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  • Introduction

  • Overall Design

  • Front

  • Back

  • Sides

  • Stand/Mount

  • Controls

  • Remote Control

  • In the Box

  • Black Level

  • Peak Brightness

  • Contrast

  • Tunnel Contrast

  • White Falloff

  • Uniformity

  • Greyscale Gamma

  • Color Temperature

  • RGB Curves

  • Motion Performance

  • 3:2 Pulldown & 24fps

  • Resolution Scaling

  • Formats

  • Viewing Angle

  • Reflectance

  • Video Processing

  • Calibration

  • Video Modes

  • Connectivity

  • Placement

  • Audio Quality

  • Menu Interface

  • Instruction Manual

  • Internet Features

  • Local Media Playback

  • Other Media

  • Power Consumption

  • Value Comparison

  • Blacks & Whites

  • Color Accuracy

  • Motion

  • Viewing Effects

  • Connectivity

  • Value Comparison

  • Blacks & Whites

  • Color Accuracy

  • Motion

  • Viewing Effects

  • Connectivity

  • Value Comparison

  • Blacks & Whites

  • Color Accuracy

  • Motion

  • Viewing Effects

  • Connectivity

  • Conclusion

  • Model Series Comparison

  • Photo Gallery

  • Ratings & Specs

  • Introduction
  • Overall Design
  • Front
  • Back
  • Sides
  • Stand/Mount
  • Controls
  • Remote Control
  • In the Box
  • Black Level
  • Peak Brightness
  • Contrast
  • Tunnel Contrast
  • White Falloff
  • Uniformity
  • Greyscale Gamma
  • Color Temperature
  • RGB Curves
  • Motion Performance
  • 3:2 Pulldown & 24fps
  • Resolution Scaling
  • Formats
  • Viewing Angle
  • Reflectance
  • Video Processing
  • Calibration
  • Video Modes
  • Connectivity
  • Placement
  • Audio Quality
  • Menu Interface
  • Instruction Manual
  • Internet Features
  • Local Media Playback
  • Other Media
  • Power Consumption
  • Value Comparison
  • Blacks & Whites
  • Color Accuracy
  • Motion
  • Viewing Effects
  • Connectivity
  • Value Comparison
  • Blacks & Whites
  • Color Accuracy
  • Motion
  • Viewing Effects
  • Connectivity
  • Value Comparison
  • Blacks & Whites
  • Color Accuracy
  • Motion
  • Viewing Effects
  • Connectivity
  • Conclusion
  • Model Series Comparison
  • Photo Gallery
  • Ratings & Specs

Introduction

Overall Design

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The Samsung LN46C530 is an attractive TV, as are almost all the Samsungs. The company has made it a priority to make better looking TVs than the competition, and they're doing it well. This particular TV has a thicker bezel than their LED-backlit models, but it's still rather elegant.

Front

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The Samsung LN46C530 has a relatively thin bezel running along the edge of the screen, though certainly nothing as sleek as Samsung's high-end models. Along the bottom of the bezel are a series of touch-sensitive buttons for basic TV control.

Back

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The Samsung LN46C530's back is large and plain. The ports are all gathered in the corner for easier access.

Sides

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The Samsung LN46C530 is not terribly slim, by today's standards, but it's still a far cry from analog TVs of yore.

Stand/Mount

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The Samsung LN46C530 has a swivel base that allows the TV panel to swivel, making it easier to access the ports and service a wider room. The base feels quite solid, so we have no worries for the safely of the TV.

Controls

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The onboard controls are touch sensitive buttons along the bottom of the bezel. The usual suspects are here: Power, Source, Volume, Channel up/down, and Menu.

Remote Control

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The remote control is similar to what we've seen on a lot of other Samsung remotes, but it's missing the backlit keys, a feature we're really missing. The buttons are arranged sensibly, and the remote has an even weight distribution to make it a comfortable fit in the hand.

In the Box

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The Samsung LN46C530 ships with stand, remote control, batteries, instruction manual and other documents, and a cleaning cloth.

Black Level

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The Samsung UN46C530 has quite a good black level for an LCD TV. In fact, it's as dark as the Samsung PN50C550, a plasma TV. As you can see in the chart below, the blacks are slightly darker than the Sony and Toshiba LCDs we reviewed previously.

