Samsung UE40B7020 Settings

Here are the final settings for the Samsung UE40B7000 review sample we tested, calibrated from a high-definition source using HDMI input in accordance with video industry standards in a dimly-lit environment suitable for critical viewing. These calibrated settings should also be applicable to the Samsung UE40B7020 LED-backlit LCD TV, seeing that the only difference between the two models is cosmetic.

Of course, the usual caveats apply. While these settings resulted in video-standard-compliant images on our Samsung UE40B7000 HDTV set, they may not do so for yours due to unavoidable differences in input source, viewing environment, firmware versions, and baseline service menu levels. However, if you do not have the resources to perform proper calibration on your UE40B7020 LED TV, these settings should serve as a good starting point for achieving picture quality that comes close to the standard used in film studios. Still, you should at least use a basic calibration disc like the Digital Video Essentials Blu-Ray to set the black level [Brightness] correctly on your Samsung UE40B7020 or UE40B7000 HDTV.

Another warning: if you are not used to D65 images, it’s very likely that you will find the resultant picture too yellow or too dark immediately after applying these settings. The reason for this is that most PC monitors and televisions are by default set to a colour temperature in excess of 9300k, which slowly brainwashes us into falsely thinking that the whites generated by these displays are the “real whites”. On the other hand, the video industry (broadcast and film studios) uses the D65 imaging standard, which is what we are striving to achieve through calibration so that we can appreciate movies in the way that the directors intended. What we advise is to stick with the following settings for 3 days to 1 week to get used to D65 images, after which reverting to the out-of-the-box values should hopefully make you realise how garish and unnatural the colours were prior to calibration.

Two sets of picture adjustment values are provided. The first one is in [Movie] mode which exhibits low-APL auto-dimming; the second is in [Game] mode which defeats the auto-dimming, but also compromises video processing somewhat. We suggest experimenting with both to see which one you prefer.

* Backlight can be increased as necessary in a brighter viewing environment (especially during daytime) to boost shadow detail and peak brightness.

** In the “Custom” [100Hz Motion Plus] submenu, set [Blur Reduction] to “8” and [Judder Reduction] to “0“.

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72 comments

  1. would it be possible to also get game mode, sd and hd settings for the b750?

  2. Just calibrated my new set today. Even with the white balance you specify for Game mode, in particular the blue gain of 0, there is still way too much blue in the greyscale, post calibration. The only way to get correct greyscale is to go into service menu mode and do the calibration there. That way you can get perfect greyscale…

    Also, the contrast setting of 91 introduces major clipping into all R,G,B channels according to the Spears and Munsil test disc. A contrast of 77 reveals all colour detail but this requires a higher backlight setting to compensate for loss of peak brightness from the lower contrast.

    Cheers,

    Mark

  3. HDTVTest Reader

    ~ Vince, thanks for this. very usefull.

    Appreciated.

  4. hi, i’m quite new to calibrating TV’s and i’m trying to calibrate my new ue40b6000. I’ve tried to apply above settings, i followed it up to the end of the advanced settings for movie mode, but couldn’t find options to adjust custom colour space (i tried turning on xvYCC?) or white balance.
    also, my tv didn’t offer a game mode, only dynamic, standard, natural, movie – i couldn’t find an option to crate new modes, should i just change one of these to game?
    finally, what would be the best option for watching normal TV and sky HD?
    many thanks in advance

  5. in your settings movie mode , he deficiency the hdmi black level, what value should be put??

    best regards

  6. Hi

    Tbh I must say that I am really disapointed on this tv and the settings. I used to have the samsung le40A656 and I were so happy becouse that tv were WONDERFUL. I thought that samsung would continue to do a great job med in this case I were wrong.

    First of all I dosen´t get the settings to work good becouse for example when I see X-files from my ps3 I can see “jidder”(?) when it is fast scenes. clouding in things and so on. Is that posible or is it somwthing wrong on the tv?

    I big warning for you that are thinking to buy this tv, they have put a lot of effort on the look but have forgotten many things on the inside…

    thx anyway for the settings…

  7. Thanks for the seetings. I think it made wonders. Very usefull!

  8. I’d like to point out that you need to turn on game mode _before_ applying all the other settings if you want game mode. I had to set everything up twice because I turned on game mode last :)

    On the plus side, switching between the two modes is as easy as turning game mode on and off; the TV remembers that it’s supposed to be using Movie settings when game mode is off.

