Samsung LE46C750 review

An astonishingly affordable 3D TV with accomplished all-round performance

Samsung LE46C750
This LCD TV supports 2D-3D conversion so you can play standard DVDs in 3D

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Given how affordable it is for a bigscreen 3D TV, it's surprising that Samsung hasn't made more of a song and dance about the LE46C750. Nonetheless, it's a set that warrants an audience.

It cuts a pleasant dash in your room, despite being unusually chunky by today's standards, it's really well stocked with helpful features and picture tweaks and it delivers what is in many ways, a very good picture. Even the sound isn't bad, and that's a real surprise for a Samsung TV.

The only catch is a predictable one based on our experience of other 3D LCD TVs so far: crosstalk ghosting noise with 3D material. The set's effective viewing angle is also quite narrow if that's a factor you need to consider with your room layout.

We liked

Although the 46C750 isn't a design triumph on the scale of Samsung's latest LED-driven LCD TVs, it's still undoubtedly attractive. It ticks all of our connection boxes too, except, perhaps, for not having any Wi-Fi built in.

Picture adjustment is pleasingly flexible; while it can all be a bit bewildering initially, even a technophobe should be able to get some really positive results after some gentle experimentation.

Its multimedia support is also impressive, especially the Internet@TV online platform.

Of course, though, the 46C750's single biggest attraction is the fact that it can play the latest 3D formats - in full HD form with Blu-ray - while costing peanuts relative to other big-screen 3D models we've seen. Its 3D pictures are unusually bright and colourful, 2D pictures are mostly good too, and the sound is acceptable.

We disliked

Some people might find the 46C750's unusually big rear end a bit of a turn off, but it doesn't bother us much.

What does bother us, though, is the appearance of crosstalk ghosting noise when watching 3D footage. This consistently distracts from 3D material, as well as making 3D viewing a more tiring experience than it should be.

Our other issue is that the TV's viewing angle seems even more limited than is usual for an LCD TV.

Verdict

The LE 46C750 introduces full HD 3D to the masses, undercutting other similarly sized rivals by hundreds of pounds. As such, it might well become many people's first experience of 3D, which is both great and a bit of a shame at the same time.

For while it is unusually good at retaining brightness and rich colours with its three-dimensional pictures, it also suffers from crosstalk, ensuring that you aren't necessarily seeing 3D it at its very best.

The set's an accomplished 2D set too, though, and comes packing a potent multimedia punch, including Samsung's excellent Internet@TV platform.

Overall, then, if you can't afford to step up to Panasonic's 3D-loving £2,200 50in P50VT20 plasma TV, the 46C750 is an appealing and startlingly cheap alternative.

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John Archer
AV Technology Contributor

John has been writing about home entertainment technology for more than two decades - an especially impressive feat considering he still claims to only be 35 years old (yeah, right). In that time he’s reviewed hundreds if not thousands of TVs, projectors and speakers, and spent frankly far too long sitting by himself in a dark room.