What Hi-Fi? Verdict
Front-running performance in every regard bar one important one
Pros
- +
Minimal depth, minimal bezel
- +
great spec
- +
richly detailed, stable and absorbing images
Cons
- -
Hit-and-miss backlighting
Why you can trust What Hi-Fi? Our expert team reviews products in dedicated test rooms, to help you make the best choice for your budget. Find out more about how we test.
As a decorative and technological tour de force, and a way of getting absolutely as large a screen as possible into a tight-ish space, the Samsung D7000 series is unbeatable.
This is the smaller D7000 variant – we’ve previously mightily enjoyed the 46in version– and yet the brevity of its bezel is no less impressive.
It’s also brimming with features. Freesat and Freeview HD reception are on board; LED backlighting is somehow squeezed behind the bezel; the suite of Smart TV functions is extensive and simple to use; and the Samsung comes with a pair of 3D glasses (just the one, mind). On-screen menus are logical, as is the remote, and set-up is straightforward.
An impressive performer; but…
With one significant caveat, the UE40D7000 is a composed and impressive performer. High-def pictures from either of its HD tuners are detailed, stable and low on picture noise.
Step up to 2D Blu-ray images and excellent colour balance, strong contrasts and confident motion handling are all to the fore.
3D pictures, meanwhile, are solidly three-dimensional and deal with movement well. There’s no doubt the current crop of Samsung 3D screens are a worthwhile improvement over the 2010 screens they replace.
It’s the backlighting that spoils it rather. Our screen was patchy with uniformly
dark scenes, and two corners beamed noticeably throughout.
Undoubtedly some UE40D7000s are better backlit than others, and if you find one you’ll have an excellent TV – but we’d be a bit miffed if we’d paid money for ours.