    This might be obvious to everyone else, but it wasn’t to me.

  9. Great article but I can’t seem to put my set into movie mode while using skyHD its greyed out. Can u help me plz!?!

  10. So this is going to seem like a really dumb question but gonna ask it anyway…these settings are great and good to work with etc. but erm….how do i save them? Currently I lose them every time i turn the tv off and as such have to recalibrate each time…

    The other thing I am having a problem with and I dont know if anyone is experiencing this but sometimes the tv just changes to dynamic without me doing anything, it seems totally random and its highly frustrating!! wondering if there is anything i can do about that?

    Thanks in advance :)
    Phil

  11. i’m trying to calibrate my new UE46B7000
    would it be possible to use this settings
    Thanks anyway…

  12. Hi everyone I’ve been bashing my brains out over this ,I was just about to buy a pana v10 plas but after Reading a few reviews about it I’m not so sure now I thought it was gonna get 5star rating from avforums and it didn’t (gutted) which is best samsung led 8000series or pana v10 series need to know pls help thanx

  13. Phil,

    Go into the service menu and turn the shop option off.

  14. hello
    Do you similar calibration for a UE40B6000?
    Thank you, Nigel

  15. I just finished installed our new Samsung TV. LCD The price was better than most .The picture is fantastic and it is really easy to set up. Its pretty light for its size and the inputs on the back are really nice. Im a happy camper!

  16. hello , i just got a samsung led 8000series 46″ , and i need some help with the calibration ( picture settings ,) specially for the game mode , if you please can help i’ll appreciate it , thank you… i used to own a sony bravia xbr 2 and that tv was like 3 to 4 years old and to my opinion my xbox 360 looked better on my sony , i now this tv can do better thats why i need some help .

  17. if you have picture settings for the samsung UN46B8000 please feel free to email me xcross20@hotmail.com

  18. i have the ue40b7000 and i experience none of the clouding issues, the picture is fantastic, bright, vibrant and very defined, on sd dvd and blu-ray it produces fantastic images, the xbox 360 on gears2 looks second to none, far superior to my old samsung lcd hdtv and far clearer more defined picture than my girlfriends dads plasma.

    love the tv and would recomend to anyone, although the sound can be a little tinny it is the only slight downside to the tv in my eyes.

  19. Hello.
    I’ve bought the Samsung ue46b8050 and have calibration problems.
    Can I use the 7000 calibration help? When I on my xbox360 somehow everything looks green thx!!

  20. strange, i notice on alot of things with dynamic settings it exadgerates the colours alot, which can lead to funny colours so to speak on certain pictures, the movie mode will stop the over the top colours, then just alter as you like, the settings above are ok. i find sometimes though for the top drawer picture that the dynamic is good, even with the over the top colours.

  21. Thanks to the great review. It really helped me to decide. After reading this review, I went for UE40B7020 (against Sony KDL40W5500). Its really a good TV. Factory settings are really rubbish. Many thanks for publishing the settings.

    I have one problem (may be its just me and Phil), that I lose the above seetings every time i turn the tv off (standby) and as such have to recalibrate each time.

    I wondering if there is anything i can do about that. Does anyone knows the solution for this or is it a defect? and If I have to live with it, I better return this TV.

    Thanks,
    Shash

  22. Shash have you checked to see if the TV is set for Home Use and not Store Demo?

  23. Hi Mick,

    Many thanks for the advise and you are right. I read the manual to get rid of store mode and now no problems. I could getaway with that annooying demo mode which I accidently switched on.

  24. Hi, would these settings work for a Samsung 55inch LED series 6? im trying to get the best picture possible buT i have no idea where to start. and what to do.
    Thanks

  25. Hello Ive been using this Tv for nearly a week now and the only thing Im dissapointed with is the input lag which I noticed straight away as soon as I put a game on my Xbox360 and that’s using game mode cos its ultra terrrible if it isnt using game mode. Does anyone else have issues with it ?