However, be forewarned that the TV showed a problem with actually displaying a lot of detail in those blacks. More on how we test black level.

Peak Brightness

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The Samsung UN46C530 managed an incredibly bright white, when called upon. In the chart below, you can see that it easily surpassed the two LCD TVs. The Samsung PN50C550 was never expected to produce a particularly bright white, as it's a plasma. More on how we test peak brightness.

Contrast

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The Samsung UN46C530 produced an outstanding contrast ratio of approximately 6984:1, thanks to a deep black and very bright white. Contrast ratio is a tricky business because there's a lot of misinformation about it. Manufacturers will frequently cite ratios in the millions-to-one, but these numbers are culled from lowering the backlight all the way down to get a black level score, then raising the backlight all the way up to get the peak brightness (among other tricks). It doesn't represent how well the TV will perform in everyday viewing, where your backlight setting remains more or less constant. Our scores represent this more realistic performance.

We'd like to note that the Samsung UN46C530 has a subtle dynamic contrast ratio, meaning the backlight is raised and lowered automatically as the screen contents changes. Dark scenes lower the backlight and brighter scenes raise the backlight. It's not as aggressive as what we saw on the Samsung UN46C6300, but there's no way to disable it. Yes, the TV has a "Dynamic Contrast" setting, but that's a much more aggressive version of what the TV already does. More on how we test contrast.

Tunnel Contrast

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The Samsung UN46C530 showed some slight variance in black level, depending on how much of the screen was covered in black. There doesn't seem to be a clear correlation (unlike a plasma TV) – there's just a slight variance. It's small enough that you probably won't notice. More on how we test tunnel contrast.

White Falloff

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The Samsung UN46C530 has a little problem maintaining a consistent peak brightness, especially when the screen contents is just a little white and mostly black. The chart below tells the story quite well. More on how we test white falloff.

Uniformity

Greyscale Gamma

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The Samsung UN46C530 did not have a great greyscale gamma performance. Let's look at the chart below and explain what's going on. The first thing we're looking for is a smooth line. The line you see below has that big, flat area in the lower left. That represents the shadow details, and what we can ascertain is that the TV has a hard time displaying fine detail in shadows – the blacks are "crushed." But after a certain threshold, the line rockets up and to the right, relatively smooth. However, the line slopes more steeply than we'd like. An ideal slope is between 2.1 and 2.2. The Samsung UN46C530's performance of 3.14 is steep, meaning it's going to miss a lot of the subtle gradation values in the grey scale. Overall, it's not a terrible performance, but we like to see more shadow detail. More on how we test greyscale gamma.

Color Temperature

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The Samsung UN46C530 had a slight problem maintaining a consistent color temperature. Particularly as the signal intensity lessened (the screen darkens), the color temperature warms noticeably. Then at the darkest portion, the color temperature suddenly cools. More on how we test color temperature.

RGB Curves

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The Samsung UN46C530 managed a very smooth color performance, as you can see in the chart below. As with the Greyscale Gamma test, there's a definite lack of shadow detail (indicated in the lower left portion of the chart). But after a certain point, the red, green, and blue channels move in near-perfect unison. True, there's a slight flattening in the upper right portion of the curve, which indicates that the red and blue channels could not differentiate between the brightest values of those signals. Overall, though, its a good performance. More on how we test RGB curves.

The color strips below are digital representations of the test data results, compared to three similar TVs, as well as an ideal response curve.

Motion Performance

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Motion Smoothness (4.5)

The Samsung LN46C530 does not have a terribly smooth motion performance. It's certainly not the worst we've seen, but in an age where the refresh rate is increasing and plasmas make up a big percentage of the market, a 60Hz LCD is definitely put in its place. As objects move across the screen, you can see trailing and clipping quite clearly. Objects moving against a high contrast background are more obvious, but it's always there. There's also a significant loss of fine detail.

Unlike higher-end Samsungs, there's no motion smoothing processing feature. That's probably okay, though, because those features tend to give the picture a very odd and off-putting look.

Motion Artifacting (5.0)

The motion artifacting on the Samsung LN46C530 is what was described above, basically. There's color trailing and clipping. More on how we test motion performance.

