Rear-Projection TVs

Full-On/Full-Off Contrast Ratio: 1,374:1

All of the measurements were taken in the Movie mode, adjusted as needed for the most accurate picture.

The full-on/full-off contrast was measured by setting the Black Level Adjust control on High, and then adjusting the brightness control to compensate for the resulting black crush. This produced a slightly better (deeper) black level than it did with the Black Level Adjust off (the black level in that case was 0.066 ft-L).

In both of the above cases, the Dynamic Contrast Control was set to off. Turning it to Low raised the white level to 85.8 ft-L but also raised the black level to 0.069 ft-L, a result that offered no benefit.

The Samsung uses an unusual form of calibration, which involves measuring the x,y coordinates and luminance of red, green, blue, and white test patterns and entering correction factors into a service menu based on these readings and the target values. It works, but despite extreme flexibility, it’s too tedious. Samsung has used the same method in its RPTVs for a couple of years but has changed to much more elegant calibration controls in its newer flat-panel displays.

The Samsung arrived almost perfectly calibrated (in the Warm2 Color Temp), and tedious procedure or not, it only required a few tweaks to dial in a very accurate color temperature across the board, along with a precise color gamut. The three diagrams tell the tale. The post-calibration color tracking is very close to the D6500 standard across the board, and the CIE color gamut required no adjustments from its out-of-box condition. The overall result could hardly be better.

The Samsung’s 1080p and 1080i HDMI HD resolutions were excellent across the board and good in SD as well. The component resolution was also good but slightly less impressive. The HD overscan measured about 2.5 percent on all sides in Just Scan—a loss of about 10 percent of the overall image area—and just over 3 percent (a 12-percent loss of area) in component.—TJN