Samsung UN46B6000

Input Ports (4.5)

The Samsung UN46B6000 offers a decent selection of input ports. The ports are arranged in a revers L in the back, with the actual ports either facing out towards the left side of the HDTV or down towards the bottom. Along the left facing leg you'll find all four HDMI ports, which is a good number. You'll also find a 3.5mm audio input here, which is used to get audio from a computer and is associated with either the VGA port or DVI to HDMI.

The ports facing to the side are easy to access.

Facing downards is the VGA input for connecting a computer to the HDTV.  There's a dual use composite/component input, which allows you to connect either a component or a composite video input. Because you can't do both at the same time we deducted half a point from the UN46B6000's score. You'll also find the antenna port here, with support for analog or digital cable or OTA signals.

The ports facing down are not very convenient.

What the Samsung UN46B6000 is missing is an S-Video input, which is seen on most HDTVs. We're also not excited by the limited number of composite/component inputs. If you have a lot of older A/V gear you probably won't have all the ports that you need. If you're using more modern equipment with HDMI connections you should be fine.

Output Ports (2.5)

Like most HDTVs the Samsung UN46B6000 has an optical audio output for connecting audio devices to the HDTV. There's also a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting a pair of headphones to the HDTV. Unlike most televisions, however, it doesn't have a standard Left-Right analog audio out. Instead you can use an adaptor, with the 3.5mm audio. This is a hassle and so we only awarded half a point for it.

Other Connections (3.0)

In addition to the audio and video inputs/outputs the Samsung UN46B6000 has a LAN port, which allows you to connect an ethernet cable to your television. This cable can be used to access internet content via a widget system and can also allow you to access media stored on a computer on the network. You will need to have Samsung's included software installed on the computer.

Media (2.0)

Like the Samsung LN40B650, the UN46B6000 has two USB ports. This allows you to connect two USB devices to the computer to view media content stored on them. Either ports will support USB flash drives, but only one of them will support USB hard drives.

Placement (6.0)

The placement of the Samsung UN46B6000's ports is a mixed bag due to the reverse L arrangement. Those ports that face out towards the left side of the HDTV can be easily accessed, even more so due to the swiveling stand. Those that face down, however, are much less easy to access. This is further exacerbated by the fact that the downward facing ports are those you need to fiddle with the most like Component, VGA and Antenna connections. The labeling on the ports is good as long as you're behind the HDTV.