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Samsung UN55B8000 Review
The Samsung UN55B8000
The sleek, edge-lit LED-based Samsung UN55B8000 is one of the most expensive HDTVs in Samsung’s roster. It tries to live up to its price, though, with amazing picture quality and a bunch of innovative features which are sure to leave you gaping.
Design
The design of the Samsung UN55B8000 is one of its strong points, and you’ll find out why as soon as you set your eyes on its ultra-thin panel, which is just 1.2 inches deep at most. You won’t see any red accents on its glossy black frame, either, which is tapered with a transparent edge. In fact, the only touch of color you will find is the blue power indicator, which you can easily turn off. It comes with a transparent, circular swiveling stand with a brushed metal surface, too, and a special slim wall mount, for those who want to hang it - both of which complement its stunning design.
The remote control that comes with the UN55B8000 makes its own statement, with RF capability that allows you to control the TV without having to point it at the screen, or even from the next room. There is also a new rotating scroll wheel, which, unfortunately, is not too responsive, and a mouse-like secondary remote that allows you to change the channel, volume, and turn the set on and off. The menu system is practically the same as previous models, with highly legible text against a transparent background and explanatory text for most functions running along the bottom.
Screen/Picture Clarity
The picture quality of the UN55B8000 easily impresses, too, with outstandingly deep black levels made possibly by its LED lighting, excellent shadow detail, and colors that are vivid and generally accurate, with the usual bluish tinge down to a minimum. The only problem is the less-than-uniform brightness of the screen, especially in dark scenes, although this does little to mar the overall picture quality.
The 240Hz refresh rate sets it apart from lower end Samsung models, too. While the effects of this are quite difficult to discern, the absence of blurry images during fast-action scenes and the fact that you can reduce blur even with the dejudder processing turned off are still something to appreciate. It delivers every line of both 1080p and 1080i sources, as well.
Features
The picture quality can be even better with a firmware update and a little adjustment using the variety of picture settings that come with the UN55B8000. These include four adjustable picture modes, a film mode, an automatic dynamic contrast ratio control and four aspect ratio settings, to name a few. There are also three power-saving modes to help you cut down on energy consumption even further, interactive widgets, a library of built-in content, and great connectivity for digital devices - with four HDMI inputs, a PC input and not just one but two USB slots.
With all these, the Samsung UN55B8000 definitely packs a price for its punch. Sure, it may be one of the most expensive HDTVs around, costing as much as $3500, but at least, you’ll have a lot to enjoy and brag about later.
<< Click HERE to Read The Latest Samsung UN55B8000 User Reviews >>
Great LED TV, was looking for months at the Samsung, LG, and Sharp LED TVs and the Samsung had the best picture by far. I went with the 8000 model because the blacks are deeper and the picture popped more than the 6000 or 7000 models. I figured I keep my TV’s for close to 10 years on average so might as well pay a few hundred to get something better. All of the negatives you read about searchlights and uneven backlight I am not noticing on my set at all. It was built in October of 2009 and I have applied the latest firmware (1013) from the Samsung website. The picture is nothing short of amazing. I was debating on the 8500 model but felt like it wasn’t worth close to a grand more for the minor difference in contrast ratio. Great TV set, makes my Sony 50 inch XBR look horrible! If you are looking at this there is nothing that should stop your from buying, apply the latest firmware from Samsung and this set rocks! Shop around though, we picked this one up online for $2400 with free shipping and no tax from an authorized Samsung retailer and for that price feel like it is a steal. Would definitely buy again!
SWEEET!! TV is just awesome, super thin and light, picture quality is great. Honestly the best TV I’ve ever owned. Whatever price you pay for this is worth it.
I bought this TV after hours of searching and reading. Let me say first off that the brightness in the corners that there are so many comments about didn’t bother me at all. They are there when the screen goes black but they are easily ignored and did get less when I updated system software from Samsung.
Pros: Best picture ever. the resolution , clarity, etc is absolutely phenominal, the controls are numerous, the TV is incredible. Especially on non-HD shows. you feel like you are watching HD even when you are only watching 480i TV. Don’t put much value on the content features such as internet, yahoo widgets etc. there are too many other ways to do these types of things and do them better that I put no value on these at all. I could not get streaming tv or movies of any kind. I didn’t list those last 2 things as cons because in my mind no other TV can do them either so do them other ways instead.
Cons: the resolution and clarity is so profound that some shows look unreal. It is almost a 3D effect. It is not 3D but there is something about it. I could not get used to it and decided i didn’t like it. Funny, that sounds like too good is not good, but if your used to how a show looks then when it looks really different it is wierd.
The only other con I had trouble with is the color. It seemed too inconsistant. The movie wouldn’t have enough color so i turn it up a littel then the commercials would have way too much color. Even from station to station I would have to adjust the color. These kinds of things are easy to get used to and easy to find settings that help but never the less it is a con in my mind.
But overall Samsung is definetly on the right track with this TV. Best I have ever owned - ever.
For the most part I am quite satisfied with my new TV. The first one delivered did not work out of the box but Amazon was quick to ship me a second one with no questions or delays. 5 Stars for Amazon.
The TV picture is quite amazing in most ways; in a few situations when the screen is mostly dark it seems to have a problem with small areas that require being light brighter than the very dark surroundings. The glow of a candle lit dinner for example will not be as bright as it would on a normal TV. But other than that issue the picture is very good and all that I expected.
The widgets work well but so far I have not used them to any great extent, it is much faster to switch to the weather channel for quick up date on the weather than to activate the weather widget for example. The technology side of me finds the ability to be internet connected appealing but the reality is not too much usefulness so far.
The built in library is also a fun detail not sure how much use it will get but again a good start to an interesting feature that could add value.
I also purchased a Samsung Theatre and it is also connected to the internet I find the Netflix real time/streaming movies and the streaming music of Pandora to be a very useful feature and I also find that normal DVDs do look so much better on the blue ray player as it converts the image to almost blue ray quality. I purchased the wireless dongle and it works fine but I also would expect a TV with a list price of almost $4000 not to have to have a wireless adaptor purchased separately!
Over all I am quite satisfied with both the TV and Home Theatre, I have only had them a month or so, and time will tell if reliability will prove my purchase a good long time buy.
I just received the TV two days ago, there is no problem until this afternoon when I was watching a regular cable channel, the TV suddenly showing a lot of lines on the screen and eventually the screen turns to dark, I have tried to power cycle it but still got the same result. Very disappointed and can’t believe that such an expensive TV can die in 2 days new out of the box. Just called Amazon and requested a DOA exchange, someone will contact me tomorrow as today is Sunday afternoon and they are closed. Very very bad experience with such a high-end TV failed just in 2 days.
I spent a good amount of time researching TVs before deciding on the Samsung Series 8. This TV has a great picture partly because of the LED lighting.
There are some times where the 240Hz smoothing can look strange but you can always turn it off or try changing to another setting.
If your interested in the widget layer like I was, you may want to hold off. I took away 1 star because the widgets are a pretty big selling point and even after setup they are so slow as to not be usable. I think we are 2-3 years too early for our TVs to be able to multi-task.
This TV meets all my expectations. I combined it with a Yamaha NS-SP1800BL 5.1 Suround speakers and the Yamaha RX-V765BL 665 Watt 7-Channel Home Theater Receiver (all purchased at Amazon). The TV is shocking in it’s brightness, contrast and clarity of picture. Add that to the power savings over an LCD TV and it’s a win, win. Combine the above with a Blu Ray player and everything comes alive.
The picture and sound on this sleek Samsung is excellent. We actually feel like we are on the set watching the actual filming of the movies. Best pic and price from Amazon. White glove delivery and set up was great.
Everything about the TV so far is great! I am not convinced I needed the 240Hz, though. My only complaint is that when using the slim mount that was designed for this TV, there is not enough clearance behind the TV to plug it in without installing a recessed recepticle. Very poor planning on Samsung’s part! A real ‘bonehead’ move for a mount that retails at $250!!!
I am a bit of a gadget guy and a techy. As such, I was not expecting to be surprised with this purchase. I knew the features, I knew the details, I saw this in stores. I was surprised at 2 things.
The picture looks much better in my house then it did in the store! It has better depth and the color/tones are fantastic. Both are much better then I experienced in the stores. The color/tones was the main reason I was leaning towards Sony but the bightness of this set was needed for my enviroment. So I was surprised that I got the brightness I needed and the fantastic color that I wanted.
Additionally, I was please to find that Samsung opened up all of the A/V settings so you can seriously adjust the picture to suit the envirmoment and the types of viewing you will do. {I have a lot to learn on this aspect. My previous Sony you had to go into a special mode for those settings. I never bothered}.
A shout out to the white gloves service. They were simple, effective, and quick. They brought it in, unpackaged it, connected it, tested (with me observing) and were gone after cleaning up after themselves.
I installed this on the wall myself using the Samsung Ultra-slim mounting kit. This kit was as easy as hanging a 50lb picture. The kit also includes a special movable “leg” that allows you to tilt the TV out from the wall to make connections. It worked great.
Bring on the remainder of Football season!
Just picked one up from Sears this afternoon. Paid $2,600 with the 10% Sears card discount. Replaced a 62″ Toshiba DLP. Compared it to the 8500 and didn’t see the value in spending another $1K. Also compared it to the Sony XBR9 and the Samsung did it for me.
Brought it home and had it running in 15 minutes. No problems at all. I must say the colors are just sick. I’m watching the Boise State-Nevada game on ESPN through Cox Digital Cable (Cox STB connected through an HDMI cable) and the ‘blue’ of the Boise State uniforms and helmets is just unbelievable. Details of the field and the sidelines are intense. I can see the paint chips from the ’stick’ marks on the players’ helmets. I agree with other posts regarding the 3D appearance. The image just pops out. SImply amazing.
I’ve tried. I’ve really tried to find the problems with the spotlights in the corners. No luck. Perhaps the problems relate to older models. Perhaps it’s a firmware fix. There’s no doubt Samsung is having QC problems along with customer service issues. If I were experiencing the spotlights or random source selection or defective features that others have experienced, I would be just as upset as they must be. But this unit is beautiful and I am fortunate…so far.
As for those complaining about the speakers, I disagree. No, they do not compare to 5.1 or 7.1 systems, but they are more than adequate for ‘the basics’. I do plan to purchase a home theater.