3:2 Pulldown & 24fps

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The Samsung LN46C530 can handle 24fps footage, the frame rate found on many Blu-Ray movies, among other sources. The TV has a setting called "Film Mode" that's meant to aid in this process. There are three options in this setting: Auto1, Auto2, and Off. We saw no substantive difference between them. The TV had a bit of a struggle with high frequency, high contrast patterns, and changing the setting of Film Mode had no effect, as long as you don't turn it off. More on how we test 3:2 pulldown and 24fps.

Resolution Scaling

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The Samsung LN46C530 has a native 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution. This means that any content fed into the TV of a lower resolution must be upscaled by the TV's internal processing to fit the screen. Fortunately, the Samsung LN46C530 is great at this task. More on how we test resolution scaling.

480p

The Samsung LN46C530 had the hardest time with 480p content. It lost 2% of the sides and 3% of the top and bottom due to overscan.

720p

When we viewed 720p content, the Samsung LN46C530 showed no problems.

1080i

When we viewed 1080i content, the Samsung LN46C530 showed no problems. Occasionally, when it displays a very high frequency, high contrast pattern, you can see a brief "phasing-in" period of a half-second.

Formats

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The Samsung LN46C530 has a native 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolutions, the highest resolution available in consumer TVs. It can support all standard NTSC formats.

Viewing Angle

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The Samsung LN46C530 has a terrible viewing angle, like so many Samsung LCDs we've reviewed. We're not sure why (probably something to do with their choice of screen materials), but viewing angle is never a strong suit. We found that beyond 36 degrees (18 degrees from center in either direction), there was a significant drop in contrast ratio. That's narrower than either the Toshiba or Sony LCDs we pulled in for comparison, and far narrower than Samsung PN50C550 plasma TV.

Reflectance

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The Samsung LN46C530 does not have a terribly reflective screen, thankfully. Ambient light shining directly on the screen casts a wide, diffuse glare. This kind of glare cuts down on the contrast ratio pretty significantly, so you'll want to angle the screen away or remove the light source if you can.

Video Processing

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The Samsung LN46C530 has a decent selection of video processing features. We turned almost all of them off because they tend to do more harm than good, but we encourage you to decide for yourself.

Calibration

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The Samsung LN46C530 is easy to calibrate, if you follow our settings below. We were pleased to see that we had to make very few changes once we put it in Movie mode.

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All of our calibration is done in conjunction with the DisplayMate software.

](http://www.displaymate.com/)

Video Modes

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There are a handful of video modes on the Samsung LN46C530.

Connectivity

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Input Ports (6.5)

The Samsung LN46C530 has a relatively limited number of ports, at least by modern standards. There are 3 HDMIs, while 4 HDMIs is the more common. Users with older devices will appreciate the 2 composite and 2 component AV inputs, but note that one of them is shared.

The ports are located in a little pocket on the back of the TV. Most face the back, but a few face the side for to more easily swap AV cables and USB devices.

Output Ports (2.0)

The Samsung LN46C530 has both analog and digital audio outputs, which give you the option of plugging the TV into almost any stereo or surround sound system.

Other Connections (0.0)

The Samsung LN46C530 does not offer any internet or DLNA network support. It's just a plain, ol' TV, people.

Media (1.0)

The Samsung LN46C530 does, however, have a USB port. With it, you can connect to USB mass storage devices or full-fledged hard drives with a USB connection. More details here.

Placement

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The port placement is great, consider all the ports either face the side or the back. The TV panel swivels on its base, and all the ports are clearly labeled.

Audio Quality

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The Samsung LN46C530 does not have the best audio performance, but we've certainly heard worse. The midtones are fine, but the bass response is flat. There's a 5-channel equalizer if you like making your own tweaks. There are also five audio preset modes for one-touch adjustments: Standard, Music, Movie, Clear Voice, and Amplify. Of course, you'll also find a surround sound emulator mode, but we heard no real difference except making the sound more tinny.

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The Samsung LN46C530 has a great menu, the same one you'll find on almost any 2010 Samsung. The categories are arranged vertically on the left, so you can always see where you are. The navigation makes perfect sense once you have the report in your hand, and if you get lost you can always hit the Return or Exit.

There's just a few submenus that lose the same visual navigation, such as the Picture Options menu you see below.

