Introduction

Overall Design

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The Samsung LN46C650 is a decent-looking set, but there's nothing particularly interesting or special about it. It's just a slightly-better-than-average-looking, somewhat-thin LCD.

Front

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The Samsung LN46C650's screen is surrounded by a glossy black bezel.

Back

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The back of the TV features a cluster of ports towards its left side.

Sides

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The left side is featureless; the right side contains the on-set controls and a handful of ports.

Stand/Mount

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The stand doesn't deviate much from Samsung's usual design. It swivels to allow easier access to the ports on the back.

Remote Control

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The LN46C650's remote is the basic design Samsung is offering this year. It fits well in hand and has a backlight.

In the Box

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In the box you'll find a remote, batteries, and manuals. Pretty standard.

Like many Samsung TVs, the LN46C650 is a bit of a pain to set up. You need to assemble the base (screw two parts together), then attach the base to the TV, then throw a plastic cover onto the metal stand backing. It's not the most complicated procedure, but it involves more than twice as many screws as the average set.

Black Level

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A TV's black level is part of what dictates how much detail you can see in dark scenes, and is important in maintaining a high contrast ratio. Our benchmark for a solidly good black level is anything with a luminance of 0.10 candelas per square meter (cd/m²) or darker; if it's closer to 0.20 cd/m², it's a bit below average, and if it's in the range of 0.30 cd/m² or brighter, that's pretty bad.

We measured the Samsung LN46C650's black level at 0.07 cd/m², which is a great, deep black level. Dark scenes shouldn't have that washed-out look that cheap LCDs sometimes have. No problems here. More on how we test black level.

Peak Brightness

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A high peak brightness screen is necessary for maintaining a high contrast ratio, preserving details in bright scenes, and also overpowering any ambient light in the room. You probably won't need anything over 200 cd/m² for normal use, but if your TV lives in a room with windows, you might need a bit more power to combat sunlight wash-out.

We measured the LN46C650's peak brightness at 416.57 cd/m², which is really, really bright. If you won't be able to control the ambient light levels in your room, the LN46C650 will not have a problem outshining anything but direct sunlight. More on how we test peak brightness.

Contrast

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With a high peak brightness and low black level, the LN46C650 has an incredibly high contrast ratio of 5951:1. To put this in context, we'd consider a 4000:1 contrast ratio to be solidly good, meaning the LN46C650 is about 50% better than a good TV. A high contrast ratio is important because our eyesight hinges on contrast to perceive details.

Note that our measured contrast ratio is likely several orders of magnitude lower than what manufacturers typically advertise. This is because we're measuring a 'realistic' contrast ratio, meaning we use the same settings to measure the black and white levels. The way a 7,000,000:1 ratio is measured typically involves shutting off the backlight for the black measurement and cranking everything to the max for the white. Since two groups of settings are used, that contrast ratio isn't a helpful number because you'll never actually witness it. More on how we test contrast.

Tunnel Contrast

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Our tunnel contrast test measures how consistent the TV's black level is. Typically the black level—at least to some extent—depends on what image is being displayed.

In the Samsung LN46C650's case, the black level didn't bounce around too much. The chart below shows some minor shifts as the amount of black on screen changed, but none were particularly atrocious and all of the black levels were well within our definition of a great black level: not once did the black level rise above 0.1 cd/m². More on how we test tunnel contrast.

White Falloff

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White falloff is the inverse of our tunnel contrast test: we're measuring the consistency of the white level an increasing percentage of the screen is black against a black screen.

The Samsung LN46C650 has an auto-dim feature that automatically kicks on when the screen gets dark, and there's no way to completely disable it. It's likely most users will either want the feature enabled or won't care either way, but it would've been nice to be able to turn it off. As it is, you'll notice a bit of a drop in the peak brightness when the feature is enabled. Otherwise, the LN46C650 holds its brightness pretty well. More on how we test white falloff.

Uniformity

Greyscale Gamma

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A TV's greyscale gamma refers to the slope along which grey brightens to white or darkens to black. It's important that each step along this slope is uniform, or else our eyes won't notice an even progression, leading to changes too minor for our eyes to perceive or too large, which can make even transitions look like a series of stripes.

The ideal slope for a TV's greyscale gamma should be about 2.1, with a few tenths of leeway in either direction. We measured the LN46C650's greyscale gamma at 2.53, which is a bit aggressive, but still decent. This ensures a good level of detail between each step on the greyscale. More on how we test greyscale gamma.

