HDTV Roundup: 50-58 Inches : Samsung UN55B8000
5. Samsung UN55B8000
On a PC
As with most decent TVs, the A956 works perfectly well with a 1920 x 1080 pixel signal from a computer. The desktop of our test PC was clean and sharp and text was very legible.
Measuring a massive 55" from corner to corner, and weighing 90 pounds on the scales, the Samsung UN55B8000 is a huge TV that's right at the top of Samsung's line right now.
As such, it has all of the connections that you'd expect so you can connect it up to consoles, camcorders, USB keys and all the rest.
A TV this big needs two remote controls. The first is a tiny pebble of a thing that can only turn the television on and off and change the channel or volume, but it will be a stylish addition to your coffee table. The other is a classic Samsung remote, with huge, backlit buttons. It's easy to see why you might want to keep it out of the way.
- UN55B8000 55" LED TV...
Mixture
As for the television itself, it's fair to say that the UN55B8000 is a mixture between the 6000 and the 7000 series. It has the excellent display of the former, thanks to the continued use of LED backlighting, and the interactive multimedia features of the latter.
Logically enough, the lab test results are very close to those of the 7000 series, and better in places. The blacks are very dark, at around 0.1 cd/m², and turning the brightness right up gives whites at a maximum of 270 cd/m², great for rooms with a lot of natural light. Even at this very bright setting, black is a deep 0.2 cd/m².
The upshot of this is that the ANSI contrast ratio is around 1350:1 and 1400:1, a very good result.
It's possible to beat even this score by activating the dynamic backlighting, but we advise against this for the same reasons we cited in our test of the 8000.
The DeltaE score, which measures the average discrepancy between the ideal colors and those actually shown on screen was a remarkable 3.3. Our subjective impressions backed up this empirical finding and colors of all shades looked very natural.
This is only true, however, in Film mode, a preset with the best configuration--the TV's native color space definitely needs adjusting before it's suitable for use.
Once again, we also have to advise against using Samsung's two other modes, Standard and Intense, which push color and contrast settings too far to give an artificial image.
Upscaling
With a High Defintion source, the results are astonishingly good, and they're not too bad in Standard Definition, either. With such a big screen, the problems of upscaling a Standard Definition source like a DVD or non-HD television pictures become very obvious. If you're a DVD buff, you'd be better off with a dedicated Blu-ray player, which will be able to upscale to 1080p far better than the TV can by itself:
Naturally, Samsung also includes the Motion Plus 120 Hz system to interpolate frames into video to give more fluid movements. The effects are wonderful, as long as you leave it on its lowest setting.
Turning it up any higher leads to visual artifacts around rapidly moving objects. Another strong point of the Motion Plus system at 120 Hz is that it distinctly reduces the amount of ghosting, and it did as well at this at whatever setting we had Motion Plus at.
Viewing angles are a little narrow, and if you're too close to the screen blacks can rapidly end up looking gray-blue instead. If you're about three meters away from the screen, though, you can line about five people up in a row before the people at the edges stop getting a good view.
Sound still trails behind
Finally, the speakers on the 8000 series do produce some bass notes, which is a welcome addition for TVs, but it really isn't in a lot of detail. All told, the sound signal is quite muddled.
Both technically and qualitatively, the speakers are a long way behind the excellence produced by the screen itself. It's a fault common to so many
| Samsung UN55B8000 | |
|---|---|
| Pluses | Minuses |
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Not only is this the only 55'' that Samsung offer--it's one of the best TVs on the market today.
I am so sick of everyone testing lcd and plasma only. Where are the dlp televisions. Mitsubishi dlp are in my opinion one of the best hd tv's you can buy. Accurate colors, black blacks, no burn in, no lag, and they are cheaper than the lcd or plasma alternatives. Not everyone cares if thier tv is flat. I would rather have a 70inch dlp than a 50inch lcd or plasma any day of the week.
Samsung has two remotes now? What an amazing idea. I hardly ever use my remote for more than turning the TV on or adjusting the volume, so this would be absolutely perfect.
The prices on the tested sets are way to high and as thackstonns says the Mitsubishi DLP's are great sets not to mention their new laser HDTV.
Why so little LG screens ? Only 2 ? There are alot better LG LCD's out there!
I found this article generally helpful but there are other brands/models I would have liked to have seen (Mitsu, Toshiba, Sony). Where are the rest tom's? Why 4 Samsungs and no Sony or Mitsubishi?
Hmmm I wonder which of this HDTV that is true 8 bits / color or 24 bits?
I agree with thackstonns. I have no beef with flat TVs, but my speakers are effectively 2 feet deep (if you count the space to the back wall), so a flat TV would look stupid in such a setup. Also, are there really people who would buy high-end TVs and not spend anything on audio? Who cares about the quality of built-in speakers?
