My home audio-visual system comprises Samsung 7-series UHD 4K smart TV, 4.2 channels wireless soundstand and Blu-ray disc player

I have just set up a new home audio-visual system comprise of 3 Samsung products:

• Samsung UA40HU7000R 7-series 40" UHD 4K Flat Smart TV (cost: RM2349)
• Samsung HW-H600 Wireless Soundstand (cost: RM639)
• Samsung BD-F5100XM Blu-ray Player (cost: RM179)

Total cost including GST = RM3167

All 3 of them are of last year old model. If I were to buy them when they newly hit the market, I might need to fork out double the cost or more to take them home. This is kind of delayed gratification to get the same thing at lower cost.

I have checked the running hour of the Samsung TV and confirmed that it is new and never been used before.

Also connected to this Samsung TV are my existing devices:

• Astro B.yond set top box (main source for TV programmes)
• HiMedia Q5II Android 3D TV box (main source for Internet streaming videos + TV games)
• UniFi HyppTV set top box (backup source for TV programmes)

I have chosen a 7-series UHD 4K smart TV, although a lower series Full HD TV is cheaper, because besides the UHD 4K resolution of 3840 x 2160, the 7-series also equipped with 4 HDMI ports, 3 USB ports, LAN port, built-in wireless LAN, analog audio out, digital optical audio out, 2 composite input groups, 1 component input groups, and other connectivities which is pretty comprehensive and sufficient.

If I choose a larger 50" screen of the same Samsung 7-series UHD 4K smart TV, I would need to fork out additional RM1200 from my pocket. By choosing the 40" screen model, I can upgrade it with a wireless soundstand and Blue-ray player, yet the combined cost is still cheaper than buying the 50" screen model.

The main reason to go for Samsung LED TV is for its picture quality and vibrant colour display. The UHD 4K screen offers 4 times resolution than the Full HD screen. The TV supports 4-steps UHD up-scaling to convert lower resolution content to a level of clarity that is almost like Ultra High Definition.

This TV is equipped with Clear Motion Rate (CMR) technology of 200 powered by Ultra Clear Panel and quad-core processor.

Being a smart TV, when connected to the Internet either using wired LAN or WiFi, you can access to Samsung Smart Hub and install apps to the TV, browse websites with its built-in browser, and perform firmware update over the Internet.

It also comes with Samsung Smart Remote Control, which can act as a pointer, and also be used as voice input device to issue voice control command to the TV.

There is an IR blaster gadget comes together with this TV. Connecting it to the IR Out port of the TV and place the round blaster in front of my Astro B.yond set top box, I can use the TV remote control to switch the Astro box on/off together with the TV, and can also use the TV remote control to change the Astro channel (instead of using the Astro remote control).

This TV is supposed to support Screen Mirroring from Samsung mobile devices, but I have difficulty in making it works with my Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0.

This TV also supports the Samsung Smart View 2.0 app for my smart phone to share multimedia content with it, and also act as a remote control. I do find the remote control in this app better than the Samsung Smart Remote Control, as the physical remote control lack of physical numeric keypad and more difficult to directly change to a preferred channel.

The Samsung HW-H600 4.2 Channels Wireless Soundstand greatly enhance the sound quality of the TV, especially when the Surround mode is turned on. It is designed to lay flat and be placed under the TV. This design saves space, and eliminate the clutter of having many speakers in normal Hi-Fi system.

This Samsung HW-H600 is classified as a mid-range Hi-Fi device, so do not expect it to perform the same as those high end Hi-Fi speakers, which costs more than 3 times its price. Its 4.2 channels comprises of 4 bass-reflex speaker drivers and dual built-in subwoofers, which is richer than those 2.1 (stereo + subwoofer) sound bars.

There are many ways it can connect to the TV, including the wireless TV SoundConnect, wired HDMI ARC connect, audio cable connect, etc. I find the audio cable connect is more straightforward and easier to configure.

The Soundstand has a USB port, and can play MP3 music when connected to a USB thumb drive with MP3 files in it.

It also can pair with mobile devices to play MP3 music or receive phone audio output via Bluetooth connection. It comes with an NFC sticker to facilitate easier Bluetooth pairing with smartphone that support NFC.

The Blu-ray disc player completes the audio-visual system by adding ability to play music, video or photo stored in Blu-ray / DVD / VCD / CD disc.

This Samsung BD-F5100XM does not support playing of 3D Blu-ray movie. It supports full HD (1920x1080) and can upscale DVD to this level, but it does not support UHD.

It also comes with a USB port, which function similarly with the USB port in the TV and Soundstand.

It has a LAN port to connect to the Internet, and comes with some apps including Youtube, Facebook, etc. However, I prefer to use the Youtube and Facebook apps in the smart TV, which can be accessed more directly. It does not support WiFi connection.

There is newer Blu-ray player model that support WiFi connection, 3D Blu-ray movie playing, UHD picture quality, etc. The cost will be at least double the price of this Samsung BD-F5100XM.