Color Temperature

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In this section, we take a look at how consistent the TV's color temperature is. Theoretically, the color temperature should remain consistent, but it isn't out of the ordinary for a TV to waver around a bit: if the changes aren't particularly noticeable, chances are it'll be virtually imperceptible when you're watching something.

The LN46C650 did have some problems maintaining its color temperature. As you can see in the graph below, the color temperature wanders into cold territory. These shifts are definitely perceptible, but only if you're really looking for inconsistencies. More on how we test color temperature.

RGB Curves

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The LN46C650 had some decent RGB curves. Aside from some bumps (which represent minor losses of detail), the curves look good. They have the correct shape and don't exhibit much peaking. More on how we test RGB curves.

Below we've compared the LN46C650 to a handful of its competitors.

Motion Performance

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Motion Smoothness (6.50)

The Samsung UN46C650 didn’t have particularly crisp movement, even with the MotionFlow feature enabled. When images panned around the screen, many fine details were lost. Eyes turned into dark ovals, noses disappeared, and mouths smudged into red streaks. With the MotionFlow disabled, the effects are even worse. (More on how we test Motion.)

Motion Artifacting (8.50)

Although movement on the TV was pretty blurry, we really didn’t see much motion artifacting at all. Solid blocks of color trailed shadows behind them, and fine patterns looked a bit jittery, but that was about it. More on how we test motion performance.

3:2 Pulldown & 24fps

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The TV handles 3:2 pulldown moderately well, but it still has some issues. Turning the CineMotion mode to Auto1 or 2 will help reduce the more obnoxious flashes, but it won’t eliminate the effect entirely. One of our tests uses a slow pan over an empty football stadium, since the backs of the seats create a pattern. In the clip, we saw a very noticeable crawling effect on the seat backs. It looked like someone had overlaid a group of concentric circles that warped over the area as the camera panned. More on how we test 3:2 pulldown and 24fps.

Resolution Scaling

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For this test we check and see how the TV handles non-native content. Unless all you’re doing is watching DVDs, the UN46C650 is going to be upscaling or downscaling content in some capacity. Unfortunately, the UN46C650 doesn’t handle 1080i or 1080p that well, so you might run into issues with broadcast HD or Blu-ray playback. More on how we test resolution scaling.

480p

The TV really didn’t have a problem with 480p (standard definition) content. There was a 2% overscan, which was odd for the format, but the TV didn’t suffer from any other issues.

720p

We didn’t see any huge problems with 720p playback, but it wasn’t perfect. We saw some moire interference with fine patterns: said patterns looked mildly yellow or green. There was also random, sporadic artifacting that happened when certain patterns initially appear onscreen.

1080i

The TV had the most trouble with 1080i content. We saw significant Moire interference, which means the TV can’t render specific fine patterns, leading to artifacting. Typically Moire interference creates larger, simpler patterns over what’s supposed to be displayed; in the case of the UN46C650, we saw no such consistency. Random portions of the original image would be replace with some sort of artifact pattern, such as a rolling gradient, large crosshatch, or diagonal stripes. We also saw issues with plain black text against a white scree. There were thick, vertical bands where the text alternated between looking thin and looking bold.

Formats

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The Samsung LN46C650 is a native 1080p (1920 x 1080) display, and supports all standard NTSC formats.

Viewing Angle

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The Samsung LN46C650 has a viewing angle of 52 degrees in total (or 26 degrees from center on either side). This is about average for an LCD display. It's certainly not the worst we've seen, but it's a far cry from even a mediocre plasma display.

Reflectance

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The Samsung LN46C650 screen is quite reflective. If the screen is all black or nearly black, and there's a light shining on you, the viewer, the screen essentially doubles as a mirror. It's the same story with most Samsung screens. If you can maneuver the light to a better angle, you'll probably be able to ignore the reflection. If you're watching something more brightly lit, like sports, you probably won't notice the glare at all.

Video Processing

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The Samsung LN46C650 has a number of video processing features. During testing, we most of them off because they tend to do more harm them good. But we always recommend that you try experimenting with the features on your own. Note that the C650 series and above are the only models that offer Auto Motion Plus as a feature.

Calibration

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Usually TVs don't come out of the box calibrated very well. The Samsung LN46C650 came pretty close, however: we didn't have to change much of anything. The table below lists the TVs' default settings, and our calibration settings.

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All of our calibration is done in conjunction with the DisplayMate software.

