Samsung LN46B640 46″ 1080p LCD HDTV
Sep 16th, 2009 | By SimonTo thoroughly test out the LN46B640, I sat myself in front of the TV for hours upon hours with various inputs: cable TV, digital OTA, Blu-Ray via HDMI and PC via HDMI. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. In short, you won’t be disappointed by the B640. The colors were great and much sharper than comparable Series A TVs. By that, I mean comparing it to a A650. When considering a purchase of this magnitude, it’s absolutely imperative that you judge all reviews with a grain of salt. There’s really no way for you to tell whether or not the TV is worth your investment by a few pictures. Do yourself a favour and visit your local brick and mortar store and stand in front of the TV for twenty minutes. Find the remote and play with the settings. If you can’t do that or would like to narrow your choices, let me show you a handful of pictures and videos of the TV in action!
I’ll start with the viewing angle. The B640 claims to have a 178/178 viewing angle giving you a great viewing pleasure from every angle you’d want to watch TV at. You certainly get a great picture but the colors do become more washed out than say the A950 I reviewed last year. That said it’s very unlikely you’ll be watching TV at such extreme angles so there’s really nothing to worry about. At about 160 degrees away where you can still see the entire TV, the picture is still perfect.
Here are some pictures of the movie “The Recruit” watched from my Blu-ray player:
Watching TV with cable source (non-HD):
Watching a HD Video of “How I Met Your Mother” off my USB Drive.
Here are some pictures of Command & Conquer being played off of the computer (HDMI connection):
It wouldn’t be out of the question to use the 46″ TV a permanent monitor replacement; the resolution is definitely good enough to support this. Unlike some of the older models where the text will still appear to be grainy on the screen, it’s perfectly sharp on the 46B640.
Two of the key features implemented on the B640 not found on the lower end A series was the InfoLink and what I would consider an upgraded WiseLink USB 2.0. InfoLink collects information like weather, news, sports and stocks from the internet to display on-screen without you having to change channels.
>WiseLink first started off as a feature that played music and showed pictures off of a USB drive. Additional features were added in the higher end Series A models to include artwork, cooking recipes, games, children activities, etc. While these were nice additions, the biggest feature that I felt was missing was a movie player. We finally have this in the 2009 Model TVs!
Viewing pictures off of WiseLink USB.
Watching movies off of WiseLink USB
Nice looking blog. Which template are you using? Nice post as well!
Just hope that more channels could start broadcast in HD. But it’s probably quite expensive to buy all the new equipment needed.
Don’t think we can get the LN46B640 in the UK. This looks like the nearest version to it: http://www.buydigital.tv/Product-show.asp?BigClass_Id=11&SmallClass_Id=300.
Nice review. I just purchased a 640 for the USB. However, mine does not produce sound when playing avi or mp4 from USB. How did you generate the avi file in the first place? Thanks!
Nice writeup!
Wish I had seen this page before I ordered my tv today. Got the same samsung at best buy this afternoon. Out of stock, but delivering it to me tomorrow at noon.
Thanks.
-Mike
Would you happen to know what’s the spece between the bottom of the TV and the stand? I am wondering if the receiver can fit in this space. I bought that TV, it wasn’t delivered yet, but don’t know if the receiver can fit between the TV and the stand. Thanks for a response.
Fanny Fadel wrote:
Off the top of my head I can’t remember but it would only be in the range of 1.5″ or so
What do I require to do to connect my notebook to samsung plasma TV? I wish to connect my computer to my plazma HDTV (Samsung PN58B650 58-In 1080p Plasma HDTV) which has few HDMI Inputs. {What you can advise|What are my selections & what do I need to purchase to connect my Toshiba to HDTV. Want to connect this to the TV so that the movies I usually find in Internet I can watch in my HDTV.
Bring me a tip how to plug-in my Sony notebook with Samsung HDTV? I want to link my laptop to my plazma HDTV (Samsung PN58B860 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV) which has three HDMI Inputs. What are my choices & what do I have to get to plug-in my Dell to HDTV. I’m seeking to plug it to the Samsung so that the movies I enjoy in a net one can see in my plasma tv.
hatsukitemo, terftigtewheat:
You can connect your computer/notebook to the TV with any VGA cable or HDMI cable, depending on what outputs your computer/notebook has. You will also need to connect audio out from your notebook/computer using a 2.5mm to RCA.
Enjoy!
I don’t know how you came with this idea, but is great. Hope you don’t mind if i use it in my projects?
I purchased a Samsung 640 series TV about 8 monthes ago and it is by far the best TV I’ve ever owned. There is one thing about it that concerns me. Two or three times a week I come home and find the Tv “partially on”. The TV has a blueish grey glow and the back of the cabinet is warm. When I left the house the screen was off and completely black. My concern is that the Tv will wear out prematurely. Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening?