review tv samsung UNf6400

 A deal with all different kinds of TVs here at CNET: expensive shiny ones, ones with absolutely stunning image quality, and sometimes they're one and the same. We even get some real stinkers. But most of the TVs on sale today fall somewhere in the middle, with neither the "wow" factor of high-end sets nor the feel-good value of a true bargain. The Samsung F6400 is a pretty good TV, it has a lot of features and the styling is lovely, but there's something lacking. It turns out that that something is above-average picture quality. While the UNF6400 is not a bad TV by any stretch, it doesn't perform as well as many sets at the same or lower price level. Among models we've tested, for example, the Panasonic E60 and ST60 and the Vizio M series all offer better picture quality. Unless you really like the UNF6400's feature set, nameplate, or styling, there's little reason to choose it over the alternatives. Series information:I performed a hands-on evaluation of the Samsung UN55F6400, but this review also applies to the other screen sizes in the series. All sizes have identical specs and according to the manufacturer should provide very similar picture quality.
Design
One of the F6500's strongest qualities is design -- this is a very sleek-looking television. The bezels are very slim and black, and there's a subtle clear edging that gives a pleasing effect. When viewed side-on the television is quite shallow, which makes it a great candidate for wall-hanging. Especially given the lower quality of the attendant stand.

The stand is one of the spindly spider-legged things the company has used for years, but this year's feels horridly cheap. The steel brace inside isn't connected to the plastic sheath on the outer and it actually flexed in my hand. When the TV is sitting on the table it works fine, but the build quality still doesn't inspire confidence.

The UNF6400 ships with a single remote, the Smart Touch Remote Control. It has a responsive touch pad and enables cool features like gestures (drawing the channel number is especially fun). But you may wish for a normal remote at times, especially when manipulating a streamed or recorded program, for example: there are no transport (Play/Pause/Fast-Forward/Rewind) buttons and accessing the controls via an onscreen menu is convoluted, to say the least. The remote does have a microphone for voice search which means you may not miss having the QWERTY keyboard of some previous Samsung remotes.

Key TV featuresDisplay technologyLCDLED backlightEdge-litScreen finishSemi-atteRemoteTouch padSmart TVYesInternet connectionBuilt-in Wi-Fi3D technologyActive3D glasses includedTwo pairsRefresh rate(s)120HzDejudder (smooth) processingYesDLNA-compliantPhoto/Music/VideoUSBPhoto/Music/Video

Features

When you move up from budget-level to mid- and higher-level televisions you often see a bit of feature creep setting in: the picture quality doesn't change much but the number of doohickeys does. That's is definitely the case for the F6400.

This is the least expensive 2013 Samsung LED LCD TV with the Micro Dimming feature, first introduced last year in models like the ES800 series. As in that model, and unlike with true local dimming, the dimming on the F6400 television is software-only and doesn't control the backlight. What this means is that it can't actually make the blacks much darker, like true local dimming can. (And in case you're wondering, the only 2013 Samsung LED LCDs with true local dimming are significantly more expensive, starting with the UNF8000 series.)

In other words, what seems to be the main picture quality advantage over the less expensive F6300 isn't an advantage at all. We'll be testing the F6300 itself soon to compare the two, but in the meantime we wouldn't recommend anyone buy this set over the F6300 expecting better image quality.

Beyond features related to picture quality, the F6400's main standouts are the touch-pad remote (the 6300 has a standard clicker), the Smart TV suite it shares with many 2013 Samsung TVs, and 3D compatibility. The F6400 series is the second-cheapest 3D TV in Samsung's lineup -- only the PNF5500 plasma costs less -- and it ships with two pairs of the entry-level SSG-5100GB active 3D glasses. The glasses are basically identical to the SSG-4100GB model we reviewed last year and didn't like much aside from their low price. Since like most active 3D TVs the F6400 complies with the full HD 3D standard, you could always buy better third-party glasses.