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  • Tour & Design

  • Performance Features

  • Connectivity & Media

  • Controls, Menu & Remote

  • Conclusion

  • Series Comparison

  • Tour & Design
  • Performance Features
  • Connectivity & Media
  • Controls, Menu & Remote
  • Conclusion
  • Series Comparison

Tour & Design


The front of the Samsung LN60C650 is mostly screen, with a pleasantly non-distracting black frame. The frame has a highly-reflective, black, glossy finish, which becomes translucent acrylic at the edges. It appeared to carry over the distinctive (and not universally loved) Touch of Color scheme, though it wasn't dyed with any discernible hue. The bezel is not particularly thin—certainly not by the design standard of Samsung's new C9000—but there are definitely chunkier TVs out there.

**

Back**


The back of the Samsung LN60C650 was not visible from the show floor, and vice-principal Samsung almost gave us detention when we tried to hop over the rope to move it. 

**

Sides**


The Samsung LN60C650 has a little junk in the trunk, no doubt. A few years ago we would have thought it quite thin, but ahh... the ever-changing standards of beauty. In looks nearly identical to last year's model, the B650 series.

If you look at the photos below, you'll see no ports. Don't count on this being the case for the final production models. Many of TVs on the CES show floor had a plastic covering over their ports to hide the precious secrets within.

**

Stand/Mount**


The base of the TV is similar to the TV– shiny black with a clear acrylic edge. The neck is completely translucent and quite thick. This is also similar to last year's model.

**

Aesthetics**


The model on the CES show floor is made of a shiny black surface that peter out at the edges to a clear acrylic. The C650 series is probably not going to turn any heads, but it has a clean, relatively simple aesthetic that puts the focus on the screen. The large, translucent neck of the pedestal draws the eye towards the center in a pleasantly symmetrical way.

Performance Features

Display Size & Technology


The Samsung LN60C650 is a 60-inch LCD TV. The technology involved in the C650 series is not new. Manufacturers have just about reached the limit for what they can do with cold cathode fluorescent light (CCFL) LCD screens. All the exciting new tech is going towards plasma and LED-backlit LCD televisions.

As such, you can expect this TV to perform similarly to the LN40B650, the predecessor that we reviews in 2009. We were very impressed with the deep black levels this TV was capable of, but it definitely lost a lot of detail in the shadows. Samsung reps at the booth made some vague claims regarding improved black levels, but were unable to elaborate on how exactly these improvements were gained.

**

Formats & Resolution**


The Samsung LN60C650 has a native 1080p display.

**

Brightness, Blacks and Contrast Ratio**


There was no information given about the blacks, brights, or even contrast ratio. Samsung did mention something about improved black levels over last year's models, but could not specify.

**

Color**


The color performance of last year's LN40B650 was quite good, and as we expect no real difference for the C650 series. We're hoping it performs just as well.

**

Motion & Refresh Rate**


All the TVs in the C650 series have a 120Hz refresh rate, which may have a small impact on motion performance as compared to 60Hz. The next series up (C750) has 240Hz refresh.

**

Viewing Angle**


There was no mention of improvements to viewing angle. Previous Samsung LCD televisions scored rather poorly in this area.

Connectivity & Media

Audio & Video Ports


The ports that will be on the Samsung LN60C650 were not finalized in time for CES. In fact, Samsung went so far as to fit pieces of molded plastic over the jack packs. Who knows what ports lurk at the heart of those jack packs? Only The Shadow knows.

We can probably make some safe assumptions. Last year's LN40B650 had 4 HDMIs, component, composite, and PC inputs, analog and digital audio outputs, and an LAN port for internet streaming content. Expect something very similar for 2010.

**

Media & Other Connectivity**


Samsung was able to confirm that the C650 and C750 series LCD televisions have internet ports for streaming content, though it was unexpected that either would have embedded WiFi.

The streaming content package from Samsung, called internet@TV, was exceptionally limited last year, both in its scope and in its user-friendliness. However, Samsung announced some big expansions for 2010, including a more robust alliance of content providers—including Netflix—and a new product called the Samsung Apps store, that promises cross compatibility between Samsung TVs, mobile devices, and media players. It's unclear if models as low down on the chain as the C650 will be privy to all the new features, but they will at least benefit from a wider selection of streaming content.

**

Placement**


The placement of the ports on the Samsung LN60C650 has not been finalized, but expect them to be split up between the back and the right side. The frame is certainly thick enough to support several types of ports.

**

Audio**


There was no mention made of audio improvements.

Controls, Menu & Remote

Remote


The remote controls for any of the 2010 Samsung models were not available at the CES show, except for the amazing touch screen remote for the new C9000 LED series, and that certainly will not be shipping with the LN60C650.

**

Controls**


The onboard controls for the Samsung LN60C650 are a series of touch-sensitive areas running along the bottom edge of the TV's face. Samsung definitely would not let us touch them, but we've seen the like before. Our common complaint is that they attract fingerprints like nothing you've ever seen. 

**

Menu**


The menu systems were not finalized on the display models for CES. Menus on the 2009 TVs were very highly rated for their clean, straightforward design.

Conclusion

 

Series Comparison

C650 Series


The final sizes for the C650 series have not been completely finalized, but at the CES 2010 show floor, Samsung was showcasing four sizes: 40-inch, 46-inch, 55-inch, and 60-inch. The feature sets will likely be identical between all of them. This is the second-best series in Samsung's line of CCFL LCDs, with the C750 series above it, and the C550 series below. Just for your own education, the LED-backlit TVs begin with the 'UN' prefix and plasmas begin with 'PN.'

Meet the tester

David Kender

David Kender

Editor in Chief

@davekender

David Kender oversees content at Reviewed as the Editor in Chief. He served as managing editor and editor in chief of Reviewed's ancestor, CamcorderInfo.com, helping to grow the company from a tiny staff to one of the most influential online review resources. In his time at Reviewed, David has helped to launch over 100 product categories and written too many articles to count.

See all of David Kender's reviews

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