Samsung LE40A856 - DigitalVersus

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Samsung LE40A856


Cheap LCD TV	769.99





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Screen size	40 inches (101 cm)
Resolution	Yes
HD compatibility (1080i/720p)	Yes
HD Ready certification	Oui
Brightness	NC
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Contrast ratio	70000 : 1
Viewing angles (H+V)	178 ° / 178 °
Response time	4 ms
Sound level	2 x 10 Watt RMS
Connectivity	VGA • HDMI (x4) • SCART (x2) RGB • S-Video • Composite
Dimensions (LxHxW)	987 x 669 x 265 mm
Weight	19.00 Kg
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Vincent Lheur
Updated: September 16, 2008 - Test date: September 11, 2008

The Multimedia Age

Two little ports on the back of this line of TVs offer access to a whole range of new features: Ethernet allows content from the Internet to be superimposed with your viewing, as you can see in this screenshot. USB storage devices can also be attached to profit from the TV's decoding capabilities, which stretch to reading DivX, MPEG and H.264 video files.

See the box in the original test for more about how all of this works.

This model is the 40 inch version of the 46 inch TV that we tested in our labs, the LE46A856. Everything we said in the original article holds true - the only thing that's different is the size!

The components, both physical and electronic are all identical to those found in the model we tested. The only factor which could be prone to slight variation is the brightness, producing slightly different contrast. According to our own tests, and the assurances of manufacturers, the results of one TV can be applied to others in the range which come in different sizes.

Image quality and depth of black

Mini remote along with backlit standard remote

Thin frame

HD Tuner

Access to online content and decodes DivX, MPEG and H.264 files

Screen is too shiny

Sneaky 'dynamic contrast' that's impossible to deactivate

Sometimes slow to sync with HD sources

Decoding of HD files can be buggy

The LE866 has an amazing image quality and several brand new features that herald the future of TVs. Its biggest fault is that its screen is often prone to reflection - and that is easily solved by choosing its location carefully.