](http://www.displaymate.com/)

Video Modes

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Like nearly all TVs, the Samsung UN46C650 has a handful of presets that allow you to make easy changes to your picture quality without running to a dictionary to look up the meaning of 'gamma.' We recommend putting this TV in the Movie mode, as it produces the most accurate colors. If Movie mode is a little bland for you, try Standard. Really, anything but Dynamic is fine. Dynamic mode is for crazies.

Ergonomics & Durability

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The remote control that ships with the Samsung LN46C650 (the BN59-01042A, to be specific) is the same remote that ships with several other low-end and mid-level Samsung TVs. It's standard issue, from the fat, rubber buttons to the layout, weight, and length. There's nothing amazing about the remote, but it feels plenty sturdy.

Button Layout & Use

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The buttons are laid out sensibly, with the most frequently used buttons – channel up/down and volume – placed in the center. The playback controls for other Samsung AV devices are at the bottom. Menu controls are in the center.

Programming & Flexibility

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The remote can be used to control other Samsung AV devices, but it's not a universal remote.

Connectivity

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Input Ports (7.00)

The Samsung LN46C650 has a decent number of input ports.

Output Ports (2.00)

The TV has two outputs: one digital and one analog audio.

Other Connections (4.00)

Additionally, the LN46C650 has a LAN port and an EX-LINK port, which you can use to easily hook up your TV to other Samsung products.

Media (2.00)

The TV has two USB ports for additional media playback.

Placement

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The TV's port placement is decent. There are a few ports on the side for easy access and the main cluster on the back is relatively close to the edge. Nothing groundbreaking here.

Audio Quality

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The audio quality of the Samsung UN46C650 is decent, but certainly not up to par with the quality of the display. Overall, the bass is flat and the highs can sound tinny. Like most aspects of the TV, there are lots of options in the menu to tweak the sound. To start, there are five preset modes: Standard, Music, Movie, Clear Voice, and Amplify. Standard is the only option that allows further tweaking. The rest lock in certain settings. We liked the Movie mode best for a balance of bass, mids, and treble.

If you choose Standard mode, you can have full control over a 5-channel equalizer. You can also choose to operate 'TruSurround HD,' a surround sounds emulation, and 'TruDialog,' which enhances the dialogue in the audio mix.

For those that live with light sleepers, the TV also features an Auto Volume mode that keeps explosions and other suddenly loud sounds to a minimum. There are even two levels of sensitivity for this feature: Normal and Night.

Menu Interface

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The menu on the Samsung UN46C650 is almost entirely the same as last year's Samsung models. It's not a perfect menu system, but it's pretty good. The options are left-aligned along a vertical axis, as you can see from the photo below. There are two problems. First, sometimes when you're exiting a submenu, you can use the 'left' directional button. But when you're in certain submenus, the left button doesn't do anything. Instead, you have to hit the Return button.

The second problem is related to the remote. Because there aren't proper buttons, it's harder to differentiate buttons by feel. We found ourselves frequently hitting the wrong button.

The real problem is that a TV of this caliber has so many control options that it's easy to create an intimidating menu. Technophobes, in particular, would find a menu of this size overwhelming. People more comfortable with navigating tech products will probably like the organization.

Instruction Manual

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The instruction manual that comes with the Samsung UN32C4000 is informative of all the TV's features. It features an index and a glossary, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding what you need. Our only complaint is that the features' descriptions seems a bit brief.

You can find the TV's manual online here.

Internet Features

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The Samsung LN46C650 can connect to a series of streaming content features through either the LAN port or WiFi (with optional purchase of a USB dongle). The TV does not come pre-loaded with nearly as many content services as more expensive Samsungs, so we had to spend a lot of time with the interface, downloading apps one by one.

Samsung's approach to the app store is not very different manufacturers, like Vizio, that simply use a plug-in of the Yahoo TV apps store. It started off very sparsely early this year, and continues to expand. As Samsung, or Yahoo, continues to make content partners, new apps are passed down to you for free or paid download. Sony took a slightly different tack, pre-loading a fleet of content partners from the beginning of the year. Everyone was forced to play catch up to Sony.

Samsung has indeed caught up, for the most part. For a complete run-down on what's available from Samsung and everyone else, jump to the huge comparison chart article.

Local Media Playback

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The Samsung LN46C650 can play back photos from the two USB drives on the side. Both of them can read from USB thumb drives, and one of them also supports full hard drives. The interface is very simple. Once you plug in a device, a screen pops up asking you if you'd like to view a photo, watch a video clip, or listen to an audio clip. You select the media type, then watch or listen to it. You can also make custom playlists, complete with music tracks.

