Review If you like your visual entertainment to leap out of the TV and in to the living room, the 3D-capable Samsung HT-C6930 home theatre kit may well be for you. And there are several other reasons why this system deserves serious consideration if you're after a state-of-the-art home cinema.

Samsung's HT C6930: design-wise, a notch or two up on the competition

3D is merely the headline act topping an impressive playbill of features that includes 7.1-channel surround sound with wireless rear speakers, built-in internet TV, broad codec compatibility, HDMI switching, and wired and wireless networking.

In order to take advantage of the HT-C6930’s 3D functionality you'll need a 3D TV, of course. While any brand will do, Samsung supplied a UE46C8000, a stunning looking edge-lit LED model that can also convert 2D footage to 3D. Look out for Reg Hardware's upcoming review of this very nice set.

If you do decide to take the 3D plunge and jump in at the deep end with a combined screen and system combo, allow a good few hours to set it up, although the good news is that everything - even the 46in screen - can be unpacked and installed single-handedly.

A couple more essential accessories are also required: some active 3D specs - make sure you get the same brand as the screen, not just the Blu-ray player. Selling for around £60 a pair, the glasses aren't cheap, though Samsung currently has a promotion that gives one free pair per screen.

The HT-C6930 includes the BD-C6900 3D BD player

Finally, you’ll need a Full HD 3D movie or two to watch and luckily - for the time being - you get a free copy of Monsters vs Aliens with every Samsung 3D player and system.

The HT-C6930 is a notch or two above most systems when it comes to design and build quality. Finished in piano gloss black, with high quality cabinets and components, the speakers could sneak unnoticed in to a Monitor Audio or KEF system.

Ports a-plenty

The main left and rights can be wall- or stand-mounted, creating a faux tall-boy effect. The main unit takes the form of a traditional rectangular box rather than some of the wackier pebble-like shapes currently doing the rounds. The centre speaker will happily sit under your screen’s bottom edge.

Setting the rig up is not at all difficult, aided by colour-coded speaker terminals and a wireless kit comprising a transmitter and receiver, that lets you place the two rear speakers behind the listening position. Two surround speakers should also ideally sit to the sides of the listening position, which rather spoils the cable-free nirvana so fleetingly enjoyed when placing the rears.

A set-up wizard does a sterling job of guiding you through the installation process, whilst a supplied microphone will emit a hideous musical test tone when the auto calibrator detects and sets speaker distances, levels and frequencies.

When viewing Sky’s side-by-side 3D channel, or when converting 2D to 3D, you select the display mode manually on the TV so it’s useful that the screen can automatically switch to its Full HD 3D display mode when the HT-C6930 is the source. A message prompts you to put on and press the power button on the specs.

Samsung is currently doing a two-for-one deal on specs

Samsung’s 3D specs - unlike Panasonic’s - are quite comfy, even when worn over normal glasses, but daylight viewing is impossible as bright ambient light produces strobing in your peripheral vision.

I started my test with Avatar on 2D Blu-ray. The detail was simply stunning, with for example every fibre of Sully’s t-shirt and bristle of his beard clearly visible.

Now on to 3D and a Panasonic test disc that has a dozen scenes of bespoke 3D content. Knowing that every ounce of Full HD goodness was reaching the screen I concentrated on the dimensionality of the images.

The HT-C6930 comes with a proprietary 802.11n adaptor

As I expected from attending numerous 3D demos, the results were variable. Scenes where objects are propelled forward from the screen have a much greater effect than those that go back in to the screen. To feel as if you could take a ball from the outstretched hand of a juggler is an amazing experience but watching a tennis match where the players seem like living miniature figures is just weird.

Most scenes had varying degrees of success. A tour of Rome was highly effective but a selection of outdoor sequences shot in New Zealand just seemed rather flat.

Samsung's on-screen UI is a joy to use

I also tried Sky’s 3D showreel, which has a fair number of sport events. Most notably, any onscreen logos, scores and banners all stand out from the action occurring behind whilst the less-than-half HD resolution caused much complaint among my friends acting as 3D guinea pigs.

It'll make a stab at converting 2D content to 3D - but you can turn this off

It was a relief to get back to some Full HD action with the Monsters vs Aliens 3D Blu-ray. It came as no surprise to find that the movie works a real treat in 3D. Despite some forward-projecting effects that seems to fizzle in to the ether many of the scenes are excellently rendered. The only real distraction is the ghosting caused by cross-talk interference but it’s not as bad as I’ve seen on some other screens.

Darn thing even does Facebook

But once you get engrossed in the story, you start to forget about the 3D. Looking at it another way: 3D appreciation can come at the cost of following the story.

As I alluded to earlier, 3D is just one of the HT-C6930’s many talents and it’s worth mentioning that the audio reproduction is equally as impressive as the picture. Those eight speakers deliver a beautifully controlled soundscape. Even cranked up loud, there’s no distortion as vocals, effects and musical score are blended almost perfectly.

There are multiple audio configurations to choose from

When Mary arrives in the government’s monster facility you feel every clunk of the sliding walls and plummeting lift.

If sprawling speakers cables are not acceptable, you can plonk the surround L & R speakers alongside the front speakers and engage the "DPL IIz" mode for a supposedly enhanced vertical surround system. I tried it and frankly couldn’t detect much difference between a 5.1 and a 7.1 configuration, but at least you’ve still got the wireless rears beavering away.

If media streaming is your bag then this system does as good a job as any on the market with both wired and 802.11n wireless networking and DLNA for accessing content. It works nicely, and the manual has the best explanations of how to set-up a network manually than any other home cinema product I’ve seen. The interface is, like that of the whole system, a joy to use and compatibility is extensive but does preclude connected disks formatted with the NFTS file system.

The Internet TV selection on the other hand is rudimentary and nothing to get over-excited about.

Verdict

All-in-one surround sound systems don’t come much better than the HT-C6930, not just in terms of audio performance, but also looks, build quality, value for money and functionality. Disc-spinning is its forte, with first-class Blu-ray performance helping to make it as good a ready-made 3D system as you’re ever likely to find. ®

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