I picked up the extra warranty from Sears based on the comments from other posters. I plan on watching A LOT of TV over the next 30 days as the box is still in the garage. If I experience the QC problems it’s going back.
Overall, I recommend it. Best of luck to those with problems.
Best picture I ever have seen in a flat panel compared even to my Pioneer elite, but my biggest concern was these halos that would show up around people or objects moving and this is not a fast movement problem. I have heard that this is a 240hz problem for the motion blur. I did notice that if I turned off the motion blur the halos went away. This kind of defeats having motion blur settings and feature. These halos are very annoying also the picture viewing area seems narrower than most LCD sets. Returned the set and went for the PN58B860 plasma, which has a great picture too! I have also been reading some other problems showing up on this TV. Great picture but these little problems make for a bad combo.
I just got this TV two days ago. As soon as I started watching I saw that the darks in the corners and along the sides were not nearly as dark as the darks in the center of the picture. It’s as if there’s a gremlin in each corner shining a flashlight towards the center. I called Samsung Customer Service and they told me this problem is caused when the styrofoam packaging is too tight during shipping, and that it should go away in 2-3 weeks. If not I should call back and they will send a tech out to look at it. The service rep also mentioned that this is covered under warranty if it doesn’t go away.
So, honestly I don’t know what to think of this TV. When it’s showing pictures that are not dark, (ie a sports game or daylight scenes), it’s picture is fantastic. Clear, rich and beautiful. But if you dim your lights at night and watch a movie that has many dark scenes in it, the backlight problem is very noticeable. If the customer service rep is right, and the problem goes away by itself in a week or two I’ll be delighted. If the problem doesn’t go away I’m gonna be one bummed camper. I’ll try to update back as to how things turn out.
Finally had this TV delivered a few weeks ago. After quite a while deciding between this, the 8500 and the LG 55LH90 i got a really good deal on the 8000 (from BB oddly enough) so i went with that one. For the first week i didnt notice one bit of white light seeping in from the corners like many people complain of. Then i did a firmware upgrade and all of a sudden started to see it. Switching back to the old firmware removed it again. For any of you having this problem use Firmware version 2009/09/07_001012
Also i have read about people who complain the picture looks “too real.” This may sound dumb if you havent seen the TV but i know exactly what they are talking about. I love this effect for Blu Rays but dont care for it when watching normal television. To remove this effect so the picture looks normal go into the settings go to picture –> Picture Options –> Auto Motion Plus 240Hz and put it on custom. Leave blur reduction on 10 always, but for a “normal tv” looking picture move Judder reduction to 0. to get that 3d effect move judder back to 10.
IMO its worth saving your money and getting this one and not the 8500, especially if you can get it for 1000-1500 cheaper.
This is a great television! But buyer beware when using the Amazon.com Store Card 0% for 3 years deferred payment. The initial minimum payments would reasonably lead one to believe the balance would be paid in 2 years, not 3 as advertised. I have been going back and forth with customer service about how this could be. After a couple of months of getting nowhere, I have submitted the following complaint to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission:
I purchased a $2,500 television from Amazon.com on a 3-year deferred 0% interest promotion. I expected payments for 3-years of around $70 per month, but my billing statement indicated a minimum payment that would pay off the amount in 2 years. All I wanted was an explanation or justification (such as a sliding scale payment). Instead, all I got was unresponsive ‘copy and paste’ answers from the customer service center. Eventually, on October 31, S. Hern promised a reply in 20 days. I wrote again when I received no response in 20 days, and received a reply from T. Byrd promising a reply in 30 days. This ridiculous. I really don’t care how much I have to pay, all I want is an explanation of why I am not receiving a reasonable expectation of 36-months of even payments. They will say it was in the fine print, but I have read the fine print and see no reference to anything other than paying off the balance in 3 years and undefined minimum payments. Thank you for your assistance.
This experience has been horrible. In general, Amazon.com is great and has low prices, but once you take away the slick web interface and have to deal with the human component of customer service, then you see where the low prices come from.
I was replacing a 50″ LG Plasma that suddenly would not turn on. After shopping (demo) in my metro area I elected to purchase the Samsung UN55B8000 LED/LCD. After going through the set-up menu to adjust the picture quality I was VERY impressed. It was like going from CRT to Plasma all over again.
Moreover I saved $900.00 over the best price I could find in the Oklahoma City metro.
I have not used the built in audio components (read they are weak), but if you don’t have quality surround you should’t be shopping on this end of the quality spectrum anyway.
I own good stuff, this fits in perfectly.
I purchased this Samsung from Amazon about 3 weeks ago now and I love the TV.
Although I am not going into tech specs I am a certified tech geek and thoroughly checked this TV out prior to purchasing.
BREATHTAKING Blu Ray playback. Will just simply stop the show for those viewing.
Ease of use of features is much improved over previous Samsung sets. I have owned 2 other very high-end Samsungs in the last few years.
Little mentioned: The remote. The remote functions using it’s own frequency and works just like a good Bluetooth connection. Translation - I can point the remote any direction and it changes the channel, volume, etc. I can walk out into my driveway and change the channel. CNET makes a point to mention the wheel turning is annoying. Wheel-turning is annoying but you can simply press the buttons instead. Best remote I have ever had.
The outward appearance is just top-notch. It is a beutiful TV from the front, the side and behind.
The only other TV I have seen that functions any better is the 8500 model which costs $1000.00 more. That unit offers TRUE LED backlighting, not just edge-lighting like this model. Who cares! Go with this unit.
Bottom line, stop your searching. If you have the means, purchase this TV as fast as you can. You are missing out without it!!
Thanks.
I purchased the UN55B8000 with guaranteed delivery date. The date was right, but the TV delivered was a series 6000 one. Amazon will replace the TV set after Christmas. So, when you order “guaranteed delivery date” ask also for guaranteed product.
Excellent picture, sound is so so but I have a home theater sound system to compensate.
I still give the set 5 stars.
I have had this HDTV for 2 months… by the time you read down to my review, you have already read the technical side of everything related to this TV. I rate it “Amazing & Flawless”.
***** Delivery: I had never ordered anything so big from Amazon before. But I am a believer now. One thing to remember - Amazon does not deliver this - their agent does, so get that service’s phone number and call them to schedule and verify the date and time. And make room in your house for this Big Box!
***** Lighting: I was worried about three issues during the selection of this TV: Glare, viewing angle, and viewing distance. I looked at this TV in the store and there was little glare, and I found comfortable viewing even at 45 degrees. At home, it is even better. Compared to other Plasma the LCD TVs, this has them beat. Whether I watch this from 8 feet away on the couch, or from 16 feet in the kitchen, it’s great. Some seats on my L-shaped couch get a 45 deg. angle, but they are still excellent views. Glare from the kitchen area and hallway, as well as the windows on the side of the family room - not a problem at all. The LED is bright and cuts right through that.
***** Picture: I have not modified any of the default settings. I know there are plenty to play with but I am still in OMG picture shock. I recorded the 1080i version of King Kong on my HD cable system, and I use that as a demo to my friends. The fight scene with the T-Rex is amazing on this set. Watching old movies - like you see on TCM - they look “interesting”, almost 3D like. There’s probably a setting to adjust them. And some standard def. programs have a bit of a “jerk” to them sometimes. But I don’t think that is the TV’s issue - I think it’s the cable system (Samsung HD 3270). Watched Band of Brothers all weekend in 1080i mode - outstanding!
***** Inputs: plenty of HDMI inputs. I have used my laptop with the PC video cable. Talk about a big desktop.
***** BluRay input: I got the LG BD90 (also through Amazon). This has the true 1080p. Watched Terminator Salvation - amazing.
**** Sound - OK, the sound is not 5-star. But if you read Consumer Reports, and these reviews, you already know that. But your best movies will be watched with your surround sound stereo, so for me, it’s not a big deal. I got this TV for the picture.
This TV is by far the best on the market for PQ/cost ratio. Just paid $2500 for this 55″ and couldn’t be happier. Images are extremely life like. Don’t listen to the negative hype about clouding/flashlights/screen uniformity. These issues are non-existant on my new 8000. Blu-ray dark scenes are perfect with no corner lighting issues. TV is connected with 17.2 gbps Acoustic Research cables. If you have problems with image speed, its because your hdmi cable is too slow. I upgraded from 10.2 to 17.2 on my Samsung 6000 led and the images are extremely smooth across all inputs. Folks who complain about screen uniformity have not correctly calibrated their TV for dark room viewing.
This is the best TV I ever seen! Definitely, Samsung is making history with this TV. The picture quality and the slim design deserve one A+. I have not used the internet connections yet, but overall this is a TV that should be added to anyone list. A minor negative comment is the lack of more analogical ports connections and the tight space to connect the cables, when using the Samsung wall mounting (WMN1000B), but this is nothing compared to the picture quality delivered by this TV (UNB558000). I am letting all my friends jealous with the Art Gallery frames, which enhance even more the TV. Sometimes, I ask my self: “This is a TV or a portrait?” It is actually both!
Thanks Samsung and keep-up with the good work
First off, the picture on this TV is fantastic. Images on blu-ray are quite sharp. Why am I giving it 3 stars?
1) Cable feed (standard def) looks absolutely, shockingly terrible. I don’t care what argument is thrown at me for this, a $3000 state of the art TV should not look 10x worse than our outgoing, 10 year old tube TV. Yet it does. It’s so bad that text is almost unreadable and sports are unwatchable.
2) Sound. Yes, I know, all these new TVs have bad sound. This has exceptionally bad sound. It’s like they realize the sound will suck and just gave up.
3) Uneven back lighting. To be honest, the first few hours I didn’t even notice it. Then I plugged in a blu-ray. Opening scene looked great, then the screen turned black for some sort of legal notice and I saw all sorts of light splotches on the screen. Absolutely no reason for this. Then, as the black bars appeared on the screen fro the movie, I noticed how all four corners had a gray aura about them. Looking closer, I noticed that the picture in all of the corners is noticeably lighter than the rest of the screen. It’s quite distracting now that i see it, and I don’t understand why this is a problem in samsung’s top TVs.
