Can you get a decent TV for under $500? Surprisingly, yes. I have both the brand-new Samsung U8000H and the new(ish) Amazon Ember 4-Series at Tom's Guide's testing lab at the moment, so what better time to put them in a head-to-head battle?
I watched three movies on 4K Blu-ray in Filmmaker mode: "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)", "The Batman (2022)", and "Top Gun: Maverick (2022)". For this test, I used an HDMI splitter, so both TVs had the same input material. I put the Samsung TV at max brightness and the Amazon TV at 50% brightness (as 100% was much too bright).
As you read, keep in mind that the Samsung U8000H is on the left while the Amazon Ember 4-Series is on the right. Which one came out on top? Read on to find out.
The U8000H is Samsung's 2026 entry-level TV. The previous model, U8000F, is still available for around $200. With a 4K resolution and a color-boost mode, it's not your run-of-the-mill discount TV.
The Ember 4-Series is Amazon's second-cheapest TV, beaten only by the 2-Series.
Movie #1: 'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie'
The first thing I noticed was that the Amazon Ember 4-Series is incredibly pink-toned. The reds were blown out, as you can see in the GIF above. The desert scene looked more like a Barbie set than a level of Super Mario Galaxy.
That's not to say the Samsung U8000H was perfect. While the 4-Series was too pink, the U8000H was too yellow. The desert sand almost resembled Cheeto powder. (Gross!) Cheeto dust feels a bit closer to the film's intended colors, but neither TV did a great job.
Overall, neither the Ember 4-Series nor the U8000H blew me away, but the Samsung has better color accuracy. The Samsung's blue skies appeared bluer — as you can see in the GIFs above — and luminance was more even in the highlights.
Uniformity was actually a major issue on the Ember 4-Series — the highlights were much less controlled and bled out across the scene. Lights often bled into darks, as you can see in the GIF above.
Movie #2: Top Gun: Maverick
The Amazon Ember 4-Series performed much better than the Samsung U8000H ... at least at first. The Samsung appeared washed out in the darker scenes at the start of "Top Gun: Maverick". Gray-toned scenes looked almost monochromatic.
Red-toned scenes were also a little yellow, as you can see in the GIF above.
That being said, fast-flying scenes were smoother on the Samsung panel and the night sky appeared much darker on the U8000H, which you can see in the GIFs. Blacks popped more on the Samsung panel, and you can see the loss of detail in the highlights on the Amazon TV.
So, after a disappointing start, the Samsung model won this round, too. The white/black balance is far superior on the Samsung. Skin tones are also much too pink on the Ember 4-Series — Tom Cruise looked like he'd spent a week in Ibiza with no sunscreen.
Movie #3: 'The Batman'
"The Batman" is an incredibly dark movie, which can pose a real problem for budget models like the ones I'm testing here. I was worried both TVs would struggle with contrast and black levels... and I was correct.
The Amazon Ember 4-Series overcompensates for the dark color grading with pink-toned skin colors and highlights leaking into shadowed areas. The Samsung isn't as vibrant as I would like, but it handles blacks better.
As you can see in the GIF above, the lights are blown out on the Amazon, but a little too dark on the Samsung.
The Samsung U8000H handled the motion of motorbikes and falling rain better, but micro details like eyebrows and fine lines were presented more clearly on the Amazon.
In general, I found my eye drawn more to the Amazon during most nighttime scenes — likely because it's brighter, despite the lack of color accuracy. Neither models have full-array local dimming, but the Samsung U8000H's LED panel handled high-contrast scenes better.
Which sub-$500 TV would I buy?
So remember, the Samsung U8000H starts from $247 for the 43-inch model (the one I tested here). Comparatively, the 2025 Amazon Ember 4-Series is $329 for the 43-inch model.
Given their respective prices and performance, I would buy the Samsung U8000H, and there would be very little competition. I much prefer the Samsung's controlled luminance and color accuracy. While the Amazon TV has some interesting Alexa features, it's not worth the added cost.
I think you should save your money and get the Samsung. With the money left over, you could even get the Sony HT-S100F (my favorite cheap soundbar) and still have some money for a discounted DVD or a few weeks of Netflix.
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