  26. Please could someone confirm whether these settings would be good for the 6000 series?

  27. I have the UE40B6000 and I can confirm these settings are a great improvement over the out-of-the-box settings. The tip for turning off auto dimming works too, that was the one thing annoying me. Many thanks to the contributor of that tip and to HDTV Test for a great review.

  28. I have used these settings on the UE46B6000 and it looks pretty good. A little dim for my liking but nothing increasing the backlight doesn’t help.

    Has anyone noticed juddering/stuttering picture on SD source though? I also seem to have a dead pixel on my screen…

  29. just brought the 7020 but have bluring, mainly on fast moving pictures, ie LIFE
    only have normal virgin box at the min and connected by scart lead, the one they supply(cheap one). Will the judder/bluring go once i have the HD V-BOX and connect with a HDMI lead?

  30. Taking mine back Exchaning for a Panny. The juddering has just been looked at by an engineer and reckons it probably won’t make a difference if they swap it out! So switching sides to plasma…

  31. How can I turn the “whiteness” down? Everything looks spot on apart from the White is sometimes a bit too bright and distorts it. Even if I turn the contrast and brightness down I still get the same. Movies r fine, only have the issue with watching normal television. Any help greatly appreciated

  32. hi, i have the samsung UE40B6000 with ps3, and can anyone tell me what the best settings for games is (gta 4 dor example)

  33. Like 2 month’s ago i bought the Samsung UE40B8000.
    It’s a great television. i use it for gaming and watching tv an just applied these settings…when ur finalizing these settings u will notice u have to calibrate a bit for yourself(in gamemode). (tv mode settings are fine!)
    i’m not saying these settings are wrong as they are for the 7000 series. and i got a 8000 serie..
    Beside your screen quality also depends iff you are gaming on 1080i or, 1080P. So u also gotta make sure your gameconsole settings are correct.
    And allthough u bought a 200 Hz ore a 100 Hz televison…..your game console wont go higher then 50 á 60 Hz. So it will be displayed at 60 hZ max.
    My 200Hz settings for HDMI Black level: Normal
    Film Mode: off

  34. hi i have a series six 46 inch led samsung and i have accidentally turned on the demo mode how do i turn this off???

  35. Has anyone knowledge to help me out with calibrating my UE-46B8050 settings? I am a noobie with these things and I don’t know if I can use these settings provided for the 7000series…

  36. Hello everyone!
    Can you tell me why connecting with a lan cable straight my pc with my 46 ” 7000 the lan icon tells me connection to the LAN network limited or absent?
    I have installend Pc share manager 2.3.2
    may depend on what?
    thanks!

  37. ?denmarino
    you cant connect straight from the pc to the tv with a standard rj45 cable, you would have to use a cross-over cable to do this. If you have a router, then connect to the router from the tv and then from the pc to the router, either with cable or wireless.. that will then work.

    Thanks

  38. i have resolve the problem! i have charged a wrong driver for my lan card….
    now i can share the file directly at tv with a straight cable (not cross) from tv to pc.
    if you see the manual you can read that this connection is possible!
    the only problem that remain is can’t rewind o forward the movie on format file .mkv only play or pause.
    try…….
    if you for error press stop at 5 minute at the finish of the film you must see the film another time!!!!
    if a solution exist please post here.
    sorry for my bad english

  39. Hello,

    despite of comment in the very begining, UE40B70x0 is not back-lit :((( , but edge-lit. UN40B70x0 is the one with backlit, which is a bit thicker than the other.

    Cheers

  40. To provide longer lifespan for the TV, which one is better:

    Higher backlight, lower contrast
    or
    Lower backlight, higher contrast

    Some people said that contrast above 50 is considered bad. Is that true?

    Personally I think the view looks good at backlight 3 and contrast 70.
    Is my setting considered “too high”?

  41. USB Problem

    Hi,
    I have a UA40B7000 LEDtv,
    after of upgrading the FIRMWARE to a Wrong version the USB Ports are gone missing.

    And now without the usb port, i cant downgrade the fiemware,
    Is there any solutions?

  42. Can someone help please? I understand the samsung UN is for US and UE is for Europe. If I buy the samsung UN46b8000 will i be able to get Digital Freeview in the UK without a freeview box?

