THE Samsung UN65H7150AFXZA

DesignThe UN65H7150 is slim and elegant, with a thin, 0.4-inch black bezel framing the screen and edged with brushed aluminum. The display sits on a wide, two-legged metal stand that stretches the length of the screen. The two legs are horizontal metal bars that keep the big screen steady, but don't let it pivot. Since the legs distribute weight in two parallel lines just in front of and just behind the HDTV, you need to make sure the H7150 is placed comfortably back from any edge; unlike flat bases, if the front bar of the base scoots just an inch past your table or stand, the entire screen will take a tumble.

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Both ports and controls sit on the right side of the back of the screen. Three HDMI ports, three USB ports, and an antenna/cable connection face right in a recessed space. A fourth HDMI port, an optical audio output, an IR blaster port, an Ethernet port, and a set of combination composite/component video inputs sit facing directly back. A small four-way control stick rests on the lower-right corner, serving as a power button and menu navigation device.

Samsung includes two remotes with the H7150. There's your typical button-laden Samsung wand remote, with flat, backlit buttons that all tend to feel the same under the thumb (including the direction pad, which can lead to some frustration). There's also a black, oval-shaped motion remote. Pressing lightly on the smaller remote's direction pad triggers the air mouse function, which lets you move a pointer on the screen to navigate menus. The motion remote also features a built-in microphone for voice commands.

FeaturesSamsung's Smart Hub interface offers access to a broad selection of apps, services, and content. All of the usual streaming suspects are here, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, and YouTube, along with a live television guide and video suggestions across multiple services like Hulu Plus and Vudu. You can also use a Web browser, make Skype calls with an optional webcam, and even monitor Samsung smart appliances. The HDTV sports a quad-core processor that gives it enough power for the Dual Screen split-screen feature, which lets you watch television on one side of the display while browsing a Web site or accessing an app on the other.

The UN65H7150 supports 3D, and includes two pairs of active shutter glasses. I watched Sharks 3D on the screen, and while the glasses noticeably darkened the picture, the 3D effect was consistent and clear, with barely any crosstalk.

PerformanceWe test HDTVs using a Klein K-10A colorimeter, SpectraCal's CalMAN 5 software, and DisplayMate test patterns. After a basic dark room calibration, we determined the best settings for testing was Natural picture mode, Warm2 color temperature, Backlight at 100, Contrast at 100, and Brightness at 50. Because the H7150 is edge-lit and not array-backlit, its black level in a contrast tunnel test pattern was a disappointing 0.08 cd/m². On the literally bright side, the screen's peak brightness was a powerful 390.71 cd/m² for a solid contrast ratio of 4,884:1. The black level can be brought down by lowering the backlight setting or using a preset picture mode, but this also lowers the peak brightness accordingly for a similar contrast ratio at different levels. The Sony KDL-60W850B doesn't get nearly as bright at 105.78 cd/m², but it displays a far superior black level of 0.005 cd/m² for a contrast ratio of 21,156:1. The LG 55EC9300 has an "infinite" contrast ratio because it can produce perfect blacks, but as an OLED display it's also smaller and more expensive.

The chart above shows measured color levels as dots and ideal color levels as boxes. Whites skewed slightly cool, reds were slightly oversaturated, and greens and blues were generally quite accurate.

The mediocre black levels are offset by the very high peak brightness, as I saw when watching The Amazing Spider-Man on the UN65H7150. The dark alley scenes weren't extremely dark, but the few light sources really popped out and gave the shadows a good sense of inkiness. Colors looked well-balanced if slightly oversaturated across the board. Flesh tones were accurate, and Spider-Man's red and blue costume was vivid without looking harsh.

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Platoon also looked very good on the UN65H7150, though the screen's tendency towards oversaturation at the calibrated settings became much more apparent. (The calibrated settings adjust brightness and contrast to get the best spread for measured light and dark levels, but don't change color settings besides color temperature presets.) The oversaturated reds and cool whites made the extensive green of the jungle pop out against the balanced flesh tones, occasionally looking a bit garish compared with the otherwise muted color palette. The film was still generally good-looking, especially in darker scenes that pulled back on the bright greens in favor of darker hues.

Input lag is the amount of time it takes for a display to update its picture upon receiving a signal. Generally, larger HDTVs have longer lag, and few HDTVs come close to the performance offered by dedicated gaming monitors (which are both smaller and more expensive than most HDTVs) lag times of 8 to 12 milliseconds. The UN65H7150 displayed a lag of 74.9 milliseconds. This input lag should not be a significant concern to most gamers, with the exception of competitive fighting game enthusiasts.

The UN65H7150 consumed 150 watts under normal viewing conditions in our calibrated mode. In the HDTV's EnergyStar-compliant Standard picture mode, this number dipped to 113 watts and dimmed the picture slightly. In the calibrated Natural mode with the Energy Saving feature set to Low, the picture dimmed a bit more and power consumption dropped to 97 watts. Higher Energy Saving levels than that made the screen unacceptably dark. The Sony KDL-60W850B is a bit smaller at 60 inches, but consumes less than two-thirds the power at 57 watts.

Conclusion
The Samsung UN65H7150AFXZA looks good and produces a nice picture despite its disappointing black levels. It's a compelling screen if you can find it for less than its $3,300 retail price. If you can't find it for half that, look for the Sony KDL-60W850B, which offers far superior performance despite a slightly smaller screen. If $3,300 is in your price range, take a look at LG's 55EC9300. It's smaller still, but its curved OLED display looks absolutely stunning, with perfect black levels.