Samsung UN32F5500 32-Inch 1080p 60Hz Slim Smart LED HDTV

Nice picture, smart hub bug, wall mount issue, March 18, 2013

===OVERALL===

This is my third Samsung LED and I found the picture to be as good as that of my UN46D7000 (higher-tier 2011 model). Supposedly this set can’t do micro-dimming. But you wouldn’t know it from the black levels, which are as good as or better than the D7000’s, lending the F5500 great picture depth. Overall this is a solid performer where it counts, and in a nice-looking package. Very good value for this price point. As noted below, the power cord connector protrudes from the back enough that it might interfere with a low profile mount. And some of the smart apps didn’t work out of the box. There are workarounds for the first issue and as for the second, I expect Samsung will fix the apps with an update soon.

===DESIGN===

Most of this is evident from the photos. The bezel is glossy black and the screen is matte with an anti-reflective coating. It has a gray plastic Samsung emblem at the bottom center that looks like it could be pried out if you wanted to for some reason. There’s also an IR receiver that protrudes about a centimeter from the bottom right corner.

The rear ports are recessed and side-facing, perfect for wall-mounting. Unfortunately, the power cord socket faces straight back and is not recessed. So the cord when inserted is not flush with the back of the set. It has a T design that lowers the profile a bit, but when inserted still protrudes about .65 inches. That’s a bit more than some slim wall mounts (e.g. the picture-hanging style mount with a .5 inch mounting depth). I shaved part of the T-connector tip and insulation off with a razor to get it down to .5 inch. So far nobody’s been electrocuted.

The base is satin graphite-colored plastic (some similar-looking Samsung bases are metal; this one’s not). You really have to torque in the screws when attaching it (tried this before wall-mounting).

By the way, if you inexplicably can’t seem to turn the thing on, try the master power button at the bottom right back of the unit. Turns out this works much better than throwing the remote at it.

===SMART FEATURES===

Set-up is easy with the built-in wifi. The interface is intuitive and not tough for non-techies to figure out. There do seem to be a few bugs. Several of the apps (e.g. Netflix, YouTube) prompt you to update the unit’s software before proceeding. However, when you do the update check (hit menu and then look under the support submenu), it advises that everything is current. So I haven’t been able to use at least two of the apps, as of firmware version 1013. Hopefully Samsung fixes that quickly. Amazon and Hulu work fine.

The apps aren’t snappy-fast but also not turtle-slow. Unless you really want these things to pop, you probably won’t miss the quadcore processor.

No problems hooking up a Logitech wireless mouse and keyboard. You have to enable it under a menu but otherwise it’s plug-and-play.

The web browser works well. Not super-fast but quite usable.

===AS A COMPUTER MONITOR===

I/ve hooked this up to a Macbook Air for use as a monitor. So far I haven’t figured out the right mix of settings to get the desktop to display without scaling/underscan/overscan that leaves text blurry and images a bit off (try setting your computer monitor to something other than its native resolution if you’re not familiar with this effect). Selecting “screen fit” for picture size at least seems to get the desktop properly fitted on the screen (16:9 will scale it). But the text is still fuzzy.

Sometimes settings for a particular input are optimized by default for use with a computer (usually they’re marked something like “HDMI 3/PC” or “HDMI 4/DVI”). I tried all of them, no change. I turned off all motion smoothing and other picture processing. No luck. I tried various configurations on the Mac display menus. Still no go. It’s not clear whether the issue is on the Samsung or Mac side. It might be fine with a PC.

I’ll try to post an update if I figure this out.

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Excellent picture AND sound, software needs some improvement, April 11, 2013

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Goldengate “Goldengate” (San Francisco, where else?) –

  

  

This TV was released in February as Samsung’s “budget” 32-inch As of this writing it’s going for around $475, so about $200 more than the budget Smart TV’s from Vizio. First my review of the TV, then I’ll compare it to Vizio’s product VIZIO E320i-A0 32-inch 720p 60Hz LED Smart HDTV, which I have also purchased and decided to return in favor of this unit. As you would expect, the TV has a great picture. Smooth, no pixelation, even sports look great on here. It’s advertised as a 60hz — but then the box refers to “120 Tru Motion” so I’m not sure what to make of that, but suffice it to say that refresh rates are good. The remote control is decent – lights up at night and has good sized buttons, but I’d like dedicated buttons for Netflix and Amazon VOD. This TV begins to blur the line between TV and computer… the internet browser is competent, but pretty frustrating to use without a keyboard. You can hook up a USB keyboard through the TV’s slot. This TV does NOT accommodate bluetooth keyboards, so wireless is out of the picture. I believe the next model up of Samsung (the 6000 series) accommodates Bluetooth as that is referenced in the manual. The “Smart Apps” section reveals many apps (Pandora, Picasa, etc) that you would find on your Smartphone. Due to the dual core of the TV’s processor, apps load quickly and the TV starts immediately. As for the sound, it’s really decent to good. You’re not ever going to get good base etc without an external sound source on any HDTV… but this provides a good viewing experience. Figuring out the DLNA networking (to watch videos and pictures stored on my computer) was unnecessarily complex (very simple on the Vizio). The TV couldn’t “see” other devices on the home network until I clicked “Play to” on the computer in the right click context menu and selected the Samsung. The Samsung asked for permission to link to the computer and then I was able to browse. I’m sure this will be fixed in a future software update. By the way, Netflix, Amazon, every app I have tried works great.

I think the software on these “smart TV’s” is still overly complex to navigate… At some point a company like Apple is going to figure this out and make a truly seamless intuitive experience. For example, to get to my media on my computer, I have to click “smart apps” then scroll to video, click that, then select a source, then start scrolling through files on the computer. There has to be a better way. Having said that, it’s not terrible, and the dual core makes for gorgeous animated menus and really nice response time.

Comparing it to the Vizio… if you are thinking “Should I spend the $200 more for the Samsung?” here’s why I ended up returning the Vizio in comparison to this unit. First off the positives: The Vizio had a gorgeous picture also, comparable to the Samsung. So it’s a draw between the devices. But in every other aspect, Samsung wins. Setup on the Samsung was a breeze — it scanned all of my Comcast digital channels WITHOUT a converter box, and then automatically subtracted out the scrambled channels. Vizio couldn’t/didn’t do this. Samsung also has an interactive/nice guide much like the guide you’d see on digital TV/satellite… grid format that tells you what’s on all the channels. Vizio didn’t have that. The Vizio TV took 5-9 seconds to start. That’s a long time when you’re trying to catch the end of a show. Samsung starts up instantaneously. The Vizio had TERRIBLE sound — everyone sounded like they had a lisp when watching TV… the Samsung has a million sound options including even an equalizer. Great sound. There are many more apps on Samsung’s unit, and there’s also the Samsung version of video on demand where you can download and watch movies. Vizio has placed a button for this on their remote control but it is still a “coming attraction.”

If all you care about is a nice picture, get the Vizio. But if you care about sound and the internet apps, as well as platform stability, get the Samsung. They are both energy efficient – the Samsung is $6/year according to the Energy Wise label on the set and the Vizio is $8.

This TV actually begins to blue the line between TV, computer and tablet. You can attach a keyboard. You can also attach a webcam and have Skype video calls. There’s also a social app integration that I don’t plan to use where you can link everything to Facebook and other social sites, sharing comments on TV shows etc with your friends. Not my style but some might like that. As I use more of the functions on this TV I will update this review, but for now, hope this helps!

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