Friday, February 10, 2012

Samsung UN46D6420U LED HDTV - LED 3D Adventure for Smaller Budgets

By Carlton T Driver


Samsung has long been a force in the improvement of HDTV flat panel sets; it is one of the leading brands on the market. Their newest sets employ LED back-lighting technology, which eliminates the cold-cathode fluorescent lighting systems that were included in the first generation of LCD TV sets. The use of this LED technique has made it possible for them to produce sets that are thinner, and lighter than earlier sets, yet they produce significantly higher picture quality. The Samsung UN46D6420U LED 3D HDTV is a good example of this technical superiority.

One of the most impressive features of this set is its 3D display capability. Samsung has adopted what is termed the Active 3D method for creating the 3D pictures on their LED TV sets. The key to achieving the 3D effect is to insure that each left or right image is visible by the proper eye. This is achieved by one of two methods, which are termed "active" and "passive". Passive systems employ glasses that have polarized lenses that work together with polarizing filters that are built into the TV screen.

These filters polarize alternating horizontal lines in one of two different patterns. Each eye then can see only the one-half of the lines on the screen (and as a result sees an image with only half the full-screen resolution!) that correspond to the polarization of the lens over the left or right eye in the glasses that matches the screen polarization

With an Active system, the glasses "actively" alternate between being transparent, then opaque, by activating the LCDs in the lenses. Each eye is blocked sequentially, as the stereo image for the right or left eye is displayed on the screen. The synchronization is accomplished using a bluetooth signal provided by the TV set. These alternating images are shown at the rate of 120 HZ, so that each eye will see 60 images per second. Because each eye sees a full-screen image, there is no reduction of resolution in the 3D picture.

As said previously, Samsung's 3D sets use the Active 3D system. They have two types of glassed available. One set requires batteries, and the other type is rechargeable, using a USB connection. The rechargeable glasses are very light, weighing only one ounce, and last for many hours of use per charge.

The Samsung Active 3D system also makes it possible to "up-convert" regular 2D programming and content to what is termed "near 3D" appearance. This means that 2D programs, which could be DVDs, broadcasts, or home movies can be provided with the appearance of depth that is not otherwise present in the material.

The size of the TV screen is an important consideration when evaluating a 3D television purchase. The best seating distance, to avoid eye strain, is three times the vertical size of the TV screen. Based on that, for a 46" screen (which has a vertical dimension of about 23"), the minimum suggested viewing distance should be approximately 67", or approximately 5.5 feet. For a 55" screen, the minimum suggested distance would be just slightly under seven feet. So, for this Samsung 46 LED HDTV model, the optimum viewing distance is about six feet from the screen.

While the Active 3D is probably the most impressive feature of the UN46D6420U, it is just the starting point of a long list of great features. This Samsung HDTV set is loaded with what Samsung calls "Smart Apps" - applications that are form the basis of their "Smart TV" platform. These "Apps" allow you to use the TV to interface with the Internet, and download Web content from sites like Hulu Plus, Netflix, Pandora, and others.

Although some of the "Apps" must be purchased for a dollar or two (much like iPhone apps), there is a broad list of free Apps, such as children's material and games. Apps categories cover areas such as Videos, Sports, Games, Lifestyle, Information, and Education.

Another really nice feature of this model UN46D6420U is its use of "Allshare DLNA Technology". DLNA is an abbreviation for "Digital Living Network Alliance". It represents what is called an "interoperability protocol" that enables different electronic devices to link together in order to make possible file sharing and data transmission between the devices. Samsung's "Allshare" makes it simple to synch up various DLNA-enabled components with your Samsung TV set, which means that you can access all the various media files on your computer, iPhone, and other devices on your HDTV set . Add the optional LinkStick, and you will have wireless access too.

Covering all of the great features of this UN46D6420U HDTV would make this article far too long - but when you look at the specifications that this set has to offer, you can begin to appreciate just what a great set it is.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment