Samsung UN55F6300 Review (UN55F6300AF)

55 Inch, Smart TV, 120Hz TV

Samsung UN55F6300The UN55F6300 is a replacement for the popular UN55ES6100 from 2012. It is the 4th or 5th tier model in Samsung's 2013 – 2014 lineup after the UN55F6400 model which has 3D and Micro dimming features but otherwise is the same as the F6300. Features in this model include a 120Hz refresh rate panel, all Smart TV options, a dual-core processor, and a new HEVC Codec for assisting with streaming video which really does make a difference.

Strengths

  • Low input lag in game mode
  • Great value for the features and picture quality
  • Great color rendition after calibration
  • 120Hz refresh rate
  • Solid Black levels and contrast for the price
  • Smart TV options and Smart Hub and Wifi performance
  • 4 HDMI and 3 USB Inputs
  • HVEC Codec improvement for displaying Streaming Video

    Weaknesses

  • Semi-Matte screen finish does not have as much depth as top models
  • Pronounced contrast degrading at side angles
  • Using the web browser with the remote is a lot of work
  • Sound quality: Volume good on background and music – poor with voice

    Neutral

  • No 3D
  • Backlit basic Remote

    Picture Quality Rating: 8.6/10

    The UN55F6300 starts you off in the right direction with a full 10-point white balance adjustment option. See our calibrations page for a great picture setting. Black performance on the F6300 is strong for an LED TV as long as you keep the backlight control located in the picture settings at a reasonable level and as long as you are not viewing from off center. Side viewing angle quality is compromised by degrading contrast and fading colors from extreme side angles. While this is inherently a problem with LED backlighting. It is especially prevalent on the F6300. Keeping the backlight at a reasonable level helps a bit. The black bars appearing when watching 16:9 content appear rich and inky from front and center, but appear more dark purple from the sides.

    Samsung UN55F6300 LED TV
    The F6300 gives a good sense of depth in this shot, even without 3D like the F6400 has. The contrast in this shot leads to some elements being washed out in the background

    Colors are accurate and calibrate to D6500K easily. The 55F6300 is loaded with tons of extra picture adjustment options, most of which we recommend just leaving off. Some you might want to play around with to find your preference.

    Auto Motion Plus

    We recommend no matter what picture mode you watch, that you go into this setting in the Advanced Picture menu, tune the feature to Custom then turn the Blur Reduction to 10, and the Judder Reduction to 0. Or you can just set it to off. The judder reduction part of this feature does too much to distort the picture including eliminating too much natural background blur, actually accentuating judder/jerky motion effects when the camera pans slowly, and creating motion artifacts.

    Samsung UN55F6300
    This shot is a good example for color rendition on the F6300. Colors are bright without being over saturated. Also a fair amount of detail comes through in light and dark areas, although we have seen better performance out of LCD/LED TVs

    Gaming - Very Responsive Game Mode

    Getting to the Game Mode
    Go to the Systems menu near the bottom of the main menu. Scroll down to the General settings and open that menu. Game Mode is located here. It seems like a pain to dig into the menus like this to turn it on or off.

    Okami HD on the Samsung UN55F6300
    Okami HD really brought out the colors of the F6300. Game mode is perfect for an action game like this one

    Turning on the Game Mode is the best way to go for gaming on the 55F6400. The picture mode in Game Mode has its own settings, and initially look pretty bad. Standard is the only available picture mode while Game Mode is on. Take the time to turn the sharpness down to 10 or less, the Color Space to Auto, Dynamic Contrast to Off, Color Tone to Warm1, and the Screen Size to Screen Fit. Adjust the Backlight and Brightness to your personal preference. This will provide a decent picture quality as well as a cut down on input lag. This made Okami HD and Crysis for the PS3 look fantastic and the input lag was negligible at a decent 30ms.

    Input Lag on the Samsung UN55F6300
    This input lag test shows how important the game mode is for reducing input lag on this LED TV. First person shooters are going to see some of the best results of this low input lag

    Features Rating: 8.6

    Smart TV - Lots of Options

    Samsung UN55F6300 Smart HubSamsung still has the best Internet Apps selection with categories: Videos, Most Popular, Games, Sports, Lifestyle, Information, Education. There is much better free content than the other brands out there and the paid Apps are better and more reasonably priced as well. The Premium Apps such as the movie services, sports and music are also top notch and include the usual Netflix, You Tube (though we like the normal You Tube through the Browser better), Facebook (same here), Twitter, Vudu, Amazon, Hulu Plus. Thanks to the new HVEC Codec mentioned below streaming video looks much better.

    Samsung UN55F6300 Smart TV
    This is the apps page of the redesigned Smart Hub. This page lists all of your downloaded apps and even recommends a few. It's an easy layout to navigate and there is plenty of room to fill it up with your favorite apps

    See our full article about Samsung's Smart TV 2013 here.

    Remote and Menu System – Very Nice

    Samsung's 2013 menu system is organized very well and easy to use. It's also colorful and attractive and the tutorial beside various settings are included and good information to explain some of the more complicated picture settings that you probably do not want to use, but may be curious about. Dedicated keys on the backlit remote take you to Smart TV options on the F6300.

    Dual Core Processor

    The dual core processor included in the 55F6300 allows for multitasking in the Smart TV section while viewing content at the same time. It also helps speed search in the Smart T V options, an area of criticism in the previous model ES6100.

    HVEC Codec - Vast improvement in Streaming Content

    The Codec device which is used to disseminate and play streaming video content from Internet based services is vastly improved from last years models. If you've noted how poor the video quality can be from services like You Tube or Vudu then you know you will be happy that this has been a focal point for Samsung. This new Codec improves the presentation by leaps. It can take scratchy content and display at what looks like 480p resolution. We could actually see the Codec process and clean up poor images when streaming video from various sources first started.

    Inputs

    4 HDMI inputs and 3 USB inputs head up a very complete load of inputs for connectivity.

    Appearance and Design


    Samsung UN55F6300 Design
    The design is just like the F6400, but with a silver stand

    The F6300 is not going to win best-looking but it's attractive nonetheless with a bit more understated design than the top end almost frame less LED TVs. The thin charcoal black half inch framing bezel has an acrylic clear edge and the panel is around 2 inches in depth. Some may not care for the “quadrapod” 4-legged stand, but it's not bad and at least its not chrome for this model. It does conveniently swivel 15 to 20 degrees.

    Wifi and Web Browser Included

    The Wifi setup seemed initially easy to set up but then caught a glitch and it took some time to get the TV connected. The web browser is at least a real Internet browser – allowing search through Bing as the primary outlet.

    Audio Quality - Not too Sound

    The 55F6300 has some issues with sound quality. There is plenty of volume during music and background noice, but a clear lack of voice volume and clarity – even when using the Clear Voice option in the menu. We tried everything, all the settings, the equalizer and could not find an option that we felt improved the audio quality. Sound quality gets a 6 out of 10 for me on the F6300.

    Value Price – Bang for the Buck Rating: 9.3/10

    The UN55F6300 is very strong in value in the 55 inch market at around $1299. By eliminating 3D, micro dimming and the slick touchpad remote, and sticking with some of the features that matter most, this is a tough model to beat in the mid-level LED TV category. Competition is from the LG 55LA6200, and the Panasonic TC-L58E60 plus some good plasma TVs like the Panasonic TC-P55ST60 for darker rooms.

    Overall Rating: 8.8/10



    Having reviewed and written about Television Technology for over 10 years, Anthony never tires of researching the newest qualitative trends related to the technology. Most people do not get excited about possibilities behind the latest video engine...
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