All in all, great picture with some detracting flaws. I purchased a ~$600 plasma for my bedroom two months ago and it has infinitely better sound and standard def cable looks much superior. I’d give this LED back lighting some time to improve.
The clarity of this glossy-screened LED-backlit TV is stunning. HD movies off blu-ray look fabulous, and HD broadcasts through satellite (DirecTV) look absolutely fantastic. Watching a silly sitcom, I felt like I was in the studio audience. Yes, I could reach out and almost touch Sheldon, Leonard, Raj. It was like looking at the actors through a window.
I could go on about how great this TV is, but here are a few nitpicks for the discerning audio-videophile:
(1) AutoMotion sucks. We had this smoothing feature turned on by default out of the box, and it caused frame stuttering! The frame stuttering was so bad while I was watching a few sample shows that I started to get a headache. We at first couldn’t figure out why the picture was stuttering so noticeably, but once we turned off AutoMotion, the stuttering ceased.
(2) LED backlighting is edge, not from behind. When you look at a black screen, you can SEE the edge backlighting. During normal watching this setup doesn’t bother much, but for dark dark movies like Aliens, Star Wars, etc., you have to turn it way down or you can actually see the edge backlighting.
(3) Gloss is a pro and con. The screen reflects light like mad. You have to turn off or shutter any light behind you before viewing, or you will see those tiny slivers of sunshine from behind the blinds. This was not the case with our previous HDTV; its screen was simply not glossy, it was quite matte-like and absorbed a lot more light.
CEVA DELIVERY IS EXCELENT; THEY CALLED, CAME WITH 2 MEN; AND MAKE SURE IT WAS ALL OK.
THIS TV DELIVERED WITHIN 1 WK SINCE ODERED BEFORE ALL OTHER SAME DAY STUFFS ORDERED THAT HAD NOT DELIVERED (VIA USPS AND UPS).
TRYING AMAZONE PRICE CHECK OUT BECAUSE THE PRICE IS CHEAPEST ON THE WEB ON THE DAY ORDERING; IT LISTING PRICE MAY HIGHER THAT ACTUAL SELL PRICE. FREE SHIP/NO TAX; RECYCLE FEE TO SJ CA
THE TV IS THE BEST QUALITY OF SAME SIZE CLASS. NO REGRET EVEN YOU CAN HAVE 2-3 TVs SET WITH THE PAID PRICE.
CHEERS
The Samsung 55″ LED 240 hz TV is spectacular. Awesome set! All I can is, “I love it!”
I utilize this unit for football games and movies. I have no complaints.
Yes, there is a touch of light emitting from the corners of the set during dark scenes but it does not take from the picture or the overall performance of the unit. I am very pleased with the purchase. Thank you SAMSUNG…great product.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s an excellent TV. Great picture quality and brightness. Sound is not all that great but if you’re getting a TV of this size, Samsung probably figures you have a surround sound system anyhow.
The Internet features are a bit disappointing. Samsung supports Yahoo Widgets and if you can find a widget to talk to your preferred content provider (Flickr, NetFlix etc), then you can stream any content from them BUT the widgets themselves are very sluggish. Navigating through them to get to your downloaded movie can be a tiresome process. The remote appears unresponsive and it buffers your input and does them all at once leading to a lot of angst. If Live! functionality is your reason for a new TV, then I suggest you look elsewhere (Panasonic’s BD Live! players have excellent Internet functionality through Vieracast).
Mounting the TV was quite easy. I bought a standard wall-mount from Costco and that package had the necessary screws to mount this on the wall.
Now to the 240Hz anti-judder : This feature inserts additional frames in between the frames in the movie. If you are watching live sports OR other non-movie HD programs, you’ll be thrilled with the picture quality BUT if you are watching movies on Blu-Ray or streaming movies from the Internet, then you start to notice a soap-opera like feel to the movie. It’s very clear and sharp and all but you will not like the “non-film” quality to the picture. Fortunatley, Samsung provides a way to turn off 240Hz anti-judder and that thankfully helps. I spent a fair amount of time on Google searching for this problem before I found the right words “soap-opera” to identify the issue.
Nevertheless, great TV and a good addition to our Entertainment Room.
I will start by saying I am giving this 4-stars because the 1.1″ thinness of this TV puts it in a seperate class from anything out there as far as looks, and that was a big factor for me. If this TV was 3″ thick it would get 3-stars…
Pros:
-The detail, color, and black levels are absolutely amazing on this TV.
-Most adjustable TV as far as PQ settings ever
-Thin!
-Energy efficient, low heat
-Great in bright rooms
Cons:
-Backlighting is real!!! In a dark room you will see it during any scene with primarily black as the background. I was very close to returning it, but this TV is not my theater room TV. It is a family room TV, so it is mostly used in the daytime with lights. I could NOT use this as a primary theater TV. People not “looking for it” noticed it…looks like clouds all over a dark screen.
-Internet Widgets: too slow to be useful. Why bother Samsung???
-Off-angle viewing gets washed out at extreme angles. Not as bad as the CNET review. But not as good as a Plasma. Not a big deal for me.
Overall, a great TV for, but the backlighting is a dealbreaker if you watch movies in the dark.
Let me begin this review by stating that Amazon.com has been VERY good about helping me with my problem. Their return policy and customer service are among the best in the industry.
NOW: Samsung is a different story.
I bought this television based on the specs, the online reviews and Samsung’s own website. The screen size and the price point seemed great for us. When it arrived, it was even more beautiful in person. Sadly, the picture quality was awful. I know that electronic devices can be perfect out of the box or DOA out of the box, so I was a bit disappointed when I installed the TV and found out that it wasn’t working properly. The backlight was horribly uneven (more than just the typical “edge lit LED screens are uneven” stuff…this was very noticeable on all inputs). Any all-black screen was marred by clouds of white light. Worse, there were digital artifacts around all edges and contrasty spots. It looked like a B&W checkerboard surrounded everything, and it was also visible on all HDMI inputs (Dish DVR and XBox) AND on our Samsung BluRay player. The sound occasionally dropped out, and there were weird all-magenta screen flashes randomly happening. You get the point. This was a defective TV.
Unaware of Amazon’s customer-friendly return policy, I called Samsung to take advantage of their in-home warranty service. I’m not going to spend pages and pages ranting about how awful the experience was. I’ll just say it was awful. They came out three times (VERY late, two out of three of them) and could not fix the problems. I thought it would be a no-brainer to have Samsung step up and replace the TV with a working model. NOPE! They’ve given me the run-around for almost two months. They finally said that the service tech had not specifically written “deemed unrepairable”, so they could not replace it unless he did. Hours of back-and-forth calls later, they finally deemed it unrepairable, and said they’d replace the TV…except that they apparently do not have any of that model available in any of their warehouses. They told me I should just wait for them to contact me. They do not know when that will happen.
I checked Amazon’s site, and they said they’d take back the TV right now and replace it with a brand new one. I’ve owned other Samsung products in the past, so I’m not overly worried about getting another lemon. I’m just very, very disappointed in Samsung’s terrible customer service. It’s rare to find a company who is adamant about NOT caring a bit about customer (dis)satisfaction. Google “samsung customer service sucks” for many more stories just like mine…
And again, I have to say that Amazon is a stellar company. Thanks to them for rescuing me from further dealings with Samsung’s corporate flunkies!
I just got my TV today, watched two movies on HBO HD thru my comcast cable and WOW!. I have no sign of the flash light dark corners or any uneven contrast in dark senes. I highly recommend this set. Maybe I got lucky, or maybe the newest ones are fixed. I saw the issues at BBuy too, but mine is absoulutely awesome. FYI I did change some setting I got off a web site. Calibrating makes a differance with color, and jitter. My TV looks way better than it did at bestbuy. Don’t make your final decision based on BestBuy’s display. If you could see mine, you go out and buy one.
Awesome TV!! BlueRay is beautiful. Our Wii looks great with component video cord. Regular satellite tv is ok, but HD programming is in our future (this is a must). Our service from Amazon was great. Arrived before Christmas despite my late ordering and no surprises. Amazon has become my favorite place to shop.
After much consternation, not to mention outright confusion, I decided to take the plunge and buy a Samsung UN-55B8000. After setting it up, I was angry at myself for taking so long when the set is so far beyond my expectations, not even including what I purchased it for. I got it at Electronics Expo, using their coupon WS920X3807, it was the best price online, including Amazon.
The first thing I noticed, out of the box no less, was the incredible black levels that even with just a high def cable movie that it displayed. It was rich and deep, but never covered or distanced background objects the way other sets I saw did. After a few hours of tweaking with my Blu-ray now attached, I was even more amazed at the color rendition;they were brilliantly saturated without creating a sense of cartoon-like vividness. In past models, I remember seeing grass that looked like astroturf, but not here. With each successive disc, I was continually impressed, though in all fairness, I did notice the effect the LEDs have on the caste of the panel. That effect soon lessened with more precise contrast settings, and my viewing continued unabated, no less impressed then before. I certainly recommend everyone looking at this TV to look at the “big picture” (pun intended).
First off, I love the brilliant images, whether it be a football game or a video game this tv offers the best clarity i’ve seen in a long while. That been said i have to mention the few flaws this 55 inch-8000 series has. It only has one component input and while everything is moving towards hdmi i can understand why there is only one, but many people still own component devices.
Second, the “widgets” are not too useful given that it runs so slow. (this is a minor detail since I don’t plan on using it)
Third, Watching 16:9 movies or watching tv in the dark exposes the poor distribution of the backlighting. every corner and bottom center has a white washy glow witch is very very distracting. I’ve calibrated and adjusted with various dvd tools but nothing helps. I’ve had the tv for about 2.5 weeks and I’m contemplating exchanging once. If it turns out that its not an isolated incident then I will be forced to return. I will probably consider buying the dying technology of plasmas.
Enough has been said about the picture of this TV…its all true. Buy the TV! Amazon shipping is first class. Drivers brought the TV into the house and hooked it up. No chance of a DOA unit! Shipping was also fast and traceable. I am using the TV with an antenna and a Sony home theater with a up-convert DVD. I put in the Disney movie Cars and you can see the metallic fleck in Lightning’s paint!!!
I purchased a ScreenProtector online because I have kids. It looks like it will work, but the anti-glare surface does lose a little resolution. I think the TV Armor protector would have been better (Read the reviews)! For the money, I like the idea of having something between this TV and the kids.
