Looking dam hot, thats going to be my next purchase.

Totally awesome, but when will LCD/LED/OLED finally beat out plasma for blacks?

guru,

you never clarified what this tv does with 24p. does it multiply by 10, does it interpolate, or does it make any difference?

Using 24fps native sources , the judder reduction (jr) “off” or “0″ position the 8000 does 10-10 frame repeat, interpolated frame insertion occurs  with jr set to position 1-10 (according to Samsung).

HD Guru

I don’t know how accurate this review is. This is an edge-lit LED model. The locally dimming models (such as the upcoming Samsung 9000 series and the currently available Sony XBR9 are locally dimming models…and are superior.

Does the 8000 have the same backlight pumping problem that the other Luxia LCDs had? (meaning that the whole screen darkens during dark scenes to give off the illusion of deeper blacks. This in turn darkens the whites/highlights on the screen too) This “feature” couldn’t be turned off in the other Luxia LCDs.

i wonder how the XBR8 stacks up to this 8 series which is more of a true LED technology using local dimming technology. the series 9 Samsung LED comes out in August i believe which will use this local dimming tech.

Fair and balanced review.

I went to best buy today to buy the elite pro 111 because a few days ago was $4399 and now is down to $2999… next to the elite was this same model but 55″ for 3999.
I was amazed by the picture of the “led” tv.
Now, the elite was connected to crappy satellite and the samsung had a blu-ray source so I asked one of the employees if she could switch the blu-ray to the elite. She did and then I change the picture mode of the pioneer to “pure’. Amazing too.
The movie(transformers, I think)in the samsung looked more like 3-d and a little soft like a video game, in the Elite it was more real, more natural, perhaps more grainy with awesome blacks.
I’m confused.

Can the set do 10 repeated frames for 24hz material AND still retain full 1080 lines in motion when set to “10″?

The interpolated frames on the old 120hz models absolutely destroy the look of film and I’m sure the 240hz interpolation is just as bad (or even worse).

LCD televisions are all the rage these days. It’s little wonder that the markets today are inundated with endless models of plasma televisions from various brands. But this one LCD TV is really outstanding right now. Because it has an outstanding picture quality, thanks for sharing.

“HD GURU called it the best LCD ever”. Wow, that’s like saying “this plane is the best prop plane ever”. The picture on this thig blows compaired to a good plasma. LED! LED! LED!, you all bought into this marketing hype nonsense. So it’s thin, I don’t watch a TV becasue it’s thin, I watch it because it has a good picture and the reason why I watch a plasma. How can so many people be so brain washed over a inferior TV picture technology. Any videofile knows plasma has and will always have a better picture. People, you’re watching a plastic screen with lights behind it (or around it in this case)!!

Sharp XS1 RGB LED LCD was tested by Sound and Vision Magazine and it beat the mighty KURO in blacks and easily!

LCD still can’t deliver inky blacks and turns film into video quality. All this for 4 grand. Save 2 grand and go buy a plasma – technology that delivers at half the price.

@ allen west,

not so fast- s&v compared the sharp to a first gen Kuro. and there’s no “THE mighty kuro”. you do realize pioneer made more than 1 “kuro”? oh, and “kuro” isnt a model number? (i.e., bravia, viera, regza, luxia etc…)

Just the best TV out there for those who don’t want room heaters .

CCFL lit LCD’s and even worse my plasma put out so much heat it made extended viewing a problem, at one point I needed a fan to blow the heat from my room.

Warmth from this TV is hardly perceiveable. This alone made it worth while. I may unpack my plasma in the witertime if by boiler goes..

I have to say that these have not been very impressive, at least in the stores. I saw one next to a Toshiba 240hz LCD model and the Toshiba had demonstrably better color and image in almost every way. I don’t see any reviews for the Toshiba, however so maybe it was just calibrated better. I still think the Panasonic G,V and Z series has the best picture overall, but the Toshiba has the best picture I have seen on an LCD – in a store setting.