Instruction Manual

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The Samsung LN46C530's instructional manual gives at least some description of every feature found in the menus, something we're tremendously thankful for. Sure, we always want a little more detail, but we appreciate the time Samsung puts into its manuals. There's a table of contents and an index to help you on your way. We recommend downloading the digital version for even faster searching. You can find the Samsung LN46C530's manual online here.

A manual for so many TV models, they have to be further categorized by type.

Internet Features

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The Samsung LN46C530 has no internet connectivity or ability to connect to a DLNA home theater network. Sorry. For that, you'll need to upgrade to a slightly more expensive Samsung.

Local Media Playback

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The Samsung LN46C530 can play back photos from a USB mass storage device or a standard hard drive with a USB connection. When you first plug in a device, you'll get a little prompt asking if you want to view the device. If you select yes, you'll see the screen pictured below. As you can see, you first need to select the media type.

Select photos, and all the readable photos appear as thumbnails. You can view pictures one at a time or create slideshows, and even add music files that are located on the same device.

The music and video playback is similar to the photo playback interface described above. For a complete list of compatible file types, read the manual. You can create playlists, and there are multiple ways to sort.

Other Media

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The Samsung LN46C530 does not play any other type of media.

Power Consumption

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The Samsung LN46C530 is relatively modest, considering it uses the older CCFL backlighting (LED backlighting is intended to be more energy efficient). If you want to save a little more power, you can always lower the backlight even lower than our recommendations.The Samsung LN46C530 is relatively modest, considering it uses the older CCFL backlighting (LED backlighting is intended to be more energy efficient). If you want to save a little more power, you can always lower the backlight even lower than our recommendations.

As you can see, the other LCD TVs in this comparison pool cost the same, more or less. The Samsung PN50C550, a plasma TV, uses far more power.

Value Comparison

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The Toshiba 40G300U is a smaller TV, measuring only 40 inches (there is a 46-inch version, the 46G300U, retailing for $999 that we did not review, and most of the performance results should be the same). The Toshiba definitely lacks the elegance of the Samsung look and feel. But the feature set is stronger: a 120Hz refresh rate, motion smoothing processing, and DLNA support. On the other hand, the Samsung's performance was better in many respects. It's a tough call. We recommend you at least try out a Samsung and a Toshiba in a store before you make this decision.

Blacks & Whites

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The Toshiba managed a decent black level, but it couldn't compete with Samsung LN46C530. The peak brightness couldn't compete either, which meant the contrast ratio was a lot narrower.

Color Accuracy

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The Samsung LN46C530 managed a much better color performance than the Toshiba 40G300U, which had a harder time stabilizing the color temperature and producing smooth color curves.

Motion

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The Toshiba 40G300U produced a better motion performance in our tests, primarily because it offers the option of a motion smoothing feature called ClearFrame. We don't necessarily advocate the use of ClearFrame because it creates an odd and off-putting look to video, but it's an option, and options and usually good.

Viewing Effects

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The Toshiba had a wider viewing angle than the Samsung LN46C530, but not by a lot. Both are LCD TVs and are no match for a plasma.

Connectivity

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The Toshiba is definitely better equipped, with an additional HDMI and an ethernet port for DLNA connections to home theater networks (though no internet streaming content).

Value Comparison

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The Samsung PN50C550 is a plasma TV with a slightly larger screen, though it costs significantly less than the Samsung LN46C530 (and LCD TV). While we liked the addition of DLNA support for home theater networks, we really prefer the better color and contrast performance of the LCD model. Some people are die-hard plasma fans, for reasons real and imagined. The viewing angle is certainly better, but it's not much of a contrast between these two TVs. If you are fixated on plasma, you'll have be push your budget over the $1000 threshold for a really good model.

Blacks & Whites

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The Samsung PN50C550 produced exactly the same black level as the Samsung LN46C530, which is unusual because the former is a plasma and the latter is an LCD. Typically, a plasma should be darker, and we've certainly reviewed better plasmas. We should note that while the Samsung LN46C530 could produce deep blacks, there was a distinct lack of detail in the shadows.

Of course, plasma TVs never match the peak brightness of a decent LCD TV. The Samsung LN46C530's whites were much brighter than the PN50C550. It made for a much wider contrast ratio on the LN46C530.

