Samsung UE40D6510 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p 3D 400Hz LED SMART Internet TV with Freeview HD - White

As there seems to be no reviews for this TV what so ever on the internet, I may as well be the first.

I was in 2 minds whether to buy this as I have had a Samsunng TV before and wasn't particularly impressed with it, I was looking at the Sony's and Panasonic's... The Sony only got 5/10 in a review for 3d picture quality and the Panasonic was nearly a grand.

In the end I decided to take a punt on the Samsung and I'm so glad I did. They have certainly come along a great deal since I last had one. The normal 2d picture quality is crisp and sharp, the TV has more features you can shake a stick at and the 3d's pretty superb too.

I've only had it setup for around 12 hours and it's so simple to use. I've already connected it up to my network (DHCP or Static) and it's found everything with no problem. Watched a couple of things on BBC iPlayer and even the quality of that was very good (I wasn't really expecting it to be). The remote control has the option to light the keys up, I've downloaded the Samsung andriod app to use as a remote control through my network (pretty neat) and it plays the 3 side by side 3d films I have on my network media tank (HDX/Popcorn Hour) without a problem... and the 3d looks great, it doesn't seem to come out of the screen at you though but looks as though you are looking through a window at the picture... I've hardly used it yet though so perhaps it will when I watch a film in full. I've read in a number of reviews that 3d doesn't really work on 32inch sets, but as this is the only size that'll comfortably fit in my room I'm pretty limited... and let me tell you it does work.

The set also has a built in web browser, it's a bit fiddly to use the remote number pad to type but maybe my andriod app will sort that out... I don't know yet.

I'm no 3d TV expert but I'm well happy with my purchase and would easily recommend this to anybody.

One thing to be aware of though... don't do as I did and buy the wrong glasses for the set. I bought the old style infra-red glasses (SSG-2100AB/X) that don't work with this TV and have had to go out and buy a pair of the Bluetooth ones (SSG-3100GB) 50 quid from comet.

The only slight down side is with the experience of wearing the glasses... they turn themselves on and off when they detect a 3d signal, which is good, but I can notice a flicker with them. Now I have only tried them during daylight hours and my TV is placed next to a window and it's the window area that flickers a bit... but as I do most of my movie watching (which is primarily what I've bought the set for) at night I'm hoping that this won't be so noticable.

I hope this review helps anybody in 2 minds

The very short review:- this TV does some things very well, somethings ok, and some things poorly. For anyone who wants an unobtrusive TV capable of good HD and SD material, it's a contender. Anyone who wants to fully use all the features (interactivity, time shifting, etc) should consider if this product is developed enough to meet expectations.

The longer review:
The Good: This is a super slimline TV, much smaller in all dimensions that any 2010 TV and quite a few 2011. I've read that the 37" is typically only a fraction larger than most 32" out there - so this 32" is tiny. The styling (either 6510/6530) is very modern, and is a definite eye catcher.
High Def material, with bright scenes and plenty of detail (e.g. BBC wildlife, bluerays) looks very very good, and you can definitely see the difference. You may need to tweak the settings a bit, especially wrt the Motion (hint - set to Clear), but once done, pictures are very high quality. Standard Def material, when it is encoded well (e.g. BBC 2, AAA DVD) is upscaled really nicely, and doesn't look artificial. The set features advanced colour controls (10point colour space, white point) if you are a real geek/film buff).

The unit comes with a full suite of inputs, current (HDMI 1.4) and legacy, so you won't be unable to hook up the equipment.

The "smart hub" is a good attempt at bringing the internet and connected world to your TV. Iplayer works well (except for the volume bug see below). Easy to plug in ethernet and configure, or use wireless. I have a network-attached-storage (NAS - a ReadyNAS duo) for photos, music and movies. It found that with no difficulty, and I can stream all three. There are issues with movies though - see below.

3D - well it works, and there are several good movie length features you can download. The downside is that it's not full-HD 3D - i.e. you lose half the vertical or horizontal resolution. With some material, this won't matter - but with a modern blue-ray, it's noticeable. Samsung should be more honest when promoting the 3D or else offer full HD-3D, as they do on other models. It's also questionable how much of a 3D effect you can get on a screen this size. Nice to have, but not an every day thing.

Sound - for such a slim unit, Samsung have done very well. It's no cinema experience, and movie buffs will probably want to add their own speakers, but for every day use, it's very listenable, and doesn't hurt your ears after a coupe of hours, as some cheaper TVs might. Well done Samsung.

Time-shifting :- I plugged in a spare 2.3" 100GB hard drive, it formatted it and a few minutes later time shifting was there. Hit the pause button, and off you go. You can also set recordings from the EPG and let it do the work for you. Playback is quick and easy, with the ability to fast forward, pause etc. All good. It would be nice if Samsung added automatic chaptering (so you can skip ads) and a 'skip 30 seconds' button. In summary, it's a basic implementation of a PVR, but anyone who's used a good Humax or Sony over the last few years will miss some features.

Games display - with an option to turn off (most) processing, and reduce lag, and solid vibrant colours, this is a very good display for xbox or PS3. The lag might be slightly higher for hard core online gamers like, but for mere mortals, it's very good.

