Samsung UN32H6350 Review (UN32H6350AFXZA)

Weaknesses

• Side angle viewing degrades quickly as the viewer moves from off-center
• Operation of the Smart Hub with the standard remote lacks the feel of the Touch remote; web browsing is much slower
• Semi-matte screen finish seems dull compared to clear coat displays
• Built-in sound quality is lacking
• Nearly $600 for a 32-inch TV seems a little steep

Picture Quality Rating: 85/100

The smallest offering in the low-end of the 6 series lineup is the UN32H6350. The bright edge LED lighting makes for a brilliant picture and helps to balance out the downsides of the matte screen by providing more rich colors and a good deal of contrast. All of that said, from relatively close to front and center we felt the picture displayed was very good with lots of light flow-through to help with depth perception. The picture is remarkably similar to the F6300 from last year. A full 10-point white balance adjustment option that makes getting colors accurate easy with the right settings. The 32H6350 is loaded with tons of extra picture adjustment options, most of which aren't terribly useful and are better off left unused. The retail price is $649.99. We feel that it may be a little high initially, but will drop as the year progresses.

Color and contrast are the stars of this screen shot. Deep blacks, bright whites, and realistic color are seen

Game Mode - the Way to go for Gaming

Enabling the Game Mode for gaming is a must for competitive shooters and action gamers. The input lag went from a noticable 120ms down to 30ms with the flick of a switch. That really makes games like Battlefield and Titalfall much more enjoyable and immersive. Game Mode features its own picture settings, so take a moment to get the picture looking good again the first time you do it. Screen Fit is also one of the most important things to select so you don't get overscan. A lot of the picture settings for games will be determined by personal preference. Just be sure the picture is bright enough for you.

Side Viewing Angles

Side angle viewing seems to be one of the biggest picture quality problems for this TV. Color and contrast degrade pretty early at about 20 degrees off center and it quickly gets worse from there. The amount of "wash out" is also more severe than LED TVs with a clearer coating on the screen. Above and below off center viewing gave a similar result. This is important for those who plan on wall mounting the TV above eye level. Or for those with wide angles in their viewing room.

Features Rating: 87/100

Smart Hub with Quad Core Processor

The Smart Hub keeps a similar design to what we though was one of the best Smart TV platforms last year. Samsung's really streamlined design helps with navigation and content selection. Samsung has made 5 main pages that are home to all of the different reasons for accessing smart TV in general. A slight change includes combining the Social and Media pages into one, while adding a Games page. Samsung has a small number of games available at launch and users can utilize smartphones or tablets as gaming controllers.

The quad core processor included in the 32H6350 speeds the entire Smart TV platform while viewing content at the same time. Multitaskers will also appreciate the speed of searching through the the Smart TV options.

Remote and Menu System

Samsung always has a very easy to use menu system that is very well organized. The layout presents tutorials beside various settings and information explaining 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 H6350.

The familiar quad leg desing of the H6350 isn't a stranger to Samsung TVs

Appearance

The UN32H6350 makes use of the standard Samsung quadrapod design that we have seen before. This time the legs sport a matte silver finish that doesn't demand more attention than needed as we have seen in the past with chrome stands. The bezels and profile are very thin to give the TV an attractive appearance. For those who don't like the look of the 4-legged stand, wall mounting might be the best option.

Value Rating: 85/100

The UN32H6350 sells for about $200 more than the H5500 series below it. It's hard to justify that extra $200 since the two TVs have very similar feature sets. You lose an HDMI input and the design of the H6350 if you decide to go with the H5500, but you have some extra cash that could go toward speakers or a blu-ray player. Similar value TVs like the Vizio E320i-B2 sells for hundreds of dollars less, but you are going to miss out on full HD picture quality and a stout smart TV experience.

Overall Rating: 86/100

Quick Specs

• 31.5" Diagonal Measurement
• 1920 x 1080 resolution
• 240 Clear Motion Rate
• Wide Color Enhancer Plus
• 2x 10 watt speakers
• 4 HDMI, 3 USB inputs
• Dimensions without stand (W X H X D): 28.4" x 17.0" x 2.5"
• Dimensions with stand: 28.4" x 19.7" x 10.4"
• Weight without stand: 11.2 lb.
• Weight with stand: 13.4 lb.

Jack Burden has been reviewing and writing reviews in the consumer electronics category for 7 years with CEAG. He considers grayscale gradation, film patterned retarders, and focus field drives to be fun topics. Read more about Jack