I also purchased the Samsung Linkstick for wireless Internet access through my connection. I wouldn’t recommend it. The Yahoo widgets are s-l-o-w to respond and each widget operates a little bit different. I still haven’t gotten some to work (like CBS). You get bored waiting for the content to arrive and give up. I think a better bet would be to use the new Boxee Box once available, or use your PC to stream content through your PC to the TV using Boxee software. There are other boxes that do the same thing. These things are *designed* to stream this content, the Yahoo widgets that the TV runs were not.
Okay, so right from the start, this television is AMAZING. I purchased it from Amazon at an UNBELIEVABLY low cost. Anyways, I’ve had this television for a little over a week, and have given it extensive use. I live with my best friend, and my best friend notices no LED back-lighting or the spotlight effect (unless she ‘tries’ to find it); HOWEVER, I certainly do, and it’s annoying as hell. Well at least I did when I was trying to find the bad things/mistakes/cons about this television; however, when I try to enjoy myself and the movie, it looks great and I don’t really focus on that issue. I don’t know why, but it seems to be more prominent in certain dark scenes of movies, NOT ALL. Video games did not really have this effect (Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune had a little, barely noticeably.)
Regardless, there is no sense of reiterate anything that previous reviewers stated. I am just re-emphasing that there is indeed a LED Back-light effect that is definitely noticeable, and that the quality of this television is simply amazing. I love the slim profile and the multitude of HDMI inputs. (However, the inputs are not really too necessary, as I have a receiver that does all that for me, only using one HDMI and one Component input on the television). I was really hesitant about getting this television because of the lighting issue, and I was actually considering returning it.
Anyways, I’ve probably watched about 18 blu-ray movies, played at least 25 hours of video games (from PS3 and Wii) all within the past week, and I still love this television. I would highly recommend purchasing one.
Side note: I did notice how one reviewer stated that with the 240hz anti-judder on, it definitely seems like the movie is fake (as if you see it if you were on the set watching the actors film, not necessarily how the director wants you to see the movie.) I found this to be very cool, and it works well with most movies. Sometimes I do turn it off though.
After reading every review on Amazon, with a little trepidation about the negative comments about the screen on the sides and in the corners, we bit the bullet and bought this tv about 4 weeks ago. It is the best tv we have ever owned, with a picture that is nothing short of amazing. No problems whatsoever, and just a fabulous picture. We have it hooked up to our surround sound system and a Samsung blu-ray player, and I am amazed every time we turn it on. In short, we love it.
I’ve had my Samsung UN55B8000 240HZ TV for two weeks. It has the best picture I’ve seen on any TV. I hooked it up with the HDMI Mediabridge Ultra Series - 6ft. Cables sold on AMAZON for 9.99 and a Denon Reciever with a 5.1 Bose Speaker System and COMCAST HD cable box. It looks great and sounds wonderful. I turned off the TV speakers and use the Bose. I have not experienced any of the halo effect mentioned by others. I hooked up my TV through the Denon Receiver and the Blu Ray, COMCAST Cable HD Box, and CD Player are hooked into the Denon
I purchased a Harmony One Advanced Remote Control and have all of my components working off the Harmony One. The Harmony One is great and easy to program - 30 mins tops.
I had no problems at all with the set up, color, corner white problems etc. I did look at many reviews about Samsung 6000, 7000 & 8000 that talked about so many different issues both negative and positive. If you are not a super tech person but someone that just wants a quality picture you will not be disappointed. Best picture I have seen, I am sure Sony or Pioneer has one just as nice. I just thought the picture quality was the best option for me. I do have it connected to Direct Tv. Purchased through Amazon with the free financing which in all honesty should be 24 months not 36 months. You know I would have bought it anyway with 24 month free financing, I still can not see how you get 36 month free financing. Other then that I am happy with the delivery company they used and the financing I received. You should talk to your marketing department about highlighting the 24 month free financing. If for some strange reason your customer receives 36 months free the customer would be happy vs wondering what they missed. It also hooked up very quickly to our internet using the wireless add on. Great TV, best price, great delivery and the best financing I could find!
So far the television has exceeded my expectations. I expected the picture to be good and it was better. 1080i signal from AT&T Uverse looks excellent especially the HD Movie Net channel. Don’t have a Blue Ray player yet to test true 1080p picture. I have seen the “flashlighting” that some folks mention when the edge of the image is supposed to be black and the room lighting is just right but the effect is minimal and I wouldn’t have noticed it unless I was told to look for it.
Delivery was on time and fast! I’m very happy so far. Originally I intended to buy either a 6000 series Samsung LED-LCD or a top-of-the-line Sony LCD since price was comparable. When I say the on-line price for this 8000 series television I couldn’t type fast enought. I save over $1400 from buying at a well-known electronics chain. Internet widgets and stuff are kind of neat but I don’t think that I will really use them that much.
My TV arrived within a week and the delivery personnel were terrific,they unpacked it,asked me to examine it,set it up,showed me many of the TV’s features and asked me if I would like them to dispose of the carton and packing material. I couldn’t have hoped for any better service.
As well as being one awesome television,I also paid $400 dollars less than the best sale price anywhere.I was reluctant to purchase such a major item online but Amazon really delivered. A great product at a great price.
I have had this set since October 2009 and I have not been disappointed in any way.
In September I had concerns about some of the reviews complaining about the “white” edges/corners on dark scenes.
Well these are rare and very faint. But once you perform a firmware update they no longer show up. My firmware update was from 001011 to 001017, and I performed it just this week after finally finding the time to connect the TV to the internet with a Netgear HD/Gaming 5 GHz Wireless-N Networking Kit -great kit by the way.Netgear WNHDEB111-100NAS Wireless N Access Point
The only thing on my wish list for this set would have been two banks of ports; one dedicated for Video Components devices, and the second one dedicated to AV devices. As it is there is only one bank that can service both types of devices. However once the connection is setup you are committed to that connection type. So if you have a switch box to share that bank between a Wii, a DVD, a laser disc player and a VCR and you want the highest image resolution possible you are going to have to connect using a Video Component connection thus leaving out your VCR and the Laser disc player because these two use an AV connection.- forget those switches advertised as converters they don’t work. True converters are very expensive too.
Also the remote uses AAA batteries. Considering that it is the only way to turn the TV on, that its size is quite large, and that it has a back lit feature that illuminates the keys in the dark, I would have preferred a larger size battery like AA that would last longer. But I am just neat picking here.
I connected a Panasonic Blu-Ray player through the HDMI interface and the picture quality is just outstanding.Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black)
I also complemented the set with a Sharp sound bar which provide great sound at a modest expense.Sharp HTSB200 2.1 Sound Bar Audio System
The TV is hung on the wall like a picture which is the better way to install it. The pedestal is okay, but it is rather heavy ( 10 lbs ) and requires a strap attachment to the wall. Do yourself a favor, get the hanger kit from Samsung.Samsung WMN1000B Fixed Low-Profile Wall Mount for Select Samsung 40-Inch to 55-Inch Displays It is easy and fast to install. I did it myself after delivery.
I love this set and would buy a second one to replace our older second CRT TV set in the bedroom if I could afford it .
I truly hope Samsung is working on larger LED sets. Initially I was shopping for a 65 to 70 inch set. But these sizes were not available with LED.
I do not want to ramble too much here. But I figure folks reading these reviews and considering making such a large purchase would want to get good practical feedback.
So last but not least, the concierge/delivery service working with Amazon was fast and efficient. The TV was delivered on time, in great condition - including the packaging - , and with great care. The deliverers were in and out in 10 minutes with the TV setup, configured, and running. I guess they could have stayed longer and answered my questions if I had wanted to. But I am not that kind of customer
I was able to tweak my settings using my Harmon Kardon 1350hd to just about eliminate the ghost gremlins from the corners. All and All this is a major issue and I will complain to Samsung. Took me about an hour of tweaking and getting back up peer review (neighbor) but I can live with it now.Samsung UN55B8000 55-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LED HDTV
I did a lot of research before buying this Samsung LED HDTV from Amazon. In fact I had already decided to buy from BestBuy but when I saw the price on Amazon I ordered in online and with two day delivery it was here in time for my installer to put it on my wall. My consultant/installer wanted me to buy an LCD (back-lit vs. edge-lit) but when he finished putting in my sound system and fired up the entire system he said he was stunned and amazed at the quality of picture and said that my choice of TVs was better than his recommendation!
Mine is hanging in a alcove space in the wall of entertainment center cabinets in our living room and my issue with my older DLP TV was the reflections coming from my wall of windows to the side and back of our seating area. With the tilting wall mount and the incredible brightness of this TV the glare is not an issue any longer. The TV automatically updated its firmware once connected to the internet and with my Harmony 900 remote my wife can now easily operate all my components: DirecTV DVR, Apple TV, Ipod, the free BluRay DVD I got with this TV, and the Wii without written instructions or a phone call to me when the grandkids want to watch a DVD.
The other thing that was great and had caused me a lot of anxiety in the past with Amazon was their delivery vendor here in the DFW area. I had quit buying from Amazon for a year because of this but when I saw that Amazon jettisoned its old shipping company and my TV was to be delivered by Pilot Freight Services that sealed the deal. Pilot called to schedule the delivery and again when in route, and they were very professional when it arrived and placed the box in my living room for the installer to unpack.
I highly recommend this TV and I noticed yesterday that BestBuy had already jacked the price back up after the Super Bowl, while it is still much lower on Amazon.
Fantastic television with black blacks and bright colors. Easy to use remote which is back-lit for viewing in the dark. Little distortion or loss of brightness when viewed from the side. The high definition is very realistic.
This TV produces wonderful images. If you watch sports and colorful movies like “Happy Feet” you will be very happy.
However, during semi-dark and dark scenes the backlight is visible. It appears as white clouds (for lack of a better description). Kind of like having small flashlights all around the edges that shine on the screen. The picture BEHIND the light is great but you can’t enjoy the movie because of the “white clouds”. On my TV, the white clouds covered 80-90% of the image - that’s a lot of washout on a 55″ image.
Samsung phone support sent someone to my house; the phone person said they are receiving numerous calls about the problem. The repair person arrived with the attitude of, “I hear about this problem every day and I’m tired of it.” He told me that Samsung used to try to repair the problem in the field but since has stopped. Results have been 50-50 whether the problem gets better.