The Bad
Iplayer - there's a bug with the volume, setting at 1 or 2 is too quite, 3 hurts the ears and 4 blows the doors off. No way to set at a comfortable level.

3D half resolution : as mentioned above, 3D seems to be at half vertical or horizontal resolution - what's the point of a HD telly, if it shows you a SD picture?

Channel organisation is not easily accessed, and the manual is little help. You need to do it through the smart hub and under the channel app. It should be a lot easier to find or at least be sign-posted, not least because most of the HD channels will be placed in 50+ position, and everyone will want them in positions 1,3,4 etc.

Changing channels is also slow - up to five or six seconds for some of the HD. I don't understand why.

While there is a wealth of options for changing picture quality, what they actually do is very poorly explained, in the paper guide, the electronic guide and even the 300 page PDF from the web site. It's a shame, Samsung have gone to the bother of giving you the features, but they're incomprehensible to most.

The DTV tuner seems a bit less robust that the one from my Sony PVR. My signal quality is average, and the sony never showed the slightest break-up in any channel. The Samsung frequently shows break-up in some channels with low bit rates and the high encoding - e.g. ITV4, More 4 etc.

When you change channel, it shows you the channel number and the name, but no programme info. You have to press another button for that. Even then, the text is too small to read from any distance, and you have to press a third button to get larger text. This might sound like being really picky, but it is such a fundamental feature, and combined with the slow slow slow EPG means that channel hopping (as men are wont to do) is a bot more of a chore than it should be, especially in 2011.

The Ugly
One of the major features is that you can stream your music, photos and movies direct to the TV. As I've said, music and photos are fine. Movies however... well they play alright, but the TV ignores chapters, and also doesn't seem to offer FWD, REV or any basic time skipping - at least with my DLNA streamer. Now I know my DLNA streamer supports these, because it works with my xbox, a PC and a Mac, so it's just Samsung's implementation. Sort it out please Samsung.

EPG - the samsung EPG, while pretty, is S L O W. Pretty unforgivable in 2011, how hard is it to update a row of text in less than 1-2 seconds? You can choose an alternative by Rovi, which is quicker but uglier and with not as many features. That's not the point though - Samsung should not release a TV with such a slow interface.

Viewing Angle : face-on, the picture is great, with saturation, clarity and depth. Sit to one side, and it's quite different, Even as little as 20 degrees off centre, and darker colours, especially dark skin tones take on a strange blue/black appearance. No amount of fiddling with settings changes this. It's not all colours that fade, distort though, but it is enough to make the picture less than ideal. Not good, especially if this is for family viewing with three or four people around the room, and also as Samsung claim a 120 degree viewing angle.

Crushed blacks :- With some material, darker tones all collapse to a single black. It seems dependent on the source material to a great extent, but it's definitely there. Again, no amount of fiddling with picture settings seems to alleviate it.

Other niggles. The Amazon description isn't completely accurate. (1) This model is not "400 Hz". It is a 100 Hz display, with Samsung's 200 Hz internal processing. You have to go up a few screen sizes to get the 400 Hz internal processing. (2) There is no satellite connector. The pictures and tech description all list an S2 satellite connection and decoder. UK models don't have this - you have to buy a 7 Series for that feature.

Conclusion: It could have been an all-round great TV. Instead it is competent, but flawed. With the right content, and facing straight on, it has a great picture and sound. It offers reasonable interactivity, but just fails to justify the hype, for me at least. In theory it should have allowed me to get rid of my PVR and satellite boxes, and reduce clutter, but the in-built features, as with the TV in general come close just not close enough. Less demanding users can safely ignore most of my negative points, but anyone expecting to use the full suite should consider the pros and cons before hitting that Buy Now button. So depending on what you expect, the model is either 4.5/5 or 3/5.

Foot note: My unit has developed banding and clouding issues ( a feature of LED/LCD) and I've asked Amazon for a replacement. Amazon were very good, one phone call and a replacement is on its way, no quibble. Well done Amazon.

Other Foot note: as the unit is so small, the HDMI connections are very close to the edge. If you want to keep cables hidden, you should consider buying ones whose connectors are angled, otherwise they'll likely show over the edge.

This TV replaces the 2010 40" version I had before and this up dated version continues the high standards set by the original. Improvements have been made to the design with the much thinner bezel and the updated menu system which is much clearer and easier to follow. Set up is very easy as it guides you through all the basic options you need to be able to start viewing pictures.

Picture quality is once again superb with high def images, everything is crystal clear with no real evidence of artifacts. Even in such a short period of time I have noticed improvements to the overall picture quality especially fast moving objects. Standard def pictures, are as you would expect far less detailed but as these are replaced it will become less of an issue. I would advise that you play with the settings as the factory set ones impact on the quality of the picture, spend some time with this and you will not be disappointed.

Sound is, as you would expect is lacking in depth owing to the very thin case but it is very detailed and the surround sound effect is not bad, certainly much better than previous sets I have had.

Overall, I would have no hesitation in recommending this TV. Samsung have produced set another strong set and this is supported by the various high reviews there sets receive.