The music and video clip playback interface is essentially the same as photo playback, described above.

Other Media

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The Samsung LN46C650 does not support any other media types.

Power Consumption

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The Samsung LN46C650 has an average power requirement for its size. With the backlight set about mid-way, it should cost about $22.23 per year to operate. You cost changes as you raise or lower the backlight.

The chart below shows how the Samsung LN46C650 compares to similar TVs.

Value Comparison

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The LG is slightly larger than the Samsung, but the real difference here is the additional dimension the LG lets you view: for the low, low price of $1400 more than the Samsung, you'll get some really bad 3D playback. If you're going to get a 3D TV, get another one. If you don't want or care about 3D, get the Samsung over the LG.

Blacks & Whites

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The Samsung has a significantly lower black level and a much higher peak brightness, resulting in a bigger contrast ratio.

Color Accuracy

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The Samsung goes much further outside the perceptible limits.

Motion

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The Samsung is slightly blurrier than the LG, but the Samsung had far fewer artifacting issues.

Viewing Effects

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The Samsung has a slightly larger viewing angle.

Connectivity

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The Samsung and LG have roughly the same connectivity options, but the Samsung has significantly better online content available.

Value Comparison

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This match-up really shows how expensive current 3D technology is. The C8000 can display 3D, yes, but it actually under-performed the C650 on many tests and costs more than twice what the C650 does. If you're dead-set on getting an attractive-looking 3D HDTV, the C8000 is the better option, but there's no other compelling reason to pick the C8000 over the C650.

Blacks & Whites

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The C650 had a slightly deeper black and a slightly brighter peak white, resulting in a higher overall contrast ratio.

Color Accuracy

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The C8000 had a much more consistent color temperature. Both TVs had approximately the same color accuracy.

Motion

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The C8000 had slightly better motion processing, but we found made the TV's artifacting worse than what we saw on the C650.

Viewing Effects

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The C8000's viewing angle was much smaller than the C650's.

Connectivity

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The C650, as a thicker TV, has far more room to fit ports. The C8000 is just to skinny to offer as much in the way of connectivity options.

Other Comparisons

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The C8000 is a 3D HDTV, which certainly accounts for the huge difference in price between it and the C650. To be honest, current 3D technology really isn't great and certainly isn't worth the premium every manufacturer is asking for it. Still, there will be people who want a 3D set in spite of the feature's shortcomings, and if you're one of those people, you won't find what you're looking for on the C650.

Value Comparison

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This match-up is mostly an issue of how highly you value online features. Samsung currently offers the second best suite of online content, second by far to Sony's ridiculously expansive library. The Sony also offers slightly better color accuracy and motion performance, but those advantages probably aren't worth the price difference.

Blacks & Whites

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The Samsung had a deeper black level than the Sony, but wasn't quite as bright. The Samsung had a higher overall contrast ratio.

Color Accuracy

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The Sony had a slightly more accurate color temperature and slightly more accurate RGB curves.

Motion

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The Sony has better motion processing in terms of mitigating motion blur, but the resulting artifacting is a bit worse than what we saw on Samsung's.

Viewing Effects

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These two TVs have nearly identical viewing angles, to the extent where you can't even see the Samsung's line underneath the Sony's.

Connectivity

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The LN46C650 had slightly more port options, but the Sony's ethernet port opens up far more online content.

Conclusion

For what it is, the LN46C650 is a great TV. It has great picture quality overall, and its internet connectivity provides access to all the big names in online content. If you're not interested in 3D or the best design, but want a decent picture and the ability to easily stream Netflix, the LN46C650 is just a really good option. If you're looking for more online features, we'd recommend a Sony, such as the 46EX700; if you want 3D, we'd recommend checking out one of Panasonic's offerings, such as the TC-P50VT25.

Model Series Comparison

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There are three models in the Samsung C650 series, a 40, 46, and 55-inch. All three feature identical features and connectivity options.

Photo Gallery

{{photo_gallery "Front Tour Image", "Back Tour Image", "Sides Tour Image", "Stand Photo", "Controls Photo", "Remote Control Photo", "Connectivity Tour Image 1", "Connectivity Tour Image 2", "Connectivity Extra Photo", "Menu Main Photo", "Menu 2 Photo", "Internet Features 1 Photo", "Internet Features 2 Photo", "Internet Features 3 Photo", "Local Media Playback 1 Photo", "Local Media Playback 2 Photo"}}

Ratings & Specs

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