Samsung LE40B650T2 Review
By Vincent Teoh • Monday, 16 March 2009, 12:45 am GMT
Our apologies for the lack of reviews over the last few months. In view of the UK economic recession, we have had to seriously rethink our practice of buying brand new HDTV sets, reviewing them, and then selling them on as second-hand.
The reasons are twofold. First, we are concerned that the retailer from whom we’d bought the HDTV goes into administration (à la Empire Direct), leaving us out of both money and product. Second, the credit crunch will depress second-hand prices even more, and we definitely do not want to be holding on to big-ticket items (like television sets) which may be difficult to sell on in hard times.
What this means is that we will have to rely more and more on manufacturers to provide HDTV review samples. Which is always going to be tricky, because our leave-no-stone-unturned, honest and critical reporting style has more than ruffled the feathers of a few selected manufacturers. That said, we are still receiving HDTV sample units from manufacturers who believe in the performance of their products, and who appreciate our in-depth feedback.
On this note, we have completed a review of the Samsung LE40B650 one week before it’s due to hit the stores in the United Kingdom. In addition to the advertised “Internet@TV” function that lets you access selected internet content like Youtube and Flickr on the LCD television, the Samsung LE40B650 improves upon the A656 series in quite a few areas… you can discover them all in our full Samsung LE40B650 review.
Note: The full model name of the sample unit we tested was the Samsung LE40B650T2W. The same model may be also be sold by retailers as Samsung LE40B650T or Samsung LE40B650T2.
Samsung also offers some alternative models with the same specifications (and hopefully performance) but different styling. Here’s what we’ve been told by Samsung (may not be 100% accurate):
- Samsung LE40B651: glossy black bezel is infused with dark-grey accent. Also sold by retailers as LE40B651T, LE40B651T3 or LE40B651T3W.
- Samsung LE40B652: glossy black bezel is permeated with deep red tone (”Rose Black Crystal Design”), and the bottom of the LCD panel is V-shaped rather than U-shaped. Also sold by retailers as LE40B652T, LE40652T4 or LE40B652T4W.
Dear Vincent Teoh,
It looks like you answered one of my comment asking you to write a note !!!! GREAT thanx !!! glad you are back in business…its just that your site basically crushed all review site in the uk, france and….the US !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i thinks it is great to review the tv’s just before they roll out.
Anyway i really hope that your site will be here for a long time. Reviewing is a lot of work….maybe you can also add some flash reviews for models that are not that good. So as readers we can have more even reviews without killing your life
Vincent,
Good to see new site content. A lack of reviews in these past months has left me feeling out of touch with the sector.
Good to see you back in business.
Let’s hope you get a W5500 for review, I don’t see why Sony wouldn’t offer one; I assume you’ve heard that there are white balance controls in the user menus of the W5500 and V5500? That’s prime HDTV Test fodder!
[...] What Hi Fi will of course have a W5500 review set HDTVtest have a review of the Samsung B650 up Samsung LE40B650T2/LE40B650T2W/LE40B651/LE40B652 Review with a test on the deinterlacing. Hopefully they will also review the W5500 so we can get an idea [...]
Where is the gamma?
Dynamic dimming?
So glad you are back reviewing sets… Your rigorous and in-depth reviews are, without a doubt, the best.
Regards from Spain (we do follow you from here
Pity on the input lag again, I am interested to know how would a layman go about calibrating a screen without expensive equipment?
I notice a lot of your reviews seem to suggest “clouding/uneven” backlights are fixed with calibration. I have never managed to fix it on my existing Sony LCD.
Glad you’re back Vincent.
Samsung can probably fix some of the codec compatibilities with a firmware fix but I wonder if they can also improve on the input lag?
Btw, how come this panel has more game lag than the LE40A656, it’s predecessor?
Damn good to see you back!!
I bought my last LCD on the strength of your review and have recently purchased a PDP590 Pioneer - brilliant! Again on the strength (pretty much ) of your review.
