Samsung UE46H7000 review

Usability

There's nothing substantially different about the UE46H7000's operating system compared with last year, just a minor tweak of the main font, which is no bad thing. Although it doesn't have the contemporary slickness of LG's latest OS it remains a logically laid out and pleasing system.

Samsung claims it has reduced the time taken to switch on from 5.3 seconds to two seconds, although we found the two seconds applies to powering up, and it still takes two more seconds for the screen to tune in to either an HDMI feed or built-in TV tuner, so the claim is a tad misleading. Press Smart Hub while watching TV and a timeline view pops up along the bottom of the screen. It now uses full channel icons as well as source names.

The Football Mode works by monitoring the noise of the crowd, but it isn't foolproof, as we found during a match when Liverpool thrashed Spurs and a Suarez goal wasn't recorded. Worse, the half-time whistle was recorded and bookmarked as a watchable highlight.

A safer option is to start the recording of a match and manually select your own highlights but you can't adjust the picture or sound of the Football Mode, and you can't make your own highlight recordings when using any of the other picture modes.

We're still not convinced by Voice Control. You can speak commands into the pebble-shaped Smart remote, but is it any quicker than using the regular remote? Switching the set off, for example, is one press of the normal remote; by voice it involves pressing the voice button, saying 'Switch TV off,' then replying 'yes' when the TV asks you to confirm the command. Hey ho.

One feature that is well worth using is the point-and-click on the Smart remote, which pings a light beam onto the screen and makes navigating the EPG, web browser and Smart TV hub much quicker than coaxing the cursor around the screen, box by box. Top marks.

Sound

The UE46H7000 won't win any awards for the quality of its audio reproduction, and a sonic supplement in the shape of a soundbar or external sound system is certainly needed when watching movies, dramas and music, where there simply isn't enough bass extension. But, for everyday TV viewing the dulcet tones of Alexander Armstrong during Pointless are pleasing enough, and we were pleasantly surprised by the vocal clarity during a showing of the 40-year-old BBC classic spy thriller Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy.

Value

Commanding a premium of £1,300, the UE46H7000 looks good value compared with the UE46F7000 it replaces, which was £1,600 when unleashed by Samsung a year ago. But 4K screens are breathing heavily down Full HD's neck, luring buyers from the premium end of the Full HD sector, and it would not surprise me to see retailers discounting the UE46H7000 substantially within a short time.