He told me that if I didn’t like it to not watch movies with dark scenes. Say what???
He also told me that my choices are to “live with it” or to “return it”. That the problem was very well known and “just a fact of LED TVs”.
I have since seen complaints on the Sony website for their LED TVs. Well, at least Samsung admits to the problem!
Since Samsung phone and email didn’t produce any responses of use, and they have no interest in fixing the problem, I have returned it.
Buyer beware!
p.s. Amazon has been wonderful in supporting me and accepting the TV for refund (it just left my house yesterday so I don’t know what problems, if any, I will have in the refund area…)
This is one amazing TV. Everything seems to look better on it. Blu-rays seriously feel as though they are popping out of the screen. When Super Bowl 44 was on, you could see the shaving knicks on the coaches as they were interviewing them. This TV still exceeds my expectations after having it a couple of months.
Many of the comments mention the light coming out of the corners of the display and how once you see it, you can’t unsee it. I disagree, but hey what do I know?
This TV retailed for $3799 and Amazon had it for $2399. I was skeptical how the price could be so low and wondered if the shipper would deliver a scratch and dent package. The opposite was true. Ordering was simple (as usual), the package shipped quickly and arrived perfectly in original packaging. It was shipped by Pilot. I love my new TV and am blown away by the stunning clarity of the picture. I highly recommend purchasing this TV from Amazon.com.
I go this TV from Amazon … firstly it had a issue with digital output. The door was missing for the digital output. I called Samsung service and they came and replaced the main board. This new main board looked different with extra connector.
The optical door issue was resolved, but the main board had it own issues. I started seeing flickers in the picture, more so with HD video. I opened a call again and they said the part is on back order. It took one week to get the part. But I could not take more risk with the expensive product and had to return it.
So bottom line, I got a defective product and I gave Samsung a chance to fix it, but it could not make up.
Amazon was excellent in picking up.
Great Tv overall. Picture is great during HDTV and Blu-Ray inputs and Next Gen Video Games look great too. The only thing that I don’t like is when the picture is on an all black picture their are shadows or a “blotchy white” look towards the outer sides of the screen.
I bought the TV in December 2009. It’s fantastic in all aspects except the sound volume from the speakers are terrible. I have adjusted the volume to 100 (the loudest it can go) and we still can’t hear it very well! I would buy the TV again, but plan on purchasing a 3rd party surround sound system to be completely satisfied.
this tv is grat. i have it sitting at eye level in a room which is 11 by 11 and th picture is reallygreat- almost 3d which it isnt. i also bought the samsungbluray player which caused some issues trying to hook it to the wireless system in my house but samsung technical support were good and the pictures of movies is wonderful too
Very nice picture and nice and thin.Unfortunately,the clouding and flashlighting on this tv at night when a dark picture is shown is outrageously bad,so only 3 stars.I’ll have to make my mind up whether to live with it or call samsung support.I also wasn’t able to get this off of amazon due to the greedy powers that be in new york that decided to make amazon start charging new yorkers sales tax
absolutely awesome picture and tv. very happy with purchase and service I have received from amazon. Thanx
Before I purchased this TV I researched and researched. And kept coming to the same conclusion. You are not going to buy an LED at this price anywhere. The price was a huge selling point, then came the picture. I read and read about the lighting problem and yes, I did see it once. And yes, if you look really close you can see faint brightness in the corners when it comes to an all black background. Then I did the update for the LED and it seems to have helped. I’ve watched several dark looking movies and haven’t seen it. After all of that I came to the conclusion that the picture on this is just awesome. I’m a big sports nut and watching any sport on this is just the best. Colors are spot on and the 240hz really struts it’s stuff during games. And as for the 240hz motion, like a lot of people have stated before. I turn it off when I am watching a blue ray movie. It actually ends up being to clear if that’s possible. And that’s a real good problem to have. So picture wise, you can’t go wrong.
Sound, ugh! I’m not an expert when it comes to all the techs of sound. But the sound on it is real bad. It’s not something that stopped me from purchasing it, and after awhile most people won’t think much about it. But when you hook it up to a sound system you will really notice the difference. And again, the sound part for me was not a big deal.
Overall, great TV. The best price you’ll find. The delivery people were fast and great to work with. So if your looking to update tv’s, this is the one you should go for. And once you hook up your HD cable, you’ll know why.
This is one of the best TV’s I’ve owned so far. Right out of the box, the picture didn’t require any adjustments. Very easy setup with other AV components. Picture quality is outstanding especially when watching blu ray movies with the home theatre system - picture is very clear.
I’ve had this TV for about a month now, and have nothing negative to say about it. I bought this from Amazon - they didn’t have the lowest price - although competitive, but their reputation was a factor in deciding the purchase. Their delivery was one best and easiest to complete.
I would highly recommend this TV for anyone who is willing to pay a little bit more when comparing with the other fat LCDs out there - you get high quality and technology, and lots of adjustment capability - did I mention TV is super slim?!
you can n’t get better than this for the price you are paying, true color and good sound. One drawback is only one Composite Video/RCA-type video connector. Rest all is good.
Amazing picture, contrast level fantastic. Upscaling of non HD pictures really good. Neg is dark segments loose detail, hard to see. Read about this in professional reviews. Is a little bothersome. All in all, this set is a fantastic value. 240HZ motion flow at times creates near 3d effects. This is bad resulting in an unnatural picture. In older content, 240hz can create a very odd, almost old soap opera find of old video look. Very odd. Simple solution is to just turn off 240 hz. Picture then is fine.
Overall incredile value and excellent picture. BlueRay movie’s so sharp a non-audio/videophile described it as almost 3D. If like many, you’re on the fence like I was on full array vs.edge lit LED’s, don’t wait. This TV’s awesome. I immediately did the firmware updagrade. The concerns expressed in some reviews of seeing lighter areas near corners is one of those things you have to really look for & decreased significantly after the firmware upgrade-as best I can tell. It’s so slight that I’d certainly not pay $600-$800 more for full array. Internet widgets are cool, being able to quickly review news/sports/eBay account is also very cool. I was a loyal Sony fan & am now definitely a Samsung TV fan; as I’d have had to pay nearly $1K more for these features in a Sony.
I just received the TV today and it is already having issues. It has intermittent lines across the TV and the back light is uneven. I heard a lot of good things about Samsung, but the UN55B8000 is pretty bad.
It likely goes without saying that 240mHz makes a big difference. However, when I had my HD service installed by Comcast on this TV, even the technician said, “WOW, that picture is unreal! Is this a 240? It’s like the people are walking around in 3D.” I couldn’t agree more! It’s simply the most amazing television I’ve ever owned.
So, beyond my “shock and awe” I’ve owned a 50″ Panasonic Plasma and a 37″ LCD. Those two PALE in comparison! Even using a Bluray player on my 50″ plasma (also in 1080p)the picture is EVEN BETTER! I didn’t even realize it was possible!
My one caution for this setup, you better like HD reality. Many shows in HD or movies on Bluray look so real, you literally feel like you’re there. I watched an episode of House last night and thought the clarity and film work was so drastically different that it almost look more like filming of a soap opera. It’s taking some getting used to that’s for sure!
I can’t wait to try the Amazon On-Demand HD movies!!
Could somebody help me, which LED HDTV is better the Samsung UN55B8000 55-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LED HDTV or the new Samsung UN55C7000 55-Inch 1080p 240 Hz 3D LED HDTV?
I would like to buy one of them and I’m not sure if I should spend more money for the 3D LED UN55C7000…
Thanks for your help
The colors and clarity are outstanding. I haven’t noticed the back light bleedthrough other reviewers have refered to on dark scenes at all. The audio sound was a little weak, but I managed to hook up my old receiver and surround sound through my cable box,while the video was hooked up with the HDMI cable.
This LED-edge TV has by far the worst, most uneven back-lighting I have ever seen on any TV or monitor. On anything approaching a dark screen it literally appears as if there are bright mini-mag lights shining from every corner in towards the center of the screen. Even those are widely varied in shape pattern and intensity.
They are more than bright enough to interfere with normal viewing and glaringly apparent in any scene which has a black background. Friends who happened to be here when we set it up and turned it on noticed the ‘weird corner-lights’ immediately.
I did update the firmware to current, no change or improvement at all in the awful back-lighting.
I checked the LG55LH90 today for comparison - a full LED-lit TV, 55″ and there is absolutely zero visible back-light bleed, on a black screen the back-lighting is beautifully uniform in all respects. The picture is better, as the uniform LED’s can darken in darker images and light more in lighter scenes, somewhat replicating the deep blacks of plasmas.
Beware the Samsung UN55B8000 unless having the thinnest TV is more important than actual picture quality (why?) and in my opinion or now common sense, be wary of edge-LED lit screens overall. You definitely want to see and check it before buying one, not easy to do in most store environments as even significantly uneven back-lighting may not appear in the brighter lights of a store or in the usual TV store demo modes.
The images/screen really are gorgeous on this TV and if it were not for the severity of the back-lighting issue, it would be a winner, hands-down. It handles fast motion very well with no tearing or blurring that we could find and has “oh wow” clarity and definition. Crystal clear. Sound is ok and fine for TV speakers.
As for the Internet features, it’s really not worth paying any extra for on this TV - you are given Yahoo widgets to use and navigate with and it’s just not impressive to use - clunky and one nag prompt after another to do or agree to this or that when all you want to do is go online.
The remote is enormous but laid out well and the buttons are fairly large so it’s very easy to use as is the menu system in the TV.
I expected it to be programmable to use one instead of my Bose audio and DirectTV remote - as far as I can tell it is not.
Sadly my Samsung UN55B8000 is going back to Amazon and I am going with an LED-fully lit LG. My experience with uneven lighting is that it grows significantly worse with use over time.
