Samsung LN46C750 46-Inch 1080p 3D LCD HDTV (Black)

Review by Jonathan K. Vargason for Samsung LN46C750 46-Inch 1080p 3D LCD HDTV (Black)
Rating:
The Samsung C750 is the most reasonable 3DTV on the market in terms of price. Not only is the television fully 3D compliant with the new standards, it also is an excellent 2D LCD television as well.

The 3D aspects of the television are the most interesting and what separates it from most other LCD’s (including Samsung’s 650 model). Although there is not much in terms of content to try out, I have watched Monsters Vs. Aliens 3D, Played Avatar the videogame on the PS3, watched the Masters in 3D, and tried out the 2D to 3D Conversion on live TV, movies, and games.

Unfortunately with all 3D sources, I have experienced some “ghosting” which is a problem where you see a double image. That said, I did manage to configure my Samsung 3D Bluray Player to the correct TV size (by default it’s 55 inches) plus I upgraded the firmware and that seems to have made a large improvement. I suspect the picture size spreads out the effect and will cause even more ghosting than normal. With Avatar the game, I left the 3D effect at 1, set the correct TV size and viewing distance, and chose side by side 3D (you have to set the TV to match this) and the effect was brilliant! I do still see ghosting during cut scenes, but during gameplay it looks fantastic. The Masters, was a bit of a mixed bag. It is also side by side 3D and at times it is brilliant (when the camera pans around the environment your jaw will drop) but the first time you see severe ghosting you are taken out of the moment. However, I think once Cable and Satellite receivers are more 3D ready, you should be able to configure for the screen size, depth, and viewing distance.

2D to 3D is unique and has its moments of brilliance but also has severe drawbacks. Let’s put it this way, you won’t confuse Monsters Vs. Aliens 3D in it’s native 3D format for watching Monsters Vs. Aliens in 2D to 3D conversion. The conversion (you can change the depth) actually can be quite blurry with some material and most material isn’t worth watching converted. Some movies like Star Trek are kind of fun but I wouldn’t buy the television strictly for this feature.

2D content is fantastic. The color (even the black level since you can configure the backlight without having to hack the firmware), sharpness, and overall features (such as MotionPlus) are astounding for the price range. I actually have turned off MotionPlus simply because it gives non sports programming a “Spanish Soap Opera” effect. I did run into a bit of a strange issue that seems to have gone away by resetting the cable box where the picture bounced up and down using a Time Warner HD Cable box hooked via HDMI (you need HDMI to view the Masters in 3D). I really can’t hold that against the TV, it was more the cable box but I’ve read of similar problems with some Samsung models so there does seem to be some buggy firmware with the box.

Overall if it wasn’t for the ghosting issues still being present (it could be the content, but I cannot be sure, I’d like to test more 3D Televisions) and the 2D to 3D conversion being slightly underwhelming I’d give this TV a perfect score. As it is, if you are in the market for an affordable HDTV and want the 3D option, you can’t go wrong. You have plenty of inputs (plus two usb slots) and the TV is a beautiful compliment to your entertainment room so I highly recommend this television (it’s nearly $1,000 cheaper than the LED model of the same size).

Edit as of 5/12/2010:

I’ve had this TV now for a few weeks and gone through a firmware update, tested some more functions, calibrated it more, and updated the firmware on the Samsung 6900 3D Bluray Player twice.

I want to change my comments on 2D -> 3D conversion. I don’t know if it’s the firmware upgrade or what, but now I definitely see a difference in most scenes (I have the depth up to 10). Games like Uncharted 2 with a map like “The Village” look fantastic converted. I’ve also managed to get Avatar (The Game) on the PS3 to look great with side by side 3D with minimal ghosting. Since the firmware update and the 3D Optimize option for the TV, Monsters Vs. Aliens 3D also looks very good.

I did have a stupid moment where I noticed a huge lag playing something like Rock Band and finally realized there is a game mode. Since going to game mode, I have no issues playing videogames and the response time is virtually nothing now.

I absolutely love the TV, it does have some flashlighting (You don’t see this unless the screen is ENTIRELY black) but 2D content looks fantastic and 3D is impressing me more and more. For a while it was even cheaper than it is now on Amazon but the price went back up. It’s still worth it. I see some people bashing the TV simply because the glasses aren’t included or it’s not competing with the Panasonic 3D Plasma models but they obviously haven’t seen it. Everybody that has reviewed this TV on Amazon owns the TV, some sites people are reviewing 3D Ready TV’s without actually owning it. I’ve seen reviews based on a 5 minute demo and they couldn’t even tell you the firmware level. Believe me this TV is awesome and once you experience a true 3D source, you will have little doubt 3D is the next wave in TV (it may be a few years until it reaches mainstream).

I’m also giving it 5 stars since the firmware update since ghosting/crosstalk has gotten a lot better (it’s still not quite perfect but very impressive).

Review by DrTweak for Samsung LN46C750 46-Inch 1080p 3D LCD HDTV (Black)
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I bought the Samsung LN46C750 LCD TV to replace my Hitachi rear projection 1080i TV that had developed a convergence problem. My feeling was that it was time to go modern and get a flat panel model with 1080P capability for watching Blu-ray discs in their full glory.

To my surprise I found I could buy this Samsung 46-inch model with full 3D capability and 2D to 3D conversion for only a couple of hundred dollars more than the same size Samsung 2D-only LCD set, albeit, it didn’t come with the required active 3D glasses for that price.

