Perhaps some are concentrating a little too much on the negatives here, there is a positive slant in that the TV achieved "HDTVtest Recommended" status so the good points, in the reviewer's eyes, have clearly far outweighed the bad.
Anyway, I'd recommend people read the whole review to form their own opinion, but these are the high / lowlights for me (contains quotes from the review for reference - all credit to HDTVtest). For readibility, I've included my comments in square brackets.
Cons:
"
Mild clouding reducible to negligible levels" - [It seems there is still the mild clouding that was apparent on the M8 series. I've had two M8's because of the Freeview Stutter / Judder fault and the first had this mild clouding which, like the review sample of the F86 here, did not impinge on picture quality. My second set is worse though and I can see clouds on black cut scenes in movies etc.]
100Hz Motion Plus - On Blu-Ray, minimises motion blurring, but introduces interpolation artifacts - [recommended off for Blu-Ray.]
On HD Satellite, artifacts even on low setting, but off, "pleasantly surprised by how well the Samsung LE40F86BD coped with fast-action sports".
On games - "more annoyed by the tearing/ juddering artifacts than be pleased by the mild improvement in motion resolution".
"there is probably no condition under which I would voluntarily engage [100Hz Motion Plus] on the LE40F86BD to enhance my viewing pleasure."
[So based upon these quotes it seems that 100Hz, for the reviewer, was pretty much a waste of time, which is disappointing. On the plus side he does complement the motion handling with it switched off and enough to give it "Recommended" status but I'd have preferred the 100Hz to make a real difference what with it being advertised as one of the main features of the TV.]
"some noise and shimmering over component" - [this is only mentioned briefly in the review but, as I know a number of you out there use component (I personally don't), I felt it was an important consideration. For those that do, perhaps it is worth questioning the reviewer further on this.]
Pros:
"
0% overscan on Just Scan with
1:1 pixel mapping" - [self explanatory really]
Excellent Black level - "The M86/ 87 range already boast the deepest blacks in the LCD TV business, but somehow Samsung has managed to improve matters even further. Calibrated (i.e. without impinging on shadow detail or peak brightness) black level on the Samsung LE40F86BD measured 25% lower than that on the LE40M86BD."
"The excellent blacks and high contrast ratio on the Samsung LE40F86BD gave the film a very satisfying three-dimensional look" (on Blu-Ray)
"Throw in a black-level performance that's best-in-class (as long as we're talking about LCDs without wandering into local-dimming LED territory), and breathtaking picture depth that is laid down by Super Clear Panel™, and we've suddenly got a formidable television on our hands"
Blu-Ray on PS3 - "Accepts 1024p/24 from PS3 without telecine judder" and on Auto. "Noticeably smoother." "reduction in judder"
[Whilst I've listed the above as a positive, I'm going to ask a further question this as I'm hoping for the day I see a review talking about no judder on 1080p24 material rather than a reduction. Perhaps my expectations are unrealistic at this stage (or price bracket) with current technology?]
Freeview, "The depth and dimensionality afforded by the LE40F86BD was what helped me enjoy a screening of Edward Scissorhands on Channel 5: Sitting through over 100 minutes of the movie, together with analysing the scrolling ticker on Sky Sports News, revealed
no frame drop/ stuttering which has been reported on the M86/ 87 series... hopefully this bug is a thing of the past."
[Yes yes yes yes yes !!!!! Over 100 minutes of Freeview watched (I'd recommend at least 2 hours - but this should be enough time) and NO judder / stutter
I'm still holding fire on this one as we only have a relatively small sample of owners at the moment but with no reports so far things are looking better.]
Gaming - "a thoroughly enjoyable and fearless (no image retention or screenburn!!) gaming experience on the Samsung LE40F86BD"
__________
So overall, whilst I am disappointed 100Hz seems to be a relatively poorly implemented feature based upon the hype I think the review overall is fairly good.
It has to be, they wouldn't have recommended the set otherwise.
One thing not mentioned is SCART interference, not sure a SCART device was tested but I'll be asking about that too.
In summary
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