The Samsung LE32BG651 is a mid-range TV that seems to offer a bunch of features that were previously reserved for more expensive high-end models.  That includes a Full HD 1080p screen, Medi@ 2.0 Internet services, access to multimedia files and the Motion Plus 100 Hz system to increase the fluidity of moving images.  On paper, at least, it's not missing much to compete with the big boys.

Handling & hardware

Our first finding: the glossy finish on the screen suffers a lot from reflections.  You'll need to be careful to put this TV somewhere where there are no direct light sources.

Behind the LCD screen, the backlighting is provided by the traditional neon tubes, rather than LEDs.  The menus are the same as those we've been used to on Samsung TVs for a few years now and they're both simple and powerful.  You can control a lot of settings--too many perhaps.  A lot of features aimed at experts don't have any effect at all, even for the most advanced users.

The B651's multimedia features include an Internet connection to download content (news or videos for instance), or to access files on your DLNA-compatible home network.  It's also possible to access this content using one of the two USB ports.  While we found that JPEG, MP3, DivX and Xvid files all worked perfectly in standard definition, the same wasn't true for some other formats: HD Xvid files didn't play at all, and neither did VC-1s.  The AVC HD files that it could play didn't make it all the way through to the end.  So while Samsung has shown its willingness to make an effort by including a long list of file formats in the specification for this TV, it hasn't managed to include a decent file decoder that will given a real external source a run for its money.  For the time being, though, no manufacturer has managed this feat.

The remote control is easy to use, partly thanks to its large buttons that are easy to spot; it's also backlit.

Finally, using the B651 with a PC shouldn't be a problem if you use a HDMI cable carrying a video signal at 1920 x 1080 pixels.  The display won't half any resizing or cropping.  The input lag is around 40 ms, which is a rather reasonable value for a TV.


Image Quality

Once you've set the TV to Cinema mode, we found that our measurements were more than satisfactory: the deltaE94 score of 3.7 demonstrates natural colours.  The average gamma of 2.16 guarantees an even distribution of tones.  The contrast ratio of 1992:1 is the result of whites at 192 cd/m² for blacks at 0.1 cd/m².  The latter aren't perfect, though, as in an entirely dark room, they appear slightly grey.  It's still a long way from the worst screens with blacks of 0.3 cd/m², but equally far away from the best which fall below 0.06 cd/m².

Average DeltaE   3.7 Maximum DeltaE   11.9

The overall result is generally good, and watching some movies confirmed this initial finding.  HD looks great, with good contrast, tones evenly divided, natural colours--everything is there.  Standard Definition is just as good, but has a slightly weak upscaling, which is nowhere near as good as it would be on a dedicated DVD player.  We still recommend then that you use a player that can upscale to 1080p as a source for this TV.

The use of Motion Plus 100 Hz allows you to remove jumpiness from films shot at 24 or 25 fps, but if you prefer, you can deactivate this mode to enjoy movies in their original framerate.  Despite the 100 Hz, we noticed a small amount of ghosting, especially on subtitles moving across the screen.

The brightness is displayed evenly across the whole screen.  The average discrepancy from one area to the other across the whole panel is 20 cd/m², which is a reading that is perfectly average for an LCD.  The viewing angles, on the other hand, are less impressive.  Blacks quickly become light as you move away from the centre of the screen, and the colours fade.

Audio Quality

Samsung doesn't offer anything new with the sound on this TV: it's flat, jumbled, aggressive and lacking in bass.  As ever, the speakers behind the screen don't do anything to improve the quality of the sound that is already limited by their small size.  Unfortunately, though, we find similar results with the majority of manufacturers, and we're not sure we'll ever get anything better.

Energy Consumption

At 0.1 W in standby and 79 W while it's working, the B651 is one of the most energy-efficient TVs currently available.  Once again, we're glad to see that the manufacturers have put a lot of effort in over the past two years to produce TVs that use almost no power while on standby.