It will be very useful!

I think, if you will keep writing ! Thank you !!!

Surprisingly,аn author is a fine fellow !!!

Great, so they’re thin. Why is Samsung replacing the 9-series with these? My LN46A950 (LED backlight array with local dimming) looks 100% better in low-light settings than these do. In fact, I’ve only seen a couple of high-end plasmas that have better black levels and contrast ratios than the 9-series Samsung LCDs. To those that think that plasma is the only way to go…well, I was looking for something that won’t burn-in running my game consoles and using it as a monitor for my HTPC, have a longer lifespan (plasmas still burn out faster than even CRTs), don’t double as space-heaters, and don’t jack up my power bills. Don’t get me wrong, plasma is great for some people, but it wasn’t the right choice for my application, especially since my 9-series LCD looks better than most plasmas as it is.

I looked at these Samsung 6/7/8000 LCD tvs, at CES this last January, and was not impressed right off the bat. Formfactor is great, but picture quality is noticably softer than the 950 series, and said this to the Samsung rep by these tvs at CES. He was surprised that I thought that. I also thought that Toshiba’s LCD display was the best looking at CES, as far as picture quality is concerned. I own a Samsung 52″750 series as a loft tv for the kids and it looks great with bluray, but the soap opera effect really bugs when watching reqular HD sat. I am hoping the new 240hz looks better, which the Toshiba in what little viewing I have done, does look promising, at least a lot less annoying.

scott is correct. my 58 inch samsung plasma, which i bought in March, is like a room heater. its amazing, i have the ceiling fan on all the time the set is on. i saw the LED today at best buy and i am truly amazed, no heat and super thin. i am frustrated and depressed. i wish i had waited two months. oh well, time to take a thousand dollar loss on craigs list and buy the new one….
sigh….

about this 8000series in games…how about input-lag? not bad or not bad with “game mode”? if “game mode” is on, is there possible to keep all 240hz and other smootheners/motion resolution boosters on? thanks

I wish this review had some discussion about screen glare. If you google lcd vs plasma one of the points that is always brought up is that for a brightly lit room, LCD is superior. My viewing area has three tall windows about 15 feet directly across from the set with conventional wood slat type blinds. On a glass screen TV such as plasma, you cannot stand to watch the set in the daytime due to the lines from the light leakage thru the slats. I currently own an 56″ rear projection HD-ILA, and glare is not a problem at all. I am sure many homeowners have a situation like me, where the room conditions are not ideal for a set that has a screen that reflects glare to a great extent.

Just a couple of observations…..the heat issue…while those of you commenting about Plasma talked about how cool the LED was, your mssg sounded like you did not put you hand on a plasma but were referencing the past….If you did wereboth sets showing the same thing, were they both setup the same(as much as possible)? The answer is that both Panasonic and Samsung plasmas currently on the market feel very close to the same as the LED….but then it depends on where you put your hand on the LED, doesn’t it??? Try it. I was in a store that had a Panasonic 720, a Samsung 720 and the LED all merchandised vertically-one row. The LED looked great, then I began to notice that the lighter colors were far superior on the Plasmas. Try it….you don’t even need a 1080 Pan/Sam to see the difference.
The generalized statement about power consumption is just more BS. Yes the new plasmas do consume more than the LED, as do virtually all other LCD’s.
You can look into the screen on the LED and see the store behind you…as with many of the newer LCD’s, because of a glossier screen. Maybe a better concept than the blanket statement of which is best in light, would be the concept of proper mounting/placement of the product…..there are very few light issues, plasma or LCD, that cannot be corrected if you have the ability to tilt or swivel the set a small amount.