Didnt donate as figured you were out of business - will rectify that right now!
.. well I will donate if you point me in the right direction! Wheres the Paypal tab gone!! :o)
Is there someone?!?!
Does the gamma curve have a form to S as in the series 7?
Black level: “Deepest among non-LED LCDs (0.04 cd/m2 calibrated)”
Ok…but the gamma?
How can you speak of the black level without considering the gamma?
Doing vary color space (auto / native) it doesn’t vary the rgb?
Vincent. Found the Paypal tab - you should make that easier!!
AND ALL OF YOU OUT THERE WHO RATE THIS SITE SHOULD PAY WHEN IT HELPS YOU - JUST A COUPLE OF QUID - THIS TYPE OF UNBIASED TESTING IS VERY RARE.
VINCENT. BTW did you ever come with any settings for the Kuro - just interested… the variables are immense! Cheers
I am glad your are operating again, I bought my first HD set as a result of knowledge gleaned here.
Where do sell - on your now ex - demo models ? I don’t actually need to know exactly, but wondered if you had considered putting them on sale via this site, Perhaps though it’s more trouble than it’s worth and creates a small conflict of interest.
BACKGROUND NOISE !!!
The usual Samsung problem. So every time there is a silent bit in the program you here a buzz.
Not acceptable.
Good to see you guys are back again!
How does it handle the ,,srt,, and other subtitle files?
Hi, im new to the whole HD thing…..and im 28!!
Still watching a 28″ Tosh cathode ray, so today the wife, baby, and I went to the local DSG store to check out these large flat things.
The salesman wished me to part with £1099 for the LE40B651T. Having hastily left with flames on my shoes I returned home to check the net for this item. DSG internet only store were selling for £884.48 and with the March discount was taken to £849.48. Well the wife saw £250 discount and clicked “purchase”.
I know I should have done research first but hindsight and blah blah. Now I come across your site and wow, what a great place this is.
What is annoying for me is that my new TV (due to arrive some day I hope) will not be as good as yours. How do I get it calibrated? Grrrr, hate having something thats not as good as it could be.
Keep up the good work here. Invaluable info.
J
Great review, convinced me to go with this model instead of the LE40A856 which has now come down to a reasonable £750 at Dabs, but decided the extra £££ was worth it for the B650.
Fired it up today and stuck an SD DVD on and was stunned by the picture quality from this new model.
So impressed with your efforts I donated to the fund.
An chance of adding a summary of all the settings for the unit in various modes like you have done for the other tests?
cheers
Steve
@ J - I could have written your comment, amazing things wives especially when they sniff a good deal, just graduated from a 26 inch Sony digital CRT, wife found the DSG offer at £849, and then Richer Sounds, slightly more expensive but with a 5yr guarantee and available for pickup same day and just said “go get it”
Don’t worry about straight out of the box, it is jaw dropping, but the ultimate setting guide would be nice. The upscaling makes a massive difference, I called in at my neighbours tonight and Yellowstone was on BBC SD on his Samsung LCD - when I got home it was also still on our B650 and there was no comparison between video quality, the 650 was streets ahead.
@ Paul R - agreed, slipped Vincent a fiver by Paypal - better spent than buying WHATHIFI
@ Paul - no noticeable noise on mine, quiet as a mouse
Thanks for the great review Vincent, it contained almost everything I needed to know.
There’s a few things though I hope you, or some other reader can answer:
- Is the 100 ms input lag so bad that sound and image will be out of sync when you connect the sound of a player to an external amp? There’s nothing worse than a bad lip sync
- Since this is quite a extraordinary amount of lag, do you think Samsung will address this issue in the future with a firmware update and make this number smaller?
- Why can’t you leave it on game mode all the time? What do you miss out on from normal mode? If I have read correctly, the game mode of the 40a656 had bad quality which you couldn’t alter, but I was wondering if it is the same case with this model.
- Does the digital (optical) out connection pass through 5.1 sound, or does it downmix this again to 2.1 like all the models before?
