Samsung UE46C7000 Reviews

With the TV auto detecting the 3D material, you're prompted to put on the 3D specs by an onscreen message. The glasses sync with the infrared emitter on the TV automatically, the image flickers and then takes on a new kind of depth as the objects on screen seem to appear both in front of and behind the frame of the TV. Spaceships seemingly hover in the room, while galaxies stretch into the distance and planets loom half in and half out of the screen.

Having tried the same film on the 40-inch version of this set, it's clear that screen size has a lot to do with how well the 3D effect works. It's basically much more effective when your field of view is largely filled with screen. It's no IMAX experience, but the new Full HD 3D is a quantum leap ahead of the dreadful anaglyphic system with its headache-inducing red and green glasses. 3D DVD releases still persevere with this tired technology, which doesn't help get the Full HD 3D message across.

In 3D mode, the Samsung UE46C700 image seems just a tad softer than watching in regular HD, but you are in fact seeing separate 1080p images, flashed alternately to each eye as the active shutter glasses open and block each lens in time with flicker of the screen. It's this ability to show an uncompromised 3D image that makes Full HD 3D watchable and convincingly three-dimesional. It's certainly the first time I've watched a whole movie in 3D without having to rub my eyes and reach for the aspirin.

A Freeview HD tuner has been added for the UK market, which obviously means free access to high def channels with just a terrestrial aerial and no subscription. BBC HD looks fantastically rich and detailed on this big screen.

The Samsung UE46C7000 looks deceptively simple when you take the pack panel off (we wouldn't advise you do this) largely because just a few multi-tasking chips carry out all the video processing jobs. It's actually the video processing that makes the standard definition Freeview channels look pretty good on this set. The upscaling of the picture to fit the screen is better than on previous generations, although you can still see soft edges and some shimmery video noise. Naturally HD images look a lot better.

Samsung has also given its internet@TV widgets a radical reworking and ditched the Yahoo engine in favour of its own much faster Samsung apps, which seem to open much faster and now include useful content like the BBC's iPlayer and LoveFilm's download service. On screen they appear as a row of five apps recommended by Samsung and three more rows beneath, which you can choose.

Other clever features of the UE46C7000 include the ability to stream files from your PC to the TV over a home network. Alternatively, you can access music, picture and video files from an external hard drive through one of the two USB ports as normal, only now you can also record back onto the hard drive. Yes, this TV also has the ability to record from the Freeview HD tuner right onto an external hard disc drive or USB flash drive, storing it as an MPEG-4 file.

It certainly looks like a premium set too. There's something innately impressive about a very thin telly and it looks even better with the tapering glossy bezel and chrome stand. The stand is actually plastic, but you really wouldn't guess. Another nice design flourish is the set of touch-sensitive controls that illuminate within the mirrored strip beneath the screen and are only visible when you brush them with your finger.

For your money, you're getting a Full HD LCD panel with edge LED backlighting, which is how Samsung has managed to flatten the screen to such a degree. There's a compromise here, as local backlight dimming is preferable to edge mounting, but Samsung has improved the diffuser, or "light guide", to achieve a more even distribution of light across the back of the screen.

It's literally too thin to for regular Scart and aerial sockets too, so Samsung has got around this by including dongle adapters with especially narrow plugs at one end. Don't worry; you're still getting the full quota of connectivity including four of the brand new HDMI v1.4 sockets. The new standard was hastily drawn up to accommodate the 3D format.

This is very positive first step for 3D TV, though. The technology works and it can evidently be squeezed into a stylish set with out charging a huge premium for the bundled glasses. In reality, we won't be watching much 3D footage for a while and if this set didn't have an integrated Freeview HD tuner, we wouldn't be recommending it. But even if you only watch a handful of 3D movies in a year, you'll be glad you chose a set that's 3D ready.

Now that the Sky 3D channel has been launched, there hasn't been a better time to purchase the Samsung UE46C7000 - Compare Samsung UE46C7000 3D LED TV prices now!