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By 

Brice S. (Seattle) –

  

UN46ES6100 (but this review could easily apply to the 40,50,55 and 60 inch models) PLEASE READ!

Let me start off by stating that I am rating this pretty much solely on the picture quality, because the Smart Hub on this is completely junk. So why would I still give this TV 4 stars when the selling feature on this is the Smart Tv feature, because the TV itself is absolutely stunning when it comes to picture quality.

I’ve accepted the fact that the Smart TV feature is garbage on this TV. Sadly Samsung is aware that they drop the ball big time on creating a good Smart TV. That being said though you probably won’t find to many TV’s that have a good Smart TV function and picture quality as good as this (except the Sony Bravia……but it will cost you big time). Between my friends and I we have tried almost all the new TV’s that have come out, and to be honest none of the new Smart TV’s have impressed me. LG comes pretty close with the whole package for a good price, but still (in my opinion) does not compare to this TV when it comes to picture quality.

The apps are attached through the Smart Hub which means, yes, they also run slow. I run my streaming apps through my Blu-Ray player and it looks great. It’s weird that an external source such as a Blu-ray player runs apps better that a tv that has apps and software built into it. Smart Hub is absolutely useless on this TV, everything from the browser to the apps are ridiculously slow. I give the Smart Hub feature a 1 out of 10. It works, but barely. This feature is not ready for prime time.

Now, down to the nitty gritty. The reason this TV is still great is because I personally love the look of their Auto-Motion feature. Some say it looks “soap opery”, but I love it. You can turn off Automotion easily and it still delivers in 120hz mode. This TV has a whooping 5,000,000:1 dynamic contrast that completely delivers. The picture quality is very crisp and colors are very vibrant (Actually to be honest, out of the box it’s too vibrant. You will have to play around with it. Check the bottom of this post, I’ll supply a professionally calibrated configuration to help some of you). HDTV looks great. Everything is so clear it does almsot seem like there is no screen dividing you from the movie. Blu-Rays on this is an experience all to itself. So in conclusion for picture I give this a 10 out of 10.

Sound is decent on this. It’s not bad. It does have it’s moments with low end bass a little. Coarse my theory on sound on a TV like this is, if you bought this TV your probably like me and had some inkling that your future foretold a certain sound system……maybe a nice sound bar. So in conclusion for sound I give this 7 out of 10. Very passable sound for sure.

Comparing a the UN46ES6100 to the UN46EH600 (Similar Samsung TV minus the Smart TV)
Here is a valuble piece of information. If your looking for a Samsung TV with all the same qualification but no Smart TV feature, go with the UN46EH6000 (40,46,50,55,60). Although this TV does match up in every way, the picture quality is a little less (about half million in the dynamic contrast department, which actually isn’t much when considering the naked eye) on the UN46EH6000, but you will save about 300 bucks. By the way, if you compare these two TV using Amazon they will tell you the match up, but after talking to Samsung they gave me the real specs. These TV’s are comparable, but not the same. They would leave you to think the the Smart feature is the only difference. My personal opinion, get the UN46ES6100. In the long run you want the best picture quality. Right?

In final conclusion, I really like this TV …..a lot (the UN46ES6100, bad on topic). If you read the other reviews the biggest beef is clearly with the Smart Hub, which to be honest is completely accurate. In fact this problem is not isolated to this model, it would seem that all the 2012 Samsung’s that attempted the Smart Hub failed miserably. I bought this TV for $899 at Costco and to be honest I have not come across a TV yet that compares for the price. In fact this TV performs at the rate of most TV’s that go for double the price. So if you buy this TV know that you will be disappointed in the Smart Hub feature but very surprised at the picture quality. Maybe the best you’ll see for awhile. I give this TV a solid 8.5/10…..and I’m actually hard to please.

Those calibrations that I promised:

These calibrations were done professionally by the guys at lcdbuyingguide….(dotcom). They worked awesomely to get my TV looking perfect.

Picture Mode Movie
Backlight 16 (Backlight is the one part you will have to adjust to your liking and room lighting)
Contrast 95
Brightness 45
Sharpness 15
Color 50
Tint G50/R50

ADVANCE SETTINGS
Dynamic Contrast Off
Black Tone Off
Flesh Tone 0
RGB Only Mode Off…

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