I hope someone is willing to answer these questions. It would be a big help. Thanks in advance!
Thanks Vincent - excellent review! Will you be able to do a review of the 7-series LED LCD set soon? Cheers!
Hmm… there is something strange.
Some specs found on Samsungs sites tells: Internet@TV, USB Movie and Ethernet features NOT available on 6xx / 6xxx series. Only for 7xx / 7xxx and above?!
It looks like you’ve got something between 6- and 7-series…???
Did you measure the calibrated static contrast ratio?
Does any else have the same problems with their Samsung le40b650?
1) The settings reset every time I switch off the tv (not from the mains just standby mode)
2) whilst playing PS3, after every 10min or so the setting suddenly switch to full contrast dynamic settings
3) No Youtube widget
Plus Vincent can you please put up a summary of the tv settings?
Cheers
One more thing
Has anybody used Digital Video Essentials - HD Basics [Blu-ray] before? There have been some mixed reviews on Amazon
Thanks!
Thanks for the review i have now seen the B650 and the 5500 plus the 7020, my budget doesnt reach the 7020 so i think it will be the B650 hopefuly the game lag wont be too noticable.
When in John Lewis all the SD feeds looked attrocious, i will be connecting the 650 to a Virgin Media V+, i know i only have BBC HD but if i use the HDMI connection will the SD broadcast be better than the native Ariel cable ?
With ragards to the You tub widget i beileve this is due early May
Thanks again
Hi Vincent, how can we donate to the site?!
Also, any chance you can post the calibration settings for the B650? I’m hoping they will suit my 46″ version too!
Thanks
Dale
An chance of adding a summary of all the settings for the unit in various modes like you have done for the Samsung 40A656. Please.
Thanks Pelle.
Thanks for the thorough review on this new set, it’s came at just the right time as I’m weighing up my first LCD TV purchase. I do have a question though:
“We measured the input lag on the LE40B650 to be around 84ms to 100ms slower than our resident Samsung F96″
“we could reduce the input lag on the Samsung LE40B650 to between 17ms and 34ms either by engaging [Game Mode] or using VGA connection (not a feasible option for the PS3, we know).”
Please could you clarify if you’re saying the overall input lag was reduced to 17ms to 34ms, or are you saying to within 17ms to 34ms of the F96 which itself is 30ms compared to CRT, thus meaning overall input lag on a b650 can only be reduced to between 47ms to 64ms?
I’m considering this TV for gaming (PS3 and perhaps PC) so this whole “maybe” over the lag is a tricky issue to evaluate. A friend of mind has the Sony 40W4000 but I’ve been unable to find the input lag figures on that, do you know how the b650 (in game mode and out) compares to that? since I have played on his fine, so if the b650 is the same or faster in terms of input lag I know I’ll be ok with the b650. Thanks.
Thanks for an interesting review! I would also be be very interesting in a summary of the calibrated settings.
““We measured the input lag on the LE40B650 to be around 84ms to 100ms slower than our resident Samsung F96″
“we could reduce the input lag on the Samsung LE40B650 to between 17ms and 34ms either by engaging [Game Mode] or using VGA connection (not a feasible option for the PS3, we know).”
Please could you clarify if you’re saying the overall input lag was reduced to 17ms to 34ms, or are you saying to within 17ms to 34ms of the F96 which itself is 30ms compared to CRT, thus meaning overall input lag on a b650 can only be reduced to between 47ms to 64ms?”
This is exactly what i need to find out before i make up my mind too.
vincent
hello from Greece and congratulations for another great review.i have recently bought a 46 b650 and i havent any experience from sammy tv. is there any possibility to post calibration settings as you done for other tv.
thanks anyway
Hi Vincent, got one of these but experiencing lag probs thru the PS3, not only on games but also on blu-ray discs, sometimes doesnt help when you switch on the Game Mode either.
What I would like to know, when you reviewed it, did you use a standalone blu-ray player and did you experience any bad lip sync, due to the aforementioned lag?