Burn in….please…..read your LCD manuals…..headline news for how long? don’t leave in bright direct sunlight for more than how long?
The facts are it is easier to fix burn in(if you are careless enough to allow it) on a plasma than an LCD…..hmm! let’s see I can run a full action movie on the plasma for 24 hrs to get rid of it…..or I can get this, UPLUG MY LCD FOR A WEEK” to get rid of it.
The nature of the process for generating the colors dictates that with equally well made plasmas and lcd’s the plasmas will always serve the color needs best.

If you put an action BluRay on anything except a Pan/Sam plasma you get how many vertical lines of resolution……do you know…..low 900′s more than likely….Put the same BluRay on the 600Hz plasmas and you lose not lines of resolution. Now think thru that and before you ignore my next statement think thru it and try it if you dare. If your new xyz lcd is performing at 900 or so lines of vertical resolution during fast action, and has inferior color, and your 600Hz 720 plasma is running a true 720 lines of vertical resolution with the same fast action, which will look the best?????? That was a question, not a statement……but you may be amazed when you do the comparison.
Gotta go catch a train.

Sam

Update: After days and days of research, many tests and so many visits to BB I finally made the best decision.
Pioneer Elite pro 111
Best. Tv. Ever.
$2999 – $300 (10% moving coupon, it works!)
$2699.

Actually, I just sold my 71 inch Samsung DLP and bought the Series 8 (UN55B000XF), and it is stunning.

Unfortunately, there are no cable systems that broadcast any more than 1080i. The only signal sources that do are the Blu-ray players. I have the Sony. While it has the HDMI output I used my 4 year old Pioneer Receiver to handle all inputs and outputs to get the great sound. This older model will not transmit 1080p and requires the Sony to be in 1080i mode.

You can’t win for losing. Now another 2K+ needed for the latest receiver.

Bottom line – you update one component, you upgrade them ALL!

The Tiger

DirectTV has begun downloading 1080P movies directly to their HD vcr. You can currently view ” The top 10 movies ” directly (no pun intended) from the vcr with the obligatory rental fee of course. without being connected to the internet. They look great BTW. A call to a senior staff person at DirecTV, stated they intend to roll out much more 1080P content in near future. Again, no internet connection, the 10 most popular new releases now available in 1080P.

What’s that Marketing People stretching the truth to try and trick the ignorant? What happened to truth in Advertising. Anyways now that June 12th has passed I’m looking for a new bedroom TV to replace the old 25″ analog Sony. I came across a neat (specs on paper) Samsung 23″… but you can’t tilt or swivel the set (What is Samsung thinking?). Why can’t the manufacturers put any cool high end technology into the smaller sets. I still have not found an impressive 26″ LCD. It’s not all about price point at this size is it? I love cool high end tiny gadgets – iPod is a great example.

2Conversion Van
“I still have not found an impressive 26″ LCD. It’s not all about price point at this size is it?”

What do you think about sony 26v4500 – toppest 26″ LCD TV on a market… or maybe 1/2 priced Samsung 26B450 – cheap and good enough. Im hesitating between them… or maybe middle-one 26S4000 – good price in Russia, less than $500.

New sasmung OLED TVs have good picture quality but unreal price tag.

Thanks for blog!

what were the measurements for the set? how close was white balance? good tracking from top to bottom? I agree it looks good but I would love to know the numbers. Also what do you use to take measurements, I have an old Sencore unit but it is not very accurate with LCD’s. Thanks

jeff

You guys are knit picking.This t.v. is perfect.The picture quality is amazing.It’s thin and it’s easy to lift or mount on a wall.The television may seem a little “softer” than the old 9 series models because it uses less power.Approximately 40% less power which equals a lower electric bill,a cooler t.v. and a cooler room. Anyone with common sense can see this t.v. is bang for your buck.I’ve seen these t.v.’s for as low as $2,400.You could never find a new model Kuro,Sony Bravia etc. for that cheap.

Sam Bass
Posted on 7th June, 2009

This has to be the most useless uninformed review I have ever read!

