Samsung UN60F6300 Review (UN60F6300AF)

60 Inch, Smart TV, 120Hz TV

Strengths

Samsung UN60F6300 LED TV
  • 30ms input lag with Game Mode enabled
  • Value, features, and picture quality are very even
  • Accurate colors come out after calibration
  • 120Hz refresh rate for fast action
  • Blacks levels and contrast for a mid level LED TV
  • Wifi speed and the vast amount of Smart TV options
  • 4 HDMI and 3 USB Inputs
  • HVEC Codec improves streaming video quality

    Weaknesses

  • Semi-Matte misses out on depth seen in higher tier models
  • Degrading contrast with side angle viewing is very noticable
  • The 5-way controller for browsing the web is tough
  • Speakers produce lots of volume for effects and music but voices get lost

    Neutral

  • Lacks 3D
  • Backlit standard Remote

    "Let's get basic and down to the nitty-gritty" is the motto of the Samsung UN60F6300 60 inch LED TV value model for 2013 and early 2014. You get great features such as the full Smart TV package, 120Hz for fast motion processing, and updated HEVC Codec for better display of video streamed content, and a nice sound system. The package (appearance) is a bit yesteryear with the .5” black gloss bezel. This model replaces the UN60ES6100 from 2012 and is the model below the UN60F6400 in Samsung's 2013 lineup. That puts it at 4th or 5th tier in the lineup.

    Picture Quality

    The UN60F6300 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 60F6300. 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 UN60F6300
    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 60F6300 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 UN65F6300
    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 UN60F6300
    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 50F6400. 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 UN60F6300
    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: 8.6/10

    Smart TV Options

    Samsung UN65F6300 Smart HubSamsung's Smart Hub returns again this year for the UN60F6300 and the interface is user friendly and the remote has buttons on it for quick access to some of the more popular features. Streaming video is available from major premium providers like Netflix, Amazon Video-On-Demand, Hulu, VuDu, HBO Go, You Tube, Twitter, Facebook and more. There is also access to the Samsung App store which now has more than 1500 Apps in 2013 which will be instantly familiar to smartphone users who use a marketplace to search and download apps on their phone. There are apps for news, weather, sports and even games you can play on your television. Most of the apps are free though some run anywhere from $.99 to $9.99. There is a Search All feature to allow you to find videos via Apps or other connected devices as well.

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

    Dual Core Processor

    The dual core processor included in the 60F6300 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.

    Remote and Menu System – Very Nice


    Samsung UN65F6300 Menu
    Here is a shot of the menu. It's easy to read and navigate between the menus. The right-hand side shows everything that is in the sub-menu or gives an explanation of the menu item

    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.

    HVEC Codec

    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

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

    Wifi and Web Browser Included

    The Web Browser on the F6300 defaults to a Bing search bar. The browser is slow to use with the 5-way controller on the remote but loads content quickly and the Wifi connectivity is also improved over last years model.

    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.

    Appearance and Design

    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.

    Samsung UN65F6300 Appearance and Design
    Here you see the frame that measures in at less than one inch as well as the stand design that is familiar to Samsung's mid level TVs

    Value – Bang for the Buck Rating: 9.3/10

    The UN60F6300 60” LED is a very strong value offering at around $1499. 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 60LA6200, and the Panasonic TC-L58E60 plus some good plasma TVs like the Panasonic TC-P60ST60 for darker rooms. Also the Sony KDL-60R550A.

    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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