I’m hoping it’s just a prob with PS3’s and not with the HDMI ports.
For previous questions regarding lag, having owned one now for just over a week, I would say steer clear if you want to play games on it. Guitar Hero and Rockband are virtually unplayable even with Game mode on.
So far have to say I’ve not been dissappointed with this set and wish I had gone for my other choice instead, which was the Panasonic TX-P42G10.
That last line was meant to say, “So far I HAVE BEEN dissappointed….”
To Paul and Steve regarding background noise.
The set I have home now has the same background noise/buzzing as Paul mentions. Its very sad.. because otherwise its really a great tv with better more clear picture quality than W5500 (have had that for a short period) and less chance of clouding/bleed. But sadly I just don’t think I can live with the constant buzzing.. which is sometime audible at relatively normal volume. Thats just not good enough for a tv at that price. Hdtvtest is great at mentioning these types of “non-spec” related things.. which can definitely be a deal breaker.
But for those considering it.. just think about whether slight background noise generally annoy you. If it does not.. buy this tv.. because the picture looks awesome :-).
But I don’t think this is the right one for me, so it might be going back next week.. But this one is close.. really really close!
Anyone know Samsungs attitude towards these types of things? Something they’ll be willing to fix / recognize as a fault? Can it be fixed?
[...] LE40B650(T2) & LE40B651T The differences appear to be Cosmetic only. Have a look here;Samsung LE40B650T2/LE40B650T2W/LE40B651/LE40B652 Review KH __________________ Samsung LE46A786,Onkyo Tx-Sr605,Sky HD. Everything else in a state of [...]
In response to my own question earlier.
I managed to borrow a standalone blu-ray player and everything seemed to fine, no lip sync problems whatsoever, so it seems that the only problem is when you link up a PS3.
To further show you how much lag is evident with this TV, Guitar Hero World Tour calibration showed a lag of between 71ms and 85ms. Not really acceptible.
With Game Mode on, GHWT calibration showed lag of 44ms.
Hi All
I could really do with some help. I have recently bought the Samsung LE40B650T2. Can someone please provide a solution, in laymans terms, to solve the sound lag? I can’t use my surround sound as the delay is so bad.
We have Sky+HD connected to the TV via HDMI, the DVD/Surround Sound connected to the Sky+HD via Scart (no HDMI available in the DVD/Surround Sound unit )and then the DVD/Surround Sound also connected via Scart to the TV.
Everything was working fine before we switched TV’s!
Any ideas?
Thanks
I have this TV which is the Samsung LE40B650T2W, version for the UK.
The lag using HDMI and a PS3 in ‘game mode’ its…. totally unnoticeable. And game mode provide a great picture along with some slightly restricted settings, mainly around the picture processing, not colour settings which are still adjustable… nice!
As for lag on external sound, this is common and typical of cheap surround systems that do not provide any delay adjustment. A good surround processor / amp will at least have HDMI and also basic option to delay the sound output to match the TV lag. ALL TFT screens have an element of lag to deal with.
If your using a very cheep surround amp with out these basic options then use it on your PC, go get yourself a YAMAHA or a ONKYO now… super fi, etc do some nice deal. Check out the ONKYO 876 with the super HQV chip… good value.
Delaying the sound simply works by buffering the sound stream to an internal memory module, effectively storing the few seconds of sound arriving at the receiver, before outputting it to the speakers. Basic buffering principle see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delay_(audio_effect)#Digital_delay
@SteveB Aparantly if you hook up your PS3 to HDMI3 and activate P.C mode this reducing lag even further, I don’t have GH to test but maybe someone could try that and give us the results
Source
http://www.avforums.com/forums/lcd-televisions/1027361-samsung-b650-owners-thread-part-3-a-4.html#post9866062
I am confused with all this models, dose it mean that LE40B650T is the same as LE40B651T. If they are not the same or if there is slite difference, please let me know the difference