I happen to own a UN55B8000 and this thing blows away any plasma picture I have ever seen.

great article, thanks for explaining that this isn’t new technology. I saw this at Best Buy and the quality did seem superior to the other TVs there.

Thanks for this post

I like this Samsung product, I am dreaming but I have not enough money.

I am deciding between LN46B750 and UN46B8000, which one would you sugeest? LN is around 1600 and UN 2400. is the difference worth it?
Thanks!

Please help…

We have the 7500 series and we still have blurr with hockey and football games? We are hooked up to our HD receiver with an HDMI/DVI cable (no adapter).

Thanks for your time

I was kinda waiting for the price to drop down on the samsung 55″ 7000 but the price is dropping on the 55″ 8000 as well. would my best bet to buy the 8000 for the 240hz orrrr what about the samsung ln52b750 ? I know Im loosing a couple inches but I have read good things about it to.I have looked at several tv’s but its getting down to buying one.I am going to best buy today to look around again.I also have a xbox-360 would the 240hz be better then the 120hz? And what about the new samsung 9000 do you have any info on that?? thanks bob

Thanks for Samsung LED review, esp on the “what it isn’t”, any word on the competitors (e.g. LG has a cheaper 55″ LED at a big box and also a Sony 55″ LED), how do they stack up vs Samsung’s 55″ LED (and the LG has a lower glare screen than Samsung for the folks with windows like me)

PLEAZ HELP I need owners feed back ( rating on 10 ) before purchasing…

I think the Sammy 55 9000 series is going to be about $800 to $1000 more than the same size 8000 series. BestBuy matched a sales Sears was having on 4th of July for $3399. Went ahead and made the plunge. yeah, teh local dimming on the 9000 would be nice, but of all the issues I read about, concern about the black levels is not up there for me. Certainly not to the tune of $800 and waiting 2 more months. The UN55B8000 is beautiful TV.

Went to 6th avenue to buy the new 63″ Samsung plasma but couldn’t after viewing the UN7000 they had on the wall, which had best 3d effect I’ve ever seen and super resolution without any video effect. The Samsung plasma had no 3d effect and a $6000 Kuro playing the latest Batman also had no 3d effect compared to the 7000. After taking the 7000 home I learned about the 8000 and traded in after a week. The 8000 is clearly better (had 4 days now), I usually do a custom 5/2 motion setting and then standard TV (T/W digital) has some 3d effect (first time I’ve seen that), good high def tv looks like bluray (wow), and the bluray pictures are so amazing and 3d that I see them literally in my dreams, and the 3d effect is present thru the entire movie. It’s as though each viewing quality was pushed up to the next level. We just sit and watch the amazing 3d effect, finally even changing from Forbidden Kingdom after several times thru, from 7000 to 8000. 5th element is too good to describe, up till 2:30AM just to watch. Underworld evolution is perfectly detailed and bright enough while on any other TV I’ve seen is too dark. The opening and ending scenes are so real they’re unreal (hard to describe). Just bought a pioneer elite BDP23FD which plays pretty well. The 7000′s motion wasn’t quite good enough and had to be adjusted back and forth during movies, the 8000 is noticably better and finally up to par. For some pictures, I set motion to standard but most are best at custom 5/1 or 5/2. This gives both the movie effect and ultimate 3d effect at the same time – wow. Other’s (younger people) prefer more video effect, which makes people look real (literally) but as though they’re standing in the room and not in a believable movie, again with custom I get the best of both and can leave the setting alone thru the movie, although can switch to standard motion for certain scenes to become absurdly real – such as in Forbidden Kingdom when the staff and blade from Jet Li and the warlord are shown close up or when the little bird flies in at the end. It’s easy enough to set the player to any desired setting, I’ll look to see if it can be programmed to a few settings from the remote. I have experience with 1080p/24 projectors, my 60″ Sony 120Hz DLP and what I’ve seen in the stores on several occasions, but the 8000 is amazing and by far the best picture (in terms of 3d realism while still having a film effect) and at $3100 bargaining at 6th Ave a good deal. It’s so light at 60 lbs I carried it and set it up myself, grabbing middle bottom and side. I don’t see any issue viewing off angle. Sorry for the rambling but wanted to share my experience…

