The Samsung 6500 LED 3D TV is a great option for anyone in the market for a mid-point LED television. It offers many of the options of the higher price sets (such as the high-end Samsung 8000 series), but lacks the pricier cutting edge technology (Such as the motion and voice control). Through-out the video portion of this review reference the LG LM6700, which is at a a similar price point.
Notes-
Picture Quality – It took some tweaking, but once I had it properly set-up the picture quality was very good. The picture is crisp (which you would expect from any 1080P set), but it also offers better brightness than our LG LM6700. The LG always seems a little dark, but the Samsung 6500 offers better overall brightness, and to me, it makes the picture *look* better. One other thing, until I got the picture adjusted properly, I did notice some color blooming which subtracted from the overall picture sharpness… never fear, this can be adjusted out. Some people may also be concerned with the 120Hz refresh…. I also own the Samsung 8000,and my version is 240Hz, and I don’t notice any difference. I guess the only time it maybe noticeable is while watching a 3D Blu-ray.
3D- The Samsung 6500 comes with 2 pairs of active (read *battery operated*) 3D glasses. Using the Samsung 6500 to convert 2D to 3D works, ok, but it will not take your breath away. I used it to watch a baseball game, and “Men in Black” and while I noticed the difference – it was not dramatic. The LG LM6700 uses passive glasses, and to me, seems to have better 2D to 3D capability.
Sound – Again, it took some adjustments to get the integrated speakers to sound the way I wanted. It required me to turn the surround setting on, and play around with the set-up. One thing to note, is that out-of-the-box, the Samsung 6500 makes a clicking noise every time you raise or lower the volume. This is pretty annoying, but it can be disabled.
Features – This is what separated the Samsung 6500 from some of the pricier models, but to me, it really doesn’t matter. The Samsung comes with a nice programmable remote, plenty of applications (Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Pandora,…although Amazon is noticeably absent). However, as I mentioned it does not come with the voice and motion control of the Samsung 8000 series. The Samsung 6500 offer “Family View” and Fitness channels… but in all honesty, I really have not used them. In terms of features, the LG LM6700 has very similar features – but they are better organized and easier to use.
Back Panel – I mention it in the video portion, but the Samsung 6500 offers 3 HDMI inputs (which is enough for a Game device, DVR, and Blu-Ray… or some other combination), 1 component input, 0 (zero) RCA and S-video inputs, and optical output, a LAN input, and multiple USB inputs. I question why modern TV manufacturers have completely dropped RCA inputs – they still come in handy.
Wifi – The Samsung 6500 comes with built-in wifi.
Final Verdict – The Samsung 6500 offers a great picture with plenty of apps you would expect. While the LG LM6700 does have it beat on ease of use (it requires a lot less tweaking), but ultimately it can not offer the ultra-bright picture of the Samsung 6500. Is the Samsung 6500 the greatest LED TV on the market… nope, but it may be the best one at this price point!
4 1/2 Stars
- Please note, all images displayed on the Samsung 6500 during this video were used for demonstration purposes only.
Duration : 0:5:58
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