Samsung LN32B360

Value Comparison

If we compare the LN32B360 to its more expensive cousin, we see what more you get for your money. The LN32B360 costs abotu $550, but the LN40B650 costs about $1400. But you do get a lot more for your money: the more expensive Samsung had significantly better performance, a bigger screen, more ports and better media support.

	Comparison Specifications
	Samsung LN32B360	Samsung LN46B650
Size	32'	40'
Price	$550	$1400
Type	LCD	LCD
Format	720p	1080p
Other	None	Internet connection

Blacks & Whites

The LN40B650 was the only one of our comparsion HDTvs that consistently beat the LN32B360 on our tests of image quality; we found that the bigger, more expensive model had darker blacks, brighter whites and a wider ratio between the two.

Blacks, Whites and Contrast
Samsung LN32B360 Score:  Black Level : 8.23 Peak Brightness : 8.89 Contrast: 8.89	Samsung LN406B650 Score:  Black Level : 8.77 Peak Brightness : 9.26 Contrast: 9.85

Color Accuracy

The more expensive LN40B650 was also the stronger performer in our color tests; it had singificantly smoother RGB curves, which means that you would see better looking color gradients. But both TVs had problems when it came to color gamut: they were both slightly off from the ideal that we look for, which could mean slightly inaccurate colors on the screen.

Color Temperature

Samsung LN32B360 Score: 8.67

Samsung LN406B650 Score: 8.11

RGB Curves

Samsung LN32B360 Score: 7.65

Samsung LN406B650 Score: 9.06

Color Gamut

Samsung LN32B360 Score: 4.49

Samsung LN406B650 Score: 4.23

Motion

Neither TV was a clar winner when it came to displaying motion on the screen. Although the LN40B650 had much smoother motion (probably due to its 120Hz refresh rate), we saw some annoying artifacts: sharp lines and areas of solid color had a jerky, unpleasant look on both displays. 

Viewing Effects

Neither TV blew our socks off when it came to viewing angle; on both, we saw a huge falloff in the contrast between white and black at even just a small angle from staright on to the TV. The LN40B650 was the better performer here, though; we measure than angle at which the contrast ratio falls by 50%, and this happened with the bigger TV at about 20 degrees. The LN32B360  only managed about 17 degrees.

Viewing Angle

Samsung LN32B360 Score: 3.26 Samsung LN406B650 Score: 4.55

Connectivity

The LN40B650 is the clear winner here: it provides more HDMI ports (4, which is double the number on the LN32B360) and a much better selection of analog video and audio inputs. This would make it much more flexible for a setup that includes multiple sources of video. The LN40B650 also includes the ability to stream audio and video from the Internet or a PCon yout home network; you can watch YouTube videos on it, or stream music, photos and video from any PC that can run the Samsing PC Share software that comes with the TV.