The guru mentioned that due to the shallow depth of this Samsung, the 8000’s HDMI inputs require sideways insertion at the panel’s rear edge. The connectors are spaced more closely than on any other set tested. While it’s a tight fit, all but one HDMI cable we tried had sufficient room for insertion. What are the brands of HDMI cable that fit this TV?

I just bought three 558000 led lcd and one 468000 led lcd, and I have been using the the 55inch for two days now and just got the 46inch up. the 55 worked ok for the first day:) the second day I was downloading wigets to the tv (youtube) of course, everthing was fine till about 20 youtube later ( yes they play one right after another without seting anything) half the screen has alternating lines of good and bad video? I will call samsung monday:) wish me luck

Good overall review. I am planning on buying one of these now that they could be had for around $2600. The lower end 6000 series is now around $2000 so thye look to be pretty good deals.

Went to purchase the Kuro and walked out with the Samsung LED 8000. By far a superior TV with a superior picture! There is simply no other TV on the market that compares.

I love the set. it’s extremely thin, and I the color is brilliant. I haven’t noticed much flashlighting, triple ball effect, or other problems which effect most standard LCD sets. If you’re relying on factory settings for picture quality, you should seriously go to [...]
Do not use the slim wall mount if you have one. It’s magnetic and causes some problems w/ the set.

I was able to take advantage get a steal of a price on a sale, and had to jump on it. If you have money to burn, it’s a great set. there are some 9 series standard LCD sets from Samsung which are great.

Be aware that there are no true LED sets out there. This is an edge lit set. That means that there are some LED’s along the edges of the screen providing backlight to the lcd screen. The next series, 9000, will feature local dimming LED which are spread in zones throughout the set. Not a true LED, but closer, however .. more than likely.. you’ll pay the price.

If you’re in the market for an edge lit LED-LCD set, and you’re happy w/ 46in, jump in. If not, wait it out a bit until there’s new tech you want badly, or until the prices drop.

True, the new Samsungs are not proper LED tvs but edge lit LCD panels. It’s just a big marketing ploy by Samsung that the rest are sure to follow. Its just a run up for OLED that will hit the shelves big time in a few years. LCD tvs in name will be history by then.

if you read the manuals of the LED Tv’s, samsung warns from burns in, if still image is there for more than 2 hours, is this True Guru ?

isnt an LED TV 32″ is suitable as a computer screen ?

Waiting until the 9000 series comes out, thinking that the 46 inch 8000 will get cheaper then. Wonder if the BDP 3600 would be a good Blu Ray player to get also. I figure they would mate well. Wonder what inexpensive speakers I should get. Maybe Samsung also? Any ideas?

LED HELP!!

I purchased the Samsung 7100 (55″) LED-lit LCD about two weeks ago for a little over 3k. I was in the store yesterday and saw a Samsung (55″) LCD (CCFL) on sale for $1899. My question is…will I see that much a of difference in picture quality between an LCD and Edge-lit LED? Do CCFL’s have a longer lifespan than the LED’s? My return window is getting smaller and I’m looking for some guidance. Thank you!!

I love this TV but prices are still coming down like crazy and I am waiting for more offers to come my way before jumping in.

Robert Jones, XBR9 has CCFL backlighting. You probably meant XBR8.

I just brought one of these home yesterday.

I am very sorry to report that there is *considerable* input lag. I would say, between 70-100ms.

Enabling game mode will reduce this slightly, to what seems to be somewhere between 40 and 70ms, but it is completely unbearable.

Playing my Xbox 360 was very annoying on this monitor. All inputs were noticeably delayed.