Hooking the TV up to my HT surround sound system was easy — in fact it was easier than installing Samsung’s swivel stand, mainly because the instructions were not as clear as they should be. The difficult part of getting the TV functioning in my system was figuring out how to set all the myriad settings in the multi-stage menu for optimum performance.

You see, out of the box, with all the factory defaults in place the picture looks overtly bright and a bit washed out because of this. I read the manual and navigated through complex settings I’d never heard of and after a while I was able to get a very good picture with lots of detail, wonderful color gradations/transitions, and a more natural appearance.

A few days later on a whim I looked for online reviews of this model and found an informative “expert” review at […] The author, Jack Burden explained that in order to get the best possible picture from the LN46C750, it had to be set in the “Movie” mode because that is the only mode where the comprehensive menu can be fully accessed.

I printed out all the recommended settings from the review, went into the advanced menus and changed the settings one by one. When I was finished I had a picture that was so natural, detailed and vibrant, it was mind-blowing. Still I made a couple of minor tweaks to the final settings in a couple of areas and this improved my results a bit more. In stock form Samsung pushes the blue level up for dramatic effect but Jack Burden’s recommended settings balance it out so that the color balance is more even and natural. Here is a link to the review: […]

The day my 3D glasses arrived it just so happened that Comcast Cable was running a 3D broadcast of extreme BMX games. In 3D it looked like the stunt ramp descended steeply to the bowels of the earth. What a great show it was! When the contestants were jumping high off the top of the ramp it looked like they were coming right out into the room. One guy getting ready for his run pointed at the 3D camera and it looked like he was poking me in the eye. In the following show featuring some colorful dirt-track car racing they showed some inside-the-car shots in 3D that were pretty exciting and at one point some gulls circling the stadium must have flown very close to the camera location because it looked like they flew out into my room and then back into the stadium. The best part was that the precision detail and focus of the hi-def experience was convincingly maintained in the 3D format. I’m ready for so much more of this!

Note that I am running Comcast’s Motorola DCX3400 cable box into an Onkyo TX-SR605 HT receiver… although the Onkyo receiver has HDMI version 1.3 inputs/outputs, it passed the 3D signal through to Samsung’s HDMI ARC 1.4 input flawlessly.

That said, I was not blown away with Samsung’s 2D to 3D conversion. Yes, it adds a higher degree of depth, but it’s not real 3D and the picture is already so lifelike and glorious in regular 2D that I don’t feel enough incentive to be confined to the glasses.

The picture quality of my Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player is purely amazing on this Samsung. Regular DVD’s can fool you into thinking they are full HD because of the extreme detail afforded by the Oppo’s upscaling feature. And full 1080P playback is simply jaw-dropping. The shadings and color variations in the Navi’s forest home are indescribably glorious. Heck, I could see little specks of dust in the pores on Sigourney Weaver’s forehead after she’d been running in the forest. In some scenes, there was too much detail to the point where it was unflattering to the actors… being to see every line, wart, and wrinkle on their faces and all.

I have not gotten around to experimenting with Samsung’s computer applications at this time but hope to do so in the near future.

Reasons for my “4-star” rating — two caveats to note: (1) The Auto Motion Plus feature definitely works but it’s not always easy to predict which setting will work best. For most shows the “Clear” setting is quite good (recommended for fast motion). For the fastest motion you can turn Auto Motion Plus off, which is also good, but makes the picture a bit more jumpy in some scenes.

(2)The built-in speakers are not very good although they can be adjusted via the menu to sound acceptable. Personally I think you are wasting half of the experience of such a great TV if you don’t hook it up to a very good multi-channel surround sound system.

If you get the picture settings right, like I outlined above, and install a sound system that has quality commensurate with the Samsung’s superb video performance, you’ll be in Home Theater heaven. And if your Home Theater happens to be located directly adjacent to the kitchen, you’ll have the best of all worlds. Highly recommended!

Review by Gene Zarnick for Samsung LN46C750 46-Inch 1080p 3D LCD HDTV (Black)
Rating:
After receiving the television, the 3D Blu Ray Player, and the Starter Kit I was eager to test out the product to see how the 3D looked. I didn’t go to the store to see how it would be, but just bought it without knowing because I always love Samsung TV’s and was planning on getting a new one for my living room anyway.

I set everything up and went to turn on the 3D Monsters vs. Alien Blu Ray and there was no picture. I then tried the 2D to 3D conversion and there was no picture there either. I knew all about the TV and the settings beforehand so I looked through everything and for some reason there was no Auto Motion Plus setting under Picture Mode->Picture Settings. I thought this was odd and called Samsung. Usually Samsung customer service was good to deal with, but nobody there really could understand the issue and kept telling me to do the same stuff over and over. I even had a person tell me she talked to her supervisor and then five minutes lately I asked to speak to their supervisor and she told me there was no supervisor there.

I’m guessing my issue was extremely unique and with my knowledge I assumed that for some reason the without the Auto Motion Plus and the 3D issue that the TV was unable to change refresh rates. 3D needs at least 120hz and I think it was stuck on 60hz the whole time. Every time I tried to tell Samsung my thoughts they basically were helpless and frustrating to talk to after over five calls and hours spent with them.

I finally decided to just call Amazon and they were extremely helpful and they exchanged the TV. I got my new TV 4 days later and everything worked great.

The 3D Blu Ray is amazing. It’s just like seeing it in the theater. I was amazingly surprised by the 2D->3D conversion. It’s not like most things are jumping out of the screen, but the depth is great to have and adds a lot to almost any program. It’s awesome watching sports and I can’t wait to see the World Cup in 3D.

I would definitely recommend this product to anyone looking for a 3D television.