Color Accuracy

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The Samsung PN50C550 managed a better color temperature consistency, but really failed in our RGB color curve tests. There was a distinct lack of detail in the brighter parts of the signal, and colors did not transition smoothly. The Samsung LN46C530 performed much more strongly.

Motion

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The look of moving objects on a plasma screen is distinctly different from how LCDs look. We've certainly seen equally good performances in higher-end LCDs, but for a TV like the Samsung LN46C530, the plasma had a definite advantage. Objects were smoother and there was less motion artifacting.

Viewing Effects

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The Samsung PN50C550, as a plasma TV, easily trumped the Samsung LN46C530 and the other LCDs in the comparison pool we've assembled here.

Connectivity

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The Samsung PN50C550 is better outfitted in its array of ports. It has an additional HDMI port, an ethernet port, and optional WiFi. These last two can be used to connect to a DLNA home theater network.

Value Comparison

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The Sony KDL-40EX400 has a smaller, 40-inch screen, but a similar feature set to the Samsung LN46C530. (There is a 46-inch version available, the KDL-46EX400, retailing at $764, that we did not review.) Both the Samsung and Sony are simple TVs without the adornments of more expensive models: no streaming content, no DLNA support, no motion smoothing processing features, and older CCFL-backlighting technology. They're also both very attractive and a pleasure to use. So how do you decide? Well, the Samsung's contrast ratio was much wider, but Sony actually produced more detail in the shadows. The color performance was similar. Sony had a much wider viewing angle. They're damn close. Unless you have a strong brand preference, you should let your wallet decide.

Blacks & Whites

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The Sony KDL-40NX400 could not match the Samsung LN46C530 for black level or peak brightness. As a result, the Samsung's contrast was much wider. One note on this, however: the Samsung produced a deeper black, but the Sony was better at showing detail within those shadows. The Samsung crushed the shadows.

Color Accuracy

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The Sony 40NX400 and Samsung LN46C530 were fairly closely matched in color performance. Both excelled at producing a smooth transition in each of the red, green, and blue channels.

Motion

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The Sony managed a better, smoother motion performance with less artifacting. The difference was not huge, and unless you're looking at them side by side, the untrained eye probably wouldn't notice it.

Viewing Effects

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The Sony NX400, while an LCD TV, has a significantly wider viewing angle than the Samsung LN46C530 – about twice as wide. As we noted several times in the review, most LCDs are not very good in this regard, which makes the Sony a pleasant surprise. It's still a long way off from a plasma, though, as you can see in the Samsung PN50C550's performance.

Connectivity

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The Sony NX400 has one additional HDMI, but no other significant advantage in connectivity. Neither TV has DLNA support or streaming content access.

Conclusion

The Samsung LN46C530 ($949 MSRP) can surely be found more cheaply at this point in its life cycle, and if you're looking for a basic HDTV that delivers the goods, it gets our seal of approval.

The contrast ratio is simply amazing, but only fools will take that at face value. Note, for instance, that the actual shadow detail left us wanting. Simply crushing the blacks is a great way to cheat that number (not that we're accusing Samsung of cheating, per se), but it's important to know what you're actually getting. The color performance was excellent, but the viewing angle is terrible. Yes, we're afraid you'll often find these sorts of dichotomies in less expensive televisions.

Overall, the Samsung LN46C530 is far from perfect, but it stands up nicely to the Sony NX400 series and similar, low-frills televisions that nevertheless try to distinguish themselves from "entry-level" models by focusing on core performance.

Model Series Comparison

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The LNxxC530 series is fairly large, offering five models from 32 inches all the way up to 52 inches. It's a low frills series that delivers on core performance. There's no 3D display, no streaming content or DLNA support, and a relatively slow 60Hz refresh. But if you're looking for a decent, all-around TV, this should be a contender.

{{photo_gallery "Front Tour Image", "Back Tour Image", "Sides Tour Image", "Stand Photo", "Controls Photo", "Remote Control Photo", "Connectivity Tour Image 1", "Connectivity Tour Image 2", "Connectivity Extra Photo", "Menu Main Photo", "Menu 2 Photo", "Internet Features 1 Photo", "Internet Features 2 Photo", "Internet Features 3 Photo", "Local Media Playback 1 Photo", "Local Media Playback 2 Photo"}}

Ratings & Specs

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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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