So, I decided to test the HDMI output on my laptop in conjunction with the laptop speakers. I connected the laptop to the UN46B8000 via HDMI/DVI port 1 and set the monitor to gaming mode. I then started up a Blu-Ray movie on the laptop.

In this configuration, only the video was being output on the HDMI port, and the audio was playing through the laptop’s speakers. There was a very clearly noticeable delay between the audio and the actual display on the UN46B8000. People would talk and their mouths would seem to always be just a fraction of a second behind their voices. Again, what seemed to be about 70ms on average.

IMO – completely unsuitable for gaming. Definitely an AMAZING screen for home theater, but any input-sensitive applications will definitely suffer from this unfortunate drawback.

The Pioneer Elite models are not the best plasma that Pioneer made, the Pioneer krp-500m is the last and best plasma that Pioneer made. Long live the NEW KING!……

The LED LCD set has as much reflection glare from room lights as the plasmas. I saw them both side by side at BB

I’ve had the 55″ 8000 for about 2 months now, it’s simply amazing. 1080i hdtv/cable is truly 3d and blue ray is astounding – this is a class above the rest. At first I’d use custom motion flow for blue ray but now I’m more used to it and enjoy the full and unbelievable (jaw dropping) 3d picture and resolution. It’s hung on my wall like a picture and the brightness is so strong there’s no noticable issue in any respect (view angle, etc.) After many years of 1080p/24, my vote goes to the Samsung 55″ 8000 as the best TV in the world and an order of magnitude better than anything I’ve seen before.

Hope I agree with you, Bob. I’m used to my cheap Walmart 29″ Panasonic non-widescreen CRT. The Samsung BDP3600 and UN46B8000 are arriving this week. Wonder if the Blu Ray player will play the pirated DVD’s I bought in China or if I’ll have to continue using the cheap Cyberhome? Or maybe I’ll want to throw them all away. Looking forward to renting the Blu Ray DVD’s from Netflix. I was hooked at a home show by a UN46B7000 showing a documentary that I think was called “Earth.” Rebates and low eBay prices on both player and TV finally got the prices down to my level.

How is possible that brightness messures in this samsung UN46B800 messure lower ft-lamberts than plasma panasonic tc-p54v10 or tcp50g10 in your reviews ? 73 versus 87 and 92 respectively.

I bought the Samsung 46b8000 and am trying to get the right HDMI cables without being ripped off. Could use some help. Any suggestions?

I was ready to buy the set, it was on sale for $2099. But after seeing a few complaints of the tv showing a glow in the black likes when it’s letterboxing, I had to see it myself. I had them play a DVD in the letterbox mode, and sure enough, the horizontal black lines had a “glow” to them. The glow follwed me as I moved left-right. I really love the tv for the picture quality, but priced at 2x other tvs the same size, I expect the picture to be perfect, not just better. Get rid of the glow, or lower the price to the range of other 46″ tvs, and I’ll be buying one

Interesting review, can’t believe why would Samsung lie to the comsumer. I did read that “LCD sets not using LED backlighting” Now I have to do some deep research because my next big buy is a big “LED HDTV”

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Betty

http://electricguitarhowtoplay.net

HD Guru? Your just a Samsung hater!

Great review!
Finally somebody pointed out exact advantages and flaws of edge mounted LED’s. Thanks!
Darker colors looks really great, but light colors really have non-uniform appearance!
Thanks!

Everyone is forgetting the TRUE reigning king of picture quality- the CRT! I know it’s unpopular and out-moded, but my ws Sony xbr tube has the inkiest blacks that would put these other pos big-box junkers to shame! Yes, it’s heavier than me, but who would steal a 200 lb 34 inch tv? I’m glad Samsung is making new tech popular and cheap, but they are generally junk. Just watch an “old” dvd via s video or component and you’ll see their weakness in the video processing. Guys, processing is as important as the screen itself. It’s like owning a $10k speaker system and running it with a Technics ht receiver. Seriously! And people- don’t look at numbers like 1,000,000,000:1 and 480 hz- they are numbers unregulated and mean hardly anything. Do you really think your “200 watt” pioneer car deck really produces 200 clean watts continuously to 4 speakers? Anywho, go by what you physically see and hear, not what advert review says. Thank you and good luck.