I know Pionner has left the TV business, and that the very last models they made are now getting a bit on the old side. Nonetheless, it would be interesting to see how some of the TVs in this review stack up against a PRO-151FD or a KRP600A, especially when it comes to black levels, or the possibility of ISF calibration.
I am so sick of everyone testing lcd and plasma only. Where are the dlp televisions. Mitsubishi dlp are in my opinion one of the best hd tv's you can buy. Accurate colors, black blacks, no burn in, no lag, and they are cheaper than the lcd or plasma alternatives. Not everyone cares if thier tv is flat. I would rather have a 70inch dlp than a 50inch lcd or plasma any day of the week.
Right on, I completely agree.
thackstonns: DLP and LCoS TVs are always rear-projection (or front-projection, but then you don't call that a "TV"), not direct-view like LCD and Plasma and LED flat-screens. Personally, I've never seen a rear-projection TV that I've liked, they all suffer from hot-spotting which absolutely drives me nuts. I'd rather gouge my eyes out with a spoon than watch a rear-projection TV.
I don't think plasmas still suffer from the burn in that is mentioned in each one of the plasma reviews. I have read on AVSforums that users have unintentionally left a static image on their Panasonic plasmas for hours at a time and had no ill effects. I'm not sure of other manufacturers, but Panasonic has somehow figured out a way to prevent it. So to say that it's not good for games and "entirely unsuitable for use with a PC" is false. If you disagree, maybe you should test for this while you still have your review units.
I also agree with cdillon. I have never seen a DLP I would ever consider over a plasma or lcd. The only advantage they have over plama and lcd is their screen size, and PQ is much higher on my list than screen size. And just because your speakers don't sit flush with your wall dones't mean that your flat-screen has to. Most people have their screens sitting on stands that house their A/V equipment and would not be flush with the wall anyway.
I gotta say I'm dissapointed with this article. 4 units from Samsung? Why? If you are going to do a review like this, be more specific in your product selection.
For your average reader, doing a review of the entry level models for 7 different manufacturers would have been more useful. Show me how Panasonic's entry level 50" 1080P plasma compares to Samsungs, or LG's LCD, or Vizio's. I want to know which model offers the best value, apples to apples, not 55"LCD versus 50" plasma.
Samsung not only has some of the best prices, but they also makes some of the best units. I have found Samsung to have the best value overall than any other brand. If he didn't show other brands, did you stop to think that maybe it's because they're not worth mentioning?
Samsung does make great TVs, but this article should have had another focus if they wanted to tout the company's products. Do an article where you compare Samsung's large panel lineup against the competition. To only have one plasma from Panasonice (the undisputed king of plasma now that Pioneer is gone) is suspect to say the least.
I am looking to purchase a large screen LCD or plasma in November, and this artcile is of little use to me. I want to know how the Panasonic 54" plasmas compare to equivalent sized LCDs from Samsung, LG, and Sony. I think most people who would get any value out of an article like this are going to be dissapointed.
If Tom's Guide wants to do an article like this, they have to make it more extensive. Do what Tom's Hardware does and make it far more in depth and then break it up into several pieces so they can publish it over a few days time.
The only thing this article did was make me want to subscribe to Consumer Reports so that I can get a real comparison of large screen TV's. At the very least I'm going to Google some more in-depth comparisons and ratings. All I can say is that I expected more from Tom's.
With all the talk of DLP, Plasma, and LED’s each one has its advantages and disadvantages. I hope that the new OLED TV’s come to market soon and at a reasonable price. While the 11” is now available from Sony at $2,500 Sony is working on larger models to be released in the future. There are several advantages of OLED TV’s , they are very thin – so thin the can be bent around curved surfaces , use very little power, contain no hazardous materials such as lead, have an extremely high contract ratios and wide viewing angle. For those interested one can go to YouTube and search for “OLED” to see presentations of the technology”. For now I am happy with my old projection set and converter box and will wait until the OLED TV technology is made available.
All I can say is that i use a 50" panasonic plasma connected to my HTPC at 1080 native. I have never had any burn in issues etc. May be a little image retention that is gone in seconds, but then again you get this on LCD's too.
I use it for Movies, gaming and evrything PC related.
No need to worry about issues with static images these days. An old problem, but not anymore.
Used to be a big fan of Tom's website. However, the quality of writing, limited scope, lack of focus, absence of comparison charts, etc on all their reviews has really turned me away. All of their stories feel like watered down advertorials. Somebody made a comment about Consumer Reports - it's sad when a jack-of-all-trades review publication can trump this site on a TV/tech roundup.
I would like to see toms hardware return to glory.
I agree with thackstonns. I have no beef with flat TVs, but my speakers are effectively 2 feet deep (if you count the space to the back wall), so a flat TV would look stupid in such a setup. Also, are there really people who would buy high-end TVs and not spend anything on audio? Who cares about the quality of built-in speakers?
Actually I know quite a few people that get a TV that fits their needs spatially but are perfectly happy with the sound they get.