Motion Performance (9.50)
When we tested Samsung’s E530 series a couple of months ago, we were disappointed by its motion performance. The E530A3 series is a “dumb” (read: not internet enabled) version of the E550D1, and we had been curious to see if one step higher on their series ladder would reveal improvements to things like motion performance and color integrity.
The Samsung PN51E550D1 tested with highly superior motion performance compared to the PN51E530A3, and did very well as a standalone test. It showcased almost no blurring, maintaining crisp details in things like foreground faces, aged brickwork, background framed photos, intricate metalwork, and soft shafts of sunlight. It maintained the shape integrity of squares and rectangles, and was able to smoothly slide a complex montage of pixels across its screen with only very mild artifacting, the kind that would be very hard to see during standard kinds of content.
We were impressed by the E550’s motion performance. Perhaps E530 owners can upgrade at some point using Samsung’s Evolution Kit. Samsung claims on their website that “Soon you will be able to update your Smart TV every year with the latest technology. Samsung’s Evolution kit upgrades your Smart Evolution enabled TV without having to replace the whole set. With Increased processor speed, more functions and additional content, your TV will never be the same again.” Time will tell if this update process is valuable, or not.
