First Impression 5/5: Very thin, the brushed metal bezel looks better than 2010 models, very elegant look for a relatively big screen of 46-Inches. Quality materials used.
Image Quality 5/5: Absolutely natural colors and smooth images on the UN46D7000, even in fast scenes. No blur, no artifacts while watching sports. 3D looks very good and creates the perfect illusion youmay remember from “Avatar” at the movies. New dimming creates a consistant illumination of the screen, dark scenes still offer alot of contrast.
Sound 3/5: Dolby Digital Plus and SRS TheaterSound are great features for a home theater speaker system, but don’t work well with built in speakers. For audiophile home theater fans the small speakers coming with this TV simply don’t offer a cinema like experience. They don’t sound bad, but have issues with heights and powerful depths.
Networking/Internet 5/5: DLNA certified, Wi-Fi built in, all working perfectly and as intended. You can access the internet via wireless access and use Samsung Apps, Skype, access special online content, use Facebook and Twitter.
Connectivity 5/5: 4 HDMI, 3 USB and the usual suspects. You can’t ask for more, the UN46D7000 has all the inputs and outputs you will ever need.
Price 4/5: It isn’t cheap, but worth the money. Keeping in mind what the first 3D LEDs did cost, this one is almost a steal value vs. money wise. If you want top notch technology, this is your choice!
The first thing you notice when looking at the UN46D7000 versus the UN46C7000 is the much slimmer bezel. While the 2010 model was already very slim, Samsung sized this down to an amazing 0,2-Inch. The bezel itself is now almost seamless with a small transparent border. The stand itself wasn’t changed, the same very elegant brushed metal design as last year.
The Full 1080p HD display underwent some improvements as well, the refresh rate stayed at 240 Hz and the contrast ratio stayed the same, too. The 3D functionality of the UN46D7000 was improved for even better picture quality, the new 3D glasses are lightweight and much less clumpsy than the ones from 2010. Since they now support Bluetooth, they are less prone to any interferences compared to the infrared ones. They are also cheaper, a necessary step since Samsung still relies on the Active Shutter technology and passive glasses for passive 3D TVs are very low in price.
Wi-Fi is now built in, Samsung Apps functionality and there Apps Platform were heavily improved, so expect even more high definition content and internet capabilities. It’s all about Smart TV.
Last but not least, there is a new very stylish touchscreen remote that looks like a smartphone, great little toy.
Overall, the changes implemented in the Samsung UN46D7000 aren’t dramatic compared to the 2010 model, mostly design changes, but the new remote and slighly better 3D with lighter glasses alone are worth getting the 2011 model in our opinion.
The active 3D technology using so called active shutter glasses in based on displaying two slighly different images at the same time. There is only one of the glasses open at the same time, the other one is shut, so the left eye and the right eye see slighly different images in this process. Our brain creates a 3 dimensional image out of these two.
The advantage is that this technology can easily be implemented in a television and delivers a high quality 3D image with absolutely natural colors. In contrast to this 3D images watched through red and blue 3D glasses look dull. Since the HDTV has to display double the number of images in 3D mode, new 3D TVs like the UN46D7000 come with a higher refresh rate than regular 2D television sets. A 3D image in 240Hz has the same quality as a 2D image in 120Hz in regards to the refresh rate.
The disadvantage is that you absolutely need those glasses for 3D and they depend on the viewing angle to some extend, so it is advisable to sit in front of the TV while watching a 3D movie. For few very sensible persons watching this type of 3D image can cause mild headaches. For the eyes themselves it’s totally safe, so any irritations will disappear quickly after taking off the glasses and switching back to 2D.
The picture is showing the new 2011 3D glasses SSG-3100GB from Samsung.
The video blow was recorded at the CES 2011 in Las Vegas and gives a short glimpse on the D7000 series with some technical details. Great to see how thin this TV is!