This is all based upon my opinion… Samsung has done an excellent job at producing the 8000 series LED TV. The picture quality is mind blowing. Everyone who has view my LED TV goes away with their mouth still open… I’ve read all the negative things about the Samsung 8000 Series LED TV. There are times you and I might get some bad products, but it up to the manufacture to make good on their products… Upon receiving my LED TV without any adjustment, the picture quality was AWESOME. I looked at the four corners for lighting and didn’t see any… I spoke with a Best Buy Rep. and he showed me what causes the light to shine from the 4 corners. It all because people have gone into the settings and adjusts some features and the light shines out… He did a demo for me and there it was plain as day… So basically I have never seen the light shinning from the corner on my TV… Over all this is the best TV I’ve ever view and you can’t go wrong in buying one… My opinion, go out and buy one, and believe me you would be one Happy Camper that you did… I thank Amazon Customer Service for all their help and the TV was delivered on time… I give Amazon a thumb up on their service… Way To Go Amazon….
Great picture, nice brights, nice look, and nice gaming. Everything about this TV is awesome except for two things. The 240Hz doesnt really seem like 240Hz at all, it just seems like the 120Hz. I dont notice any difference.
Also, when watching a dark movie, the LED lights on the side are visible through the screen like a mist, especially seen around charcoal areas of the screen. But when watching sports, bright tropical movies, day movies, or game shows, it is not noticable at all.
I have had the B8000 for a month now and it is better than I ever expected. What a picture. There are no little lights at the edges and high def is beautiful. You can not go wrong with this purchase. Amazon delivered to my front door and there were no hitches what so ever. What are you waiting for, go for it.
BC
I researched this TV for a while before buying so I knew what I was getting. The TV works great and I’m aware of what people say about the white spots in the corners but it is not an issue at all unless you like looking at a black screen because that is the only time you notice it. Picture quality is the best I have seen.
1st thing is don’t expect the TV to be delivered when it says on your order. It was late and I ended up going to the airport to pick up myself because it was going to be 4 more days if I had waited. Last complaint was 1 week after I purchased the TV the price was reduced by $150. Amazon refused to give me the difference back. If I had bought in any retail store they would have refunded the difference-no questions asked. I love Amazon but strongly do not agree with this policy!
This TV is great. What is not is that 3 days after it arrived Amazon dropped the price by $400 and refused to refund or compensate me for the difference.
First let me say that Amazon stands behind their customers. They have been extremely helpful in assisting me with the issues I had with Samsung. Unfortunately Samsung customer service is well below par, my Samsung 8000 LED arrived with a damaged stand. I should have returned it then but was already delayed in receiving the product and that’s another story. Bottom line I contacted them over two week ago and was told I had to return the TV, which I was unwilling to do, asked them to send me a new stand, they finally agreed. Well I’m into week four and still haven’t received the stand, when I called they gave me some bull that the order was entered but not processed, here I am still waiting for a stand. TV quality is excellent, does have the edge lighting issues you’ve probably read through, but does not interfere with the outstanding picture. Outside of the BS Samsung is giving me on the stand I have to say I am impressed with the 8000 series. I have temporarily fixed the stand, but for the money I paid I would have expected better response time from Samsung.
Let me start by saying this is a really good tv for the price range. The other reviews I read before I purchased were pretty acurate- great color, really deep blacks for an LCD, and many setting options to get the picture JUST right. The other thing the reviews were acurate about was the “spot light” effect you get in the corners on dark scenes, although it’s not nearly as noticable when I turned the backlight and brightness levels down to where they should be. My few complaints are- nobody mentioned in the review that the included remote is RF- not IR! this is a prob for anyone who is like me and has a universal learning remote that’s IR. I have a Sony av3000 I’ve been using without complaints for awhile (I know it’s probably time to upgrade, just wasn’t prepared to drop another few hundy just yet!). Actually I’d apreciate it if anyone can tell me if the harmony 1100 will control this tv- let me know. Only other complaint is the 240hz- it’s worthless people, don’t get me Wrong it works…. Almost TOO good if possible! It takes ALL the motion blur away, giving movies a STRANGE “soap opera” appearance. I had to turn it off for all my inputs besides the cable box- 240 works well for sports and live tv- NOTHING ELSE! If u wanna save a few $$ get the 120hz and do yourself a favor. Otherwise a very good tv!
Right out of the box this TV had the back lighting issues some people were complaining of. Set your back lighting to “5″ and your problems will be solved. These people complaining of BL issues have their BL maxed out to “10″ and they wonder why there is lighting in the corners. First of all, with the BL set to “10″ IT IS WAY TOO BRIGHT! If you set the BL to “5″ and increase the other settings to your liking (brightness, contrast, etc..) you will see that this TV has a setting for every eye, even for the most visual of people.
I carefully looked at all of the reviews before purchasing this TV. Frankly, some of the reviews almost convinced me that this LED was not good. However, I have to say that it is by far the best electronic gear that I have ever purchased. The quality of the picture is fantastic. To avoid the soap opera appearance, all you have to do is select “Clear” under the 240 Hz picture option, resulting in a fantastic picture. I also like to way it interacts with my bluray and surround sound systems. I would highly recommend this to anyone.
This Tv has been great! It has an amazing picture and it is unbelievably thin! I would highly recommend this Tv.
Recently bought this at a price much better than any box store could offer - even on sale. Took it out of the box, plugged it in and a few clicks of the remote later it was up and running. Picture is great, the ease of use is great and I am extremely happy I bought it. The only thing that bothered me, as with all techy purchases, is that they came out with their 3D TV a wekk later. I have had it for a month now and all is well and would defeintely recommend this TV to anyone. The picture is fabulous.
Pros:
Picture is amazing, especially in a well lit room.
Stunning vibrant colors with minimum calibration necessary
Looks great both mounted on the wall or on the stand
Slim design makes it an artsy conversation piece
Plenty of inputs/outputs
Lots of tunable settings
RF remote surprisingly convenient (don’t have to aim at TV) with handy “remote finder” feature too.
Cons:
Uneven backlighting results in “clouding” during dark scenes
Remote control “wheel” is useless, slow and annoying
Some of the menu functions are disorganized and require different buttons and steps
Picture-in-Picture should have its own button on remote
Internet Widgets are slow to load, slow to navigate, slow to use
DLNA server software takes HOURS to catalog all the pictures, videos, and music files
Navigating the various media files via USB or DLNA is HORRENDOUS and slow.
Built in content feature is cute, but useless after first use.
Like many other purchasers of this model, I have been researching for a new HDTV for a long time. In fact, my first choice was the very popular LN52A650 back in 2008. It had the “new” 120Hz feature everyone was raving about. Fortunately other priorities delayed my purchase. Last year when Samsung came out with their new LED lineup I knew THAT was what I REALLY wanted. I loved the slim looks and slightly larger 55″ size, but unfortunately the initial price was WAY over my budget. With every visit to Best Buy I would study the picture for each model. I could never see any difference between the 6000, 7000, or 8000 series though. I’d also read all the reviews on Amazon and avsforum too. (actually I still do). The UN55B8500 and 2010 “C” models were heavy considerations too, but for $800+ more, they were simply out of my budget. I managed to get the UN55B8000 for about $1900 and it was worth the wait!
This TV is huge, especially compared to the 27″ CRT it replaced. Setup was easy and quick. My HD source is OTA digital signals via a full size roof antenna in the attic pointed to the cluster of transmitters 20 miles away on a mountain. Surprisingly the TV found more channels than my cheapy OTA converter box ever did. Each digital channel also lists the program schedule and a description of the show airing. The 720p and 1080i picture quality from the local broadcasts is fantastic! I can see every detail of the news anchor’s face whether I like it or not! I don’t have a blu-ray player yet, but my DVD player will upconvert DVDs to 1080p and it looks GREAT. And finally, my HTPC makes the UN55B8000 a perfect monitor. I can not stress how convenient it is to have a PC connected to your new TV. It totally negates the need for any of the slow clunky Internet or media playing features built into the TV. With sites like Hulu, Netflix, and Youtube to name a few, there are endless amounts of HD content available (legally too!) which eliminates the need (at least for me) for digital cable or tivo.
Now after a few weeks of ownership I’ve played around with all the settings, and have finally mounted it on the wall. Without going into great detail about the mount, I will say I used the generic version of the Samsung wall mount which has the same parts. It cost me about $35. I actually like it better than the Samsung version since the cable is longer which allows the TV to be securely mounted on two studs. Yes, the TV is light (sort of), but I feel more comfortable not relying on only drywall to hold such an expensive piece. Behind the TV I installed a recessed outlet and an access hole to run all my cables up the wall across the attic and back down to my A/V equipment. In total, I have 1 optical, 1 VGA, 5 RCA component+audio, 4 HDMI, 1 USB, 1 network and 1 3.5mm audio cable connected, and the TV still sits flat against the wall.
I’m still learning what video settings work best. Sometimes a setting that works for one channel or movie, doesn’t work for another. So if you want the best picture, learn the basic settings in each menu. As for the “Auto Motion Plus 240Hz”, I keep the settings at Custom with Blur high and Judder low (I think). It’s what most people use to keep a smooth picture without the “soap opera” effect which is really strange. Even at this setting, live sports looked crystal clear to me.
Another issue that exists with this TV is the clouding and flashlighting that shows up on dark scenes when viewing the TV in a dark room. Let me clarify my observations for my TV which may or may not exist for yours. When I’m watching during the day time in a well lit room, I do not see the problem. The picture is stunning and the blacks are deep and dark. But once the room gets dark, and especially at night when only the TV is on, you can see blotches of lighter blacks (the clouding). It can be distracting at times, but I’m mostly use to it as it doesn’t affect every program. You can fine tune your dynamic contrast and back lighting to help reduce this effect. I also hear it could go away with time, and it does exists on some 2010 models, so if you want to stick with Samsung, then this is something you’ll have to live with. It really only affects about 5% of my viewing anyways.
Many have complained about the sound of this model. I’ll say it’s okay when watching the news or PBS. But for movies, you’ll need to have a good A/V receiver. I’m still using my old Sony which supports 5.1 digital sound, but no HDMI. The DVD player (and future Blu-Ray player) uses a digital coax to the receiver. I use the Toslink optical cable from the TV to my receiver so the broadcast channels sound MUCH better. It works for me.
Final Thoughts:
I rate this set 4 out of 5 only because of the clouding issues. It is clearly a quality control problem that Samsung either cannot or will not correct. This IS an amazing television none-the-less. With great looks, a quality picture, and easy to use functions, there are only minimal improvements that would make it better. Currently the price of this TV is dangerously close to the 2010 “C” models, so I’m curious if there will be one more big price drop to get rid of all that old stock. If you don’t care about 3D, and could use the extra hundreds of dollars savings, then I would seriously consider purchasing this TV. Otherwise wait until the end of the year for the prices of this years models to drop down. That seems to be the trend.
