Digital Trends

Samsung LN46A630

October 6th, 2008 | by Nick Mokey

Features and Design

Samsung's "Touch-of-Color" design ethic might not be for everyone, but the company should be applauded for breaking away from the gloss black bezels that it (and seemingly every company in the biz) have been addicted to for years, and trying something new. The effect is so subtle that it might actually be mistaken for the old gloss black approach in dim rooms, but with a little ambient lighting, the bezel's translucency and reddish amber color show up around the edges, giving it a pleasant sort of glow. It strikes a nice balance between styling that's too plain or completely over the top, and though we're not interior designers, we think it fits in nicely in any room, especially those with more contemporary styling.

Other aspects of the LN46A630's design also helped it achieve its sophisticated look. For instance, the buttons on the face have been embedded seamlessly into the plastic, making them extremely subtle, and the TV adopts a consistent squared-off look on every edge from its sides down to the stand. 

Ports and Connectors

For the most part, Samsung included an adequate array of connections for the LN46A630, though on the whole it skewed a bit too far toward newer-style inputs and skimmed over some important legacy ports. For example, while it offers three HDMI inputs (two on the rear and one on the side,) and two component video inputs (which can double as composite inputs if needed), there's only one S-video connection, located on the side where full-time hookups are mostly verboten. Sure, most users will probably hook up an HDMI cable box and Blu-ray player and call it a day, but if you have an old VCR, digital camera with S-video TV output, or even some older game systems, you're going to be swapping them out all day long to share only one input. We thought this was a bit short-sighted on Samsung's part, especially since these older connections can barely be called premium features anymore. 

Wiselink USB Reader

In contrast to the almost-pathetic USB functionality on the last Samsung device we reviewed, the HT-X710T home theater system, the ability to read data off a USB thumb drive improved dramatically on this television. The interface looked almost as polished as we've come to expect from home media center software running on a PC, and it responded quickly to remote commands. Like the rest of the TV, it's also laden with extra features, allowing you to change everything from the music files you would like to play during a slideshow to which ID3 tag (artist, title, mood, etc.) you would like to browse MP3s by. It even includes some oddball extras, like browsing photos by composition or color. Granted, we would have liked to see the ability to play movies built in, but given how well it performs as a photo viewer and MP3 player, we can’t really complain. 

Remote

Samsung discarded some of the goofier aspects of its low-end remotes for the one that comes with the LN46A630, which is comfortable to hold, reasonably well-laid-out, and has a solid feel. It does, however, sport a somewhat cartoony look, thanks to its huge print and use of primary colors, which we found to be an odd pairing with the otherwise ultra-modern and contemporary-looking TV. For use in the dark, it even includes a backlight, which temporarily makes the buttons glow just brightly enough to make a selection. We did find that its responsiveness was hindered by the TV’s infrared receiver, though, which seemed to be nonsensically located at the bottom center of the TV rather than at the top, where it would have the best line of sight. Even small obstructions like a pile of DVDs or books hindered the remote’s operation, which could turn into a major annoyance in frequently used TV rooms where these types of things tend to pile up on a coffee table.

Image Courtesy of Samsung