with [Smart LED] engaged
Overscanning on HDMI	0% with [Just Scan] engaged
Blacker than black	Passed
Black level	True black (0 cd/m2) possible with [Smart LED] on
Black level retention	Virtually no fluctuation even with [Smart LED] on
Primary chromaticity	Excellent with calibrated “Custom” [Colour Space]
Scaling	Average
Video mode deinterlacing	Above average
Film mode deinterlacing	Passed 3:2 cadence in 480i and 1080i; and 2:2 in 576i
Viewing angle	80°
Motion resolution	650 with [100hz Motion Plus] engaged; 300 when off
Digital noise reduction	Acceptable at baseline
Sharpness	Defeatable edge enhancement
1080p/24 capability (PS3)	Accepts 1080p/24, but intermittent dropped frames
Input lag	30ms in [Game], [PC] or VGA; 60ms otherwise

Power Consumption

Default [Standard] mode	208 watts
Calibrated [Movie] mode	121 watts
Standby	< 1 watt

Notes On Smart LED

If you had forked out all the money for a Samsung LE55A956, you’d be crazy not to take advantage of its [Smart LED] backlighting technology. [Smart LED] makes it possible for the Samsung LE55A956 to achieve true 0 cd/m² blacks when the on-screen content is blank. Even with some content on screen, the black level on the Samsung LE55A956 virtually matched the reference-level blacks delivered by Pioneer Kuro plasmas. Besides, engaging [Smart LED] lowers the baseline luminance so much so that any blemishes in screen uniformity are completely obscured.

Compared to last year’s F96 (Samsung’s first generation of LED LCD TV), the LED backlighting algorithm on the Samsung LE55A956 has certainly improved. The circumferential flaring/ blooming around brighter objects on a dark background – though still visible off-axis – was not as obvious as those we’ve witnessed on the F96. Also, despite the dynamic nature of [Smart LED] backlight, we saw practically no fluctuation in black level retention in test patterns and real-life material.

If [Smart LED] was set to “Off“, calibrated black level on the Samsung LE55A956 went back up to a more commonplace 0.07 cd/m². Furthermore, without the help of LED backlighting the blacks took on a bluish/ purplish tinge, which was particularly noticeable if the television was viewed from an angle.

Picture Quality

High Definition (Blu-Ray)

We watched the Blu-ray version of The Brave One on the Samsung LE55A956 LED LCD HDTV. A dark film both thematically and visually, this was the perfect material to showcase the Samsung LE55A956’s exemplary black level. The few fade-to-black scenes – for example when Erica Bain (Jodie Foster) woke up from her coma – were delivered via an absence of light output from the Samsung LE55A956, which goes to show how far LCD televisions have come since their introduction, and cements LED backlighting as the unquestionable next step up in their evolution.

Shadow detail on the LE55A956 had improved compared to last year’s F96, though still a tad (just a tad) murkier than the best Sonys and Panasonics. Flesh tones in the few daylight scenes looked accurate and natural thanks to D65 greyscale and spot-on colour chromaticities after calibration.

The Samsung LE55A956 accepted 1080p/24 video signal from the Sony PS3, largely without telecine judder. We said largely, because occasionally the panning would jerk ever so slightly, indicating dropped frames. The good news is, sending a 1080p/60 video signal to the HDTV solves the problem easily: because the Samsung LE55A956 is one of the very rare flat screen televisions that can properly reconstruct 24p from 1080p/60 signals, the resultant picture is free of telecine judder and dropped frames. This was verified by repeated playbacks of the slow pan away from Erica’s face at around the 00:58:24 mark when she’s interviewing Detective Mercer.

Standard Definition (Freeview Digital TV)

The quality of standard-def upconversion on the Samsung LE55A956 was distinctly average, which is of course not helped by its larger-than-usual screen size. To counter the softness of the picture on screen when using its Freeview internal tuner, you can either bump up the [Sharpness] setting, sit further away from the screen, or invest in a decent external scaler or video processor. If you can overlook this issue, then the Samsung LE55A956 LED LCD television will still reward you with its super-inky blacks and natural colours.

The virtues of [100Hz Motion Plus] deserve a mention here. Normally we would refrain from applying motion-compensated frame interpolation (MCFI) to film-based content (e.g. movies, American dramas like Pushing Daisy) for fear of spoiling the cinematic 24p look, but in the LE55A956’s case the “video effect” was surprisingly mild – even tolerable – on the “Low” setting.

And needless to say, [100Hz Motion Plus] is boon for watching fast-action sporting events. As we followed Lewis Hamilton’s last-gasp exploits at the Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix, engaging [100Hz Motion Plus] certainly improved the clarity and definition of moving objects, and reduced motion blurring.

HD Console Gaming

Regardless of whether [Smart LED] and/ or [100Hz Motion Plus] were engaged or not, the input lag we measured on the Samsung LE55A956 was typically 60ms. This amount can be halved to a more palatable 30ms via one of these 3 methods:

• Switching [Entertainment Mode] to “Game“. Unfortunately in this mode all the picture control settings are fixed, so you’ll have to put up with an overbright and oversharpened image.
• Connecting your game console through the VGA port which seems to bypass most picture processing circuits thereby lowering input lag. Some key picture adjustment controls such as [Sharpness], [Colour] and [100Hz Motion Plus] will be greyed-out and unavailable in PC/ VGA mode.
• If your game console lacks VGA output, the same effect can be achieved by connecting it to the [HDMI 2] port, and then labelling the input as [PC].

An input lag of 30ms is – truth be told – higher than the Sharps and the Sonys we’ve reviewed, but it’s far from being the worst we’ve seen. Whether or not your gaming performance will be affected depends on your individual sensitivity, and the reflexes demanded by the particular game.

Conclusion

Pros

• [Smart LED] allows for exemplary blacks (and even true 0 cd/m² blacks when the screen is blank)
• Improved LED backlighting algorithm (less flaring and virtually no black level fluctuation).
• Comprehensive array of picture adjustment controls available in user menu (including white balance and a basic colour management system)
• Automatically and correctly processes common film cadences (3:2 over 480i and 1080i; 2:2 over 576i)
• [100Hz Motion Plus] reduces motion blurring
• “Just Scan” allows for exceptional detail from 1:1 pixel mapping
• Generous connectivity with 4 HDMI 1.3 input, USB port, LAN, etc. (but lacks headphone jack; see Cons)
• Handles 1080p/60 video signal correctly without telecine judder
• Settings can be saved independently per input
• Pre-attached pedestal stand facilitates quick setup (but does not swivel; see Cons)

Cons

• Average standard-def upscaling
• Input lag of 30 to 60ms may affect sensitive gamers
• Limited off-axis viewing angle
• Glossy “Ultra Clear Panel” reflects ambient light and causes glare
• Intermittent dropped frames when displaying 1080p/24 video signals*
• High-pitched whine during standby*
• No headphone out jack
• Pedestal stand does not swivel
• Slightly sluggish on-screen menu, EPG and channel navigation

* Denotes problems which may be specific to our review sample

Summary

Armed with a superior LED backlighting system (which results in less flaring and virtually no black level fluctuation), [100Hz Motion Plus] MCFI technology (which reduces motion blur), and a colour management system however rudimentary, the Samsung LE55A956 is a definite improvement over its predecessor the F96. A relatively high input lag and so-so SD upscaling are slight dampeners, but this doesn’t stop the Samsung LE55A956 from putting in a high-definition performance that – among LCD TVs – comes closest to giving the Pioneer Kuro plasmas a run for their money.