Side notes:
Stand is very heavy, maybe 1/3 of the weight of the TV.
Mini-remote stays in my kitchen which faces the TV, so it’s kinda useful.
Picture of my TV is posted in the customer images section.
Review the manual. I keep finding new features I never knew about!
First let me begin by saying I have been a Samsung customer for a very long time, purchasing everything from laptops, TV’s, Blue Ray Player’s and more. But I must say that Samsung has out done themselves on this TV. The picture is incredible!!! Crystal clear with easy setup right out of the box. The sound is fairly good for such a slim TV. I also purchased the Samsung flush wall mount which keeps the TV very close to the wall and was a straight forward install. I would recommend this TV to everyone who is willing to pay a little more money for a very good TV. Also if you can wait a few days to have it shipped, I would recommend shopping through Amazon for a better price then you will find in retail stores even when on sale.
Everything was done great. Everything was on time with no problems. Communications, delevery by the trucking company and setting up the new TV was done quickly and properly. Thank You
I look foward useing Amazon.com again
Top of the line TV. In my opinion a 240hz Led is a must.Picture is great. Watching DVD and Blu-ray movies on this TV that I’ve watched on my other high-def TV’s was like watching new versions of the movies all over again, its awesome.
Ever since these LED Samsung TV’s came to the market I was drawned to them. The price was preventing me to buy it earlier, specially since my 4 years old LCD TV was doing great. Then I decided to buy one, and I went BIG
55″, 240 Hz. Amazon had absolutely the best price. I had cable HD, and I did appreciate the difference before, but with the Samsung LED is a totally new visual experience. I definitely recommend this product. If you’re buying one, remember to buy the LAN adapter if you want wireless internet connection.
Well, first off, let me say this television is by no means bad. The picture quality is fantastic and the 240hz feature takes some getting used to, but brings you closer to the movies in a more personal way. 240hz will seem a little weird at first, but give it a try.
One thing I have to note, however, is that the “flashlighting” “spotting” effects have unfortunatly made their way to my TV since day one. I do most of my watching in the evening in a dark room, so whenever the screen goes to black I see the splotching clearly and bright as day. It’s really a let down for how much I paid ($2,500 in december, ill get to that later..) . .
For the price of this TV they should have really ironed out those problems beforehand, or do a recall or a firmware update to fix it. I heard it has something to do with the LED being side lit. Inexcusable in my opinion.
Lastly, I am very disapointed to see the price of the B8000 55″ go down $600 a week after I purchased it for a whopping $2,500. Technology advances, I can understand, but they should have let the consumers know the “C” line was coming. So basically, IF I would have waited a couple weeks I could have gotten a UN55C7000 with almost twice the contrast ratio, 3d ready, and no flashlighting. I really feel screwed over.
After viewing the FAQ on the samsung website, they claim the B series is not 3d ready and never will be 3d ready. So those of us who just upgraded to what we thought was the cutting edge, best, new LED TV two weeks ago will be quick to learn the TV is infact an incompitant and over priced LED TV.
Now that the television has dropped nearly $800.00 in price, it really is a great buy for ANY consumer. You’re getting a lot of TV for that price. If you have the opportunity to grab the C7000 for five hundred dollars more, definetly go for it. I still feel the TV should be lowered in price.
I purchased this TV from Amazon who stated that they had the TV in stock. Given that it was supposed to be in stock, I expected an immediate delivery. Well, I was wrong. I placed my order last week and they still haven’t even delivered it. When I called them, they said they will deliver it tomorrow. Great, I then asked if they could expedite it because it has taken so long. They said that they can’t expedite and it may take up too two weeks for the final delivery. I expected more from Amazon, I guess that they are limited to only providing good service when selling $10 books. I will never again buy a high dollar item from them! This is the worst delivery service that I have ever received!
The only other TV’s worthy of being better are the new 3D or the 8500 series TV from Samsung….if you can afford to buy those ones. This TV is the next best thing! Picture quality is hands down the best. My friend has a LN Series 7 LCD and he’s amazed by my TV. There are “flashighting” issues that most of read about on AV forums but it’s not enough to distract me from the picture. If you are a serious TV person that notices that stuff, then maybe paying more for the 3D or any backlit tv would suit you better. Sound quality isn’t all that great but if you hook it up to a home theater who cares. The price can’t be beat on Amazon, plus shipping was free and NO SALES TAX!!
I bought this TV in Dec. 2009. It stopped working on April 17, 2010. It would will turn off and there is no picture (just the blue light that indicates that it’s on). I called Samsung on a Saturday and they told me that a service center would call me within 2 business days. I wanted until Tuesday then I called the service center. They informed me that they had not heard from Samsung, but they could take the information and get approval from Samsung to fix it. He called me back a few hours later and said that Samsung would not approve the service call because they had a record of an older service call and they thought I needed a new remote control. I called Samsung and finally got it straightened out - apparently the guy I talked to on Saturday never did a thing with the information. I now have to wait a week for a service call. In the meantime I bought another TV (Toshiba) to watch that I will use in the bedroom when I get the Samsung fixed and I did not even consider a Samsung. The picture is great, but the reliability and service sucks. I have never had a TV fail so soon after purchase.
Picture is out of this world! There is color leak in the corners but not a biggie. Very happy i bought this TV. Even happier that i got it for 1999.99.
Could not be more pleased. Set-up was relatively easy, picture is outstanding and sound is surprisingly good after reading so many reports about poor quality sound. My only disappointment is that Samsung doesn’t include with the TV the wireless internet gadget. The Amazon service and delivery was very satisfactory.
The good:
1. Amazing picture quality
2. Bright color great contrast…can’t even tell it’s on
3. Excellent remote
4. Lots of I/O ports to connect stuff
5. Very thin…looks like a picture frame on the wall (mounted it myself with Samsung slim mount)
The not so good:
1. The included DLNA software is pretty basic and not worth it. Recommend using PlayOn or something compatible though I’m not sure what all is compatible. I use it with PlayOn
2. Some in the TV or something that prevents you from watching a lot of the PlayOn content
3. The “widgets” are slow to come up and difficult to browse with the remote…I’ve mostly given up on them. I recommend attaching a laptop or pc through HDMI and getting a remote for the pc or better yet a bluetooth keyboard with trackpad.
4. The built in content isn’t really that great
So overall, buy the TV (maybe one without the media stuff built in) but get a separate media device.
I purchased this TV expecting a high qualitity picture but became disappointed with the picture over time. The picture looks great with BlueRay but at times there are abnormalities or gliches in the motion of things. Another abnormality is while watching TV the faces sometimes look pasty and the back grounds like props, antimated or not real. The TV is better than the rear projector I had but not as good a a movie picture.
This TV is amazing. The home theater company that came to install this TV (had some fancy wiring to do, specific to my install over the fireplace) recommended it, but could not stop watching it once we got it hooked up. Watching golf in HD…you see the blades of grass. Watching CSI Miami, you see the blood droplets (can be good or bad :). The Comcast guy that came to install the CableCard for my Tivo Premier box was absolutely amazed by it. Anyone that has seen it is truly amazed by the picture. Even in a bright room with windows, there is very little glare. We can watch with pure clarity any time of the day.
This TV is super thin, and that amazes friends too. I have it mounted on a Peerless Ultra Thin Flat Panel Wall Mount. This is way more low profile than the “picture frame” mount that Samsung is selling. I have this TV hooked up to a Yamaha RX-V665BL and a Bose cube system, so I have never used the in TV speakers. The menu system is a little goofy and slow, and the remote takes some getting used to. If you have this TV connected to a receiver, which you should, you may never use the remote anyway. I have the Tivo remote programmed to handle everything. The widgets are cool, but require using the Samsung remote, and are very slow to load. I have the TV hooked to my Cat5 cable, so its not my wireless connection. Once you get used to the remote though, going in and changing settings, such as picture modes is easy, but rarely necessary.
Did I mention this TV is amazing? Watch a few Blue Rays on this baby, and you will be hooked. And if you aren’t sure wether or not you will notice the difference between 240hz and the 120hz, go into the demo mode. Anyone that says the human eye cant tell the difference is trying to sell you a 120hz TV. You don’t notice the difference…until you see them side by side. Then you will know the difference for sure, trust me.
I am most amazed by: the picture quality, the thin profile of this TV, it sits just over an inch off of my wall, the way the TV looks even when it is off, the 240hz frame rates.
I am not as impressed with: the gadgets, the menu interface, the infrequently used remote.
I had been looking at the Samsung LED TVs for some time. I was debating on waiting for the newer models to come out, but I’m glad I didn’t! This is an amazing television. 240hz makes you feel like you’re in the action. The settings out of the box were all I needed. Getting it for $2,100 on Amazon made this deal even sweeter! If you can still get this model, order it while you can. The networked widgets are pretty awesome too.
Before you buy any Samsung TV, do an internet search for “samsung tv power supply problems.” Then draw your own conclusions. Be sure to buy an extended warranty if you plan on keeping it for more than 18 months.
ditto to all the positive reviews. There’s not much more that I can say except that my family and I are really enjoying it…
I bought an Ln550 and had it almost two years. It does not turn on now. It just clicks like a clock. A simple search on all samsung TV’s shows that they use cheap capacitors. They swell and burn out. You will have it happen right after your warranty is up. Samsung knows about the problem to they outsourced the costumer service to a place that is rude and hardly speaks English. With this name, you do not expect this but it is true. TV’s lasted 25 years. Now they seem to have a hard time making it to two years. Never buy Samsung.
I’ve got this TV for about a week now and its mounted up on my TV stand and looks amazing. The picture quality is beautiful and its a massive upgrade for me (Got a TV after 3 years and went from a 32″). I use a Logitech Harmony with this and my Onkyo HT 6200 with an ASROCK ION HT 330 with Media Center as a DVR. So far my family and I are enjoying this Tv. The only thing i’d like to add is that the widgets are horrible to use, so don’t bother with that. The mini remote is a nice touch but we have limited use for it.