    Thanks

  43. Hi

    I hav a samsung led 8000, and the demo mode is on but i hav try putting it into home used but still cannot get ride of it

  44. Has anybody experienced very poor black levels when viewing the UE40B7020 at different angles to 90 degrees?

    If I sit directly infront of the TV the black levels are fine, if I sit in a different chair in my living room the blacks look very washed out with a blue tint. Even sitting slightly off angle has a dramatic effect!!!

    This is my only gripe with the set since applying these calibration settings. Part of me wishes I chose a plasma now :(

  45. What is the difference between the 6000 and 7000 samsung led’s? There is a whopping price difference.

  46. Rob, Just bought Samsung UE 46B7020, bought it at john lewis as they matched richer sounds and got a free 5 year warranty. saved £300.

  47. I set the calibration settings but everytime I switch the TV off or change to BluRay the TV defaults back to Dynamic settings, is there any reason for this?
    :)

  48. @KEith: Your TV is probably in [Shop] mode. Please look in your manual to see if there’s instructions to reset your TV to [Home] mode.

    Warmest regards
    Vincent

  49. Worked a treat. It was in ‘home’ mode but I switched to ‘store’ mode and back again and now its holding it settings
    Thanks
    :)

  50. High I have ue46 c6530 led. Will there be review of this soon vincent as I’d love to see what my tv is capable of. I’d be most grateful if you could review it and post your settings. X x x

  51. Hi. I have a series 8 46 inch led samsung and I have accidentally turned on the demo mode….. How do I turn this off?

  52. yes this page is very helpful to calibrate best setting for my 7series samsung LED. but i have one doubt, kindly clarify me… i can’t able set TINT setting. its frozen in the menu. how can i acees it to make change in this ?
    Thank you

  53. Just thought I’d post that I have just got a UE37C6700. Mine has one or two menu settings that aren’t on the one above and it has one I don’t have but having applied the settings, it looks pretty good.

  54. By the way, I’ve noticed very annoying things about this TV:
    1. When in game mode, the equalizer isn’t available. I think the sound is pretty thin in game mode so I’d appreciate the ability to tweak it.
    2. When using any of the @TV apps, the picture mode flicks back to Samsung’s default! Grrr! I just spent ages setting the thing up, why would I want the Love Film picture to be anything other than my settings and not the over-saturated, over-bright default picture settings! It changes back when I leave the @TV area but it completely devalues the @TV service if you can’t watch it with the same picture quality you just calibrated.

  55. I Need help calibrat scheme(movie,Standard, Dynamic) for my LED TVHD samsung syncMaster FX2490hdtv.
    THX

  56. Is bd wise
    The best for blueray

  57. For 3 weeks I have been using these Vincent Teoh settings on my Samsung UE40B7050:

    I higly recommend to use them! ***** five out of five stars settings.

    It really makes to most out of the TV – such color detils compared to the standard settings: Samsung should use these settings as factory defaults in my mind.

    Thanks and great work Vincent Teoh.

  58. I’ve just adjusted my UE46B7020 series 7 to the above settings by Vincent Teoh and its great I’m delighted with the results. I’ve been tampering with the settings for months now with no success, at last I’m happy with the picture quality, thanks to Vincent Teoh and hdtvtest.co.uk.

    Kind Regards
    John

  59. Andrew (barnsley) Wood

    Help Please.

    I have used your calibration guide and prefer the Game Mode version. Fine so far.

    The problem I am having is keeping/saving my prefered setting. When I restart my TV it defaults back to Dynamic which looks terrible (super bright).

    To summarize. How to I safe and keep my prefered settings.

    Thank You.

  60. Your TV probably have been set to “Shop” mode. Have a look in the manual and see if there are any instructions to set it to “Home” mode.

    Warmest regards
    Vincent

  61. These settings were almost spot-on for my Samsung UN46D7000. Later, using a calibration disc, I tightened up a little bit of the tint and hue, but no more than one might find with individual variation among units. Thanks, donation made.

  62. Guys,

    I find your settings really crap. i prefer the dynamic more with the backlight reduced to 4. The colors are more deeper & brilliant.

    Regards