Samsung LE40A656A Review

We have completed a review of the Samsung LE40A656 (updated to firmware T-PRLPEUMD-1007.2, the latest version at this time of writing) LCD HDTV. It does quite a few things (blacks, SD video processing, flesh tones, 100Hz implementation) better than last year’s models, and its picture quality is right up there with the best Sony Bravias.

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Some of you may have noticed the addition of a “Power Consumption” table under the “Benchmark Tests” section of the Samsung LE40A656A review article, which is the result of persistent lobbying from a few cost- and environmentally conscious readers. :) To standardise the measurements, here is our methodology:

1. The test scene used will be the Madagascar chase sequence (Chapter 2) in Casino Royale Blu-ray played back through a Sony PS3, which is plenty bright and involves lots of motion.
2. Although audio volume seems to have little to no effect on the final measured power consumption from preliminary testing, to avoid introducing confounding factors the television volume shall be turned down to “0“, but not muted.
3. First the power consumption of the HDTV will be measured in the default out-of-the-box picture settings (usually Dynamic mode).
4. Then we measure it after full calibration.
5. Last but not least, we measure it in standby mode.

Please let us know if you have any other suggestions. Power consumption will be measured on all the HDTVs we review in the future.

Warmest regards
Vincent