After owning the TV for the last six month I got a big white bar right in the middle of the TV. Samsung will not replace the TV; the only thing is that they will fix it. The repair center will make you jump through so many hoops in order to get to what you want first, they call me ask again for the, serial number, model number, version number, and the receipt. Well I went home gave them the information but then they said if your TV on the wall you need to take down, they will not touch it is on the wall. How am I gonna get the TV off the wall. So much work just to fix it. BE AWARE of bad customer service from Samsung.
I paid a lot of money for a crap TV and service; I am stupid for trusting Samsung. Will never happen again.
I PURCHASED THE SAMSUNG UN55C6300 ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO AND I AM MORE THAN THRILLED! THIS PICTURE AND SOUND QUALITY ARE BEYOND MY EXPECTATIONS! THEN I CAME ACROSS THIS B8000 LED THAT WAS EMAILED TO ME FROM AMAZON AND WHEN I SAW HOW COSTLY IT WAS, I WANTED TO CHECK AND SEE WHY. NEEDLESS TO SAY I WANTED TO WRITE A REVIEW TO AWARE CUSTOMERS THAT THE UN55C6300 THAT I PURCHASED IS THE EXACT SAME TELEVISION FOR ALOT LESS MONEY! (PAID 1799.00) THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT MINE IS 120 Hz VS. 240 Hz ON THIS ONE…. SOMETHING THE NAKED EYE CANT EVEN TELL THE DIFFERENCE
SOOO HAPPY I MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE AFTER ALOT OF RESEARCH! JUST WANTED TO SHARE THE LOVE!
This TV has the clearest and most realistic picture I have ever seen. Now it is clear that all HD is not the same and I wasn’t able to see that with my previous HDTV.
I’m so very pleased with the picture and the features of this amazing television. However, I am very dissapointed with the Internet capabilities of the device. Mine is a 2009 model, and it does not support connection to Netflix. The speed of loading the “widgets” is excruciatingly slow. The wireless connection often drops. Don’t buy this for internet connections. Buy it for a remarkable picture. I see no value in 240 hz, compared to 120 hz.
If you are looking for a 55 inch screen, look no further than this model! This is exactly what the doctor ordered. Clear LCD, 240 speed and it is just beautiful on the wall.
Hook this baby up with surround sound and you have a home theater than is affordable as well as beautiful to look at.
I had mine installed by a professional; no wires visible. It looks like a picture on the wall over my fireplace. Love it–it makes sports come alive and the sounds and colors of a movie are fantastic. I can’t wait for football season. I truly believe I will be able to see each blade of grass on a natural football field.
The PIP is great for channel surfing. If I had it to do over, I would get this one again.
S.B. Mesquite, TX
Well after owing: a series 5 42″ LCD, then aSeries 6 TOC 46″ LCD and finally the top of the line Series 8 55″ LED… plus a small 21″ 3 series in my daughter’s room. ALL PURCHASES WITHIN 3 years, I have a pretty good idea what Samsung flat screens are all about.
I had Panasonic… tested Vizios, Olevias and Sony Bravias… and my first LCD was a Sharp Acquos.
FIRST THE PROS:
IMAGE
if image quality is your priority, no need to look further.. this TV’s image is sharper, more natural, intense and well calibrated than anything else, period.
Just as simple as that… this is just superior… even the hyped RGB + Y screens, pale in comparison… this thing on Blu Ray is a monster, and the 240 GHZ enhanced motion cinema has natural settings that remove the jittering efect and unnatural motion of old… the Bravia is SO INFERIOR IN THIS it’s unvelievable… I hate it for movies!, as any cinephile does… but FOR LIVE VIDEO, such as SPORT, CONCERTS, and SPECIALLY viedo games it’s breathtaking!!!… a Hi-Def football game and UFC on this thing looks out of this world… MILES ahead of any projector costing twice as much.
MENUS
the new Samsung Menu Interface is very intuitive, easy to use and FINALLY offers a look that goes with the aesthetic sense of a proper high end design product… the menu is somewhat in the same lines as that of the scroll design PS3 and is just very well integrated and non intrusive…. everything is no more than two clicks away.
DESIGN and MATERIALS
The stainless steel base is sturdy and elegant, although the screen panel is a bit on the plasticky side, although very elegant, more so than any other in this range, except maybe a B&O… however the up side is that this screen is much lighter and easier to handle than even that of my previous 46″ Series 6 TOC… and the slim factor of it is unbelievable.
EXTRA REMOTE
The minimize function extra remote is a cool addition, a cool design… very comfortable… DRAWBACKS, not INPUT button and clock type battery.
CONECTIVITY
In this case it works great… the BD WISE function is practical and instant… the network capability for streaming… these are awesome feature seldomly exploited.
NOW THE CONS:
REMOTE CONTROL, although impressive and comfy it is TERRIBLY ANNOYING that this remote has to be “paired” to the TV… and it CONSTANTLY get UNPARIED… this annoys me SO MUCH I don’t even use it anymore… using the crappy remote of my Blu Ray Player. This is THE ONE AWFUL THING about this TV… I don’t know if it is MY set, because by business partner got his alongside mine, and doesn’t have ths problem… but it is TERRIBLY dissapointing.
INPUTS/OUTPUTS
This TV HAS ONLY ONE (YES ONE) component video input… and to top it off it DOUBLES as the ONLY R/F video input (yes the only ONE!)… no S-VHS either.
Now, it is clear that HDMI is king… and this TV HAS THAT IN SPADES and really the market for this TV will very UNLIKELY plug a VCR into it… but for those of you with let’s say a non HDMI digital box… Nintendo Wii… it might be an issue.
In contrast my Series 6 TOC has two less HDMI inputs, but 4 times as more of everything else.
Optic Audio output is STEREO ONLY, if you plan to use it as monitor out on an A/V receiver.
It also has VGA, but no DVI… although the VGA cable somehow, is capable of delivering true HD video when you connect your computer… in my case a Macbook Pro, which I connect… and I have to say, as two monitor arrangement the Samsung beats the computer’s LED display HANDS DOWN!!!.
I bought this TV at $1500 less than what Best Buy had it for. Was delivered promptly and professionally. I turned it on and have been amazed ever since. Even friends want to come over more and enjoy the HD picture. The quality is amazing. Everything is so life like and real and I’ve never had any problems with resolution, glitches, poor picture quality, etc. I love the fact that it’s less thank 2 inches thick and it has tons of widgets and other things loaded on the TV that I didn’t even know about until I bought it. Amazing internet connectability. All I have to say is that this is the best TV I’ve ever had.
I purchased this tv after owning a Toshiba 46 inch DLP for almost 7 years.
The picture quality of the DLP was excellent; it had a very “theater like”, somewhat grainy presentation that everyone enjoyed.
It’s killer problem, of course, was the lamp. They kept blowing, at $150 apiece, every year or two. I got very frustrated with that, and so did most manufacturers, who stopped making them.
But as I say, great 720p experience.
So I thought I would get away from all that and go to a more mainstream, updated LCD experience with the LED Samsung.
I read about “motion blur” and so went for the 240hz refresh rate, which videos said really corrected the problem.
But upon watching the tv, I experienced something I had not to that point read about, “Soap Opera Effect”. It involves a technical discussion that I won’t get into, but the result is that many programs and movies look as though they were shot with a camcorder or that the viewer is watching video tape, hence the “soap opera”.
Everyone in my family noticed it. So I went back online and read what others had to say about this issue. To shapen the picture and reduce motion blur, the tv comes from the factory with a default setting called “auto motion plus 240Z” enabled. This setting is what people say causes the soap opera effect.
The “fix” for the wierd viewing this causes is to turn that function completely off.
Well, not so great to have to disable a feature that supposedly made this tv a more worthy LCD. Then, if you watch a football game or “certain movies”, you will need to reenable the setting to avoid blur. Great.
I guess I didn’t do enough research. I trusted that a brand like Samsung would have technical stuff together. Had I known about this, I probably would have gone for plasma instead, which doesn’t have this inherent problem. I stayed away from plasma because of its old burn in issues (which have mostly been solved) and because of reports of gradual fading of the picture.
But that may have been a bad decision on my part. It is difficult to find a DLP below 60 inches these days. DLPs have solved the lamp problems by going to LED also, and DLP is a great picture, so I sort of wish I could go back to that.
Before I turned off “auto motion” my wife wanted to return the tv, but this is not easy since we bought it through Amazon instead of the local Best Buy. I will update my experience at a later date, as we have only had the set for about a week.
Anyway, this was/is a very expensive LCD/LED TV to have to watch programs rendered “soap opera” like. So I am a bit disappointed. This problem must apply to most if not all LCD technology, so lesson learned (too late)
I am so glad i waited long enough to buy this TV. I have wanted to buy a Samsung TV since the series 6 Touch of red but kept pushing it forward as a new always came out just before i made up my mind.
I finally bought 5 March, 2010 when the C series was released and the price crashed to $2096.98. I got the last one available on that day. The picture is so clear it hurts the eyes, takes some getting used to.
The speakers are not the best, so one needs to buy external speakers to be able to really enjoy the sound, but picture wise it is spot on.
Glad i waited!!!
I purchased UN55B8000 on Feb 14th, 2010 after my old Samsumg DLP HDTV stopped working after 5 years. The life of these HDTVs is lot shorter than that of old CRT TVs. Anyway, the picture quality is good, it depends on so many factors, whether it is 1080 or 720, compressed or uncompressed, TV channel, etc. I saw the best quality of picture while watch news (ABC, CBS, NBC, etc) over the antenna which transmits at 1080i, uncompressed. While watching Dish TVs 720p, compressed transmission, I could see the degradation of the picture quality. Sound is very bad, it hurs my ears, should definetly have external speakers. While watching dark scenes, you might see some light throwing off from sides, but it is not a deal breaker, never bothered me so far, it is minimal. Hooked up internet the very same day I purchased the TV, but didn’t use it much since then, primary reason being the widgets are very slow, very bad user interface. The 240MHZ didn’t help me much as I could still see blurry image for fast moving objects, I was told that it is not just sufficient for you HDTV to support 240 MHZ, even the transmission should be 240MHZ (even your HDMI cable should support it). When I visit my friends house and see their old HDTVs, I realize that my HDTV’s picture quality is better than theirs.