Visual appeal
Samsung does not bundle any 3D glasses with this set. They’re an optional extra and these days, the brand’s basic Active Shutter models will set you back 50 quid each. For those that want to, you can also convert 2D into faux 3D. I don’t really see the point myself, but some folks must be doing it.
Some 3D crosstalk issues, but a good performer overall
Verdict
Overall, this mainstream LED looker hits far more than it misses. It’s a refined 40in Freeview HD TV with very agreeable hi-def picture quality. Throw in access to Samsung’s burgeoning VOD and apps portal, plus the option of 3D and the UE40D6530 begins to look like a decidedly smart buying choice. ®
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Samsung UE40D6530 LED 3D TV
COMMENTS
Low Score
80% is not a low score. You've been conditioned by years of high marking in the media.
If you use a rating system of 0-100% then surely an average product should get 50%? It utterly devalues the scoring system to suggest anything above 75% should be for anything other than exceptional products.
You can't just go around throwing around high scores with abandon otherwise when you do come across a truly great screen what do you do?
It's like GCSE's. They got so devalued that they had to start giving A Star marks because the threshold to get A's was too low but they couldn't hurt the poor little darlings feelings.
LCD
This *is* an LCD TV. It merely has led backlighting, and not even RGB LEDs...
3D seems to be crap
Seems that 3D gets the thumbs down for most TVs these days, which is fair given that the price of the TV appears to double with a feature that's nothing more than a gimmick right now. A slightly older 40" Samsung 1080p with most of the same features would cost no more than $800 (about 500 quid), and probably a lot less if you wait for a decent sale. If you went for LCD rather than LED then you could get a 46" version for that same $800, but you'd also probably be missing most of the internet features too.
Reg Prices and real prices
...are often unrelated, even the Reg often admits the "value on the street" is lower than the RRP they normally quote, sometimes to the tune of a few hundred quid (or one Helen Wood session in alternate Reg units)