I’ve been wanting one of these for a while! Have you heard anything about the quality of the brand Vizio. They are a ton cheaper but I’m wondering if the quality compares to Samsung.

Just bought the 55in 8000. LED-LCD. Love it picture is totally awesome. And strreaming my movies to it a breeze.

Hi HDGURU,

I recently purchased SAMSUNG LED 8000 TV. How can I get the sound from my TV through my Bose Lifestyle 28 home theatre system (which takes in RCAs). I don’t find any L & R Audio outputs on my new TV. I didn’t have this problem with my old CRT TV. Any work around ?

Hey As Seen on TV,

Vizio is not even in the same BALL PARK as the Samsung LED. Vizio is about a thousand dollars cheaper for a reason.

These LED-lit LCDs are pretty nice. However, I have had the chance to have some hands on time with them and several drawbacks became apparent.

First of all, I still saw noticeable amounts of ghosting and motion blur on the 7000 model I used. Not at all clear like on the best plasma and crt sets.

Second, there was significant input lag, even in “game mode”. Moreover, game mode doesn’t allow you to use the normal picture settings so your image quality for games looks very poor. This unfortunately makes these sets not a very good choice for serious gamers.

Off angle image degradation was some of the worst I have ever seen on an LCD. The colors and blacks became washed out and a bluish tint would invade the picture. Be ready to set straight on if you plan to buy this tv.

Absolute black levels were amazingly good for an LCD, but unfortunately there are some downsides. No matter how I set the tv I couldn’t keep it from crushing the blacks to some degree, which of course hurts shadow detail. The other thing is that even though the blacks can get pretty dark the contrast in dark scenes always suffered because the brighter areas of the picture would also lose brightess and punch.

All in all I really liked the Samsung LED, but I ended up choosing the Panasonic G10 plasma because the drawbacks were fewer and the picture it produces is simply amazing. The performance in dark scenes is even better, the colors seem richer, the viewing angles are extremely wide, the motion is smooth and detailed, and there is virtually no input lag.

Can be viewed as close as 2 to 3 feet without much if any grain.Viewing angles is as good as any great plasma I have seen during the last year.
Very light and thin. Can practically be taken from room to room.Can be profiled nearly perfectly.

Just picked up the Samsung UN55B8000 and it makes me feel a bit sick to my stomach when watching it. Hopefully I get used to it.

Do you know if prices are supposed to fall dramatically on LED TVs this holiday season? I would love to pic one up but they are a lot more expensive then their LCD counterparts.

For the ‘I feel sick to my stomach guy’, if you are meaning the 100 or 200 hz mode just turn it off!! If not then please explain what ur problem is as we are not mind readers! I’m looking to get a new big tv for a dedicated cinema room and wondering what to get either a 55″ samsung led 7020/8000 or the 58″ ps58b850 slimline plasma! I am a really heavy gamer and bluray user, any ideas which one would be best for me! Is the lag on the LEDs really bad??
55″ led is around £2100 and 58″ plasma for £1900.

I’ve had a terrific Toshiba 36″ CRT set for 17 years. Great picture, and not the first problem with it, ever. I’ve been waiting for LCD TVs to come out that surpassed the 36″ CRT set. I finally found one. I originally wanted a Sony 46″ Bravia. After looking at all of the sets on display at Fry’s electronics, I settled on a Samsung 46″ 8000 Series. The picture is much better than even the latest Sony Bravia, and there is no noticable motion blur. Now that we have it in the house, and have used it to watch HD cable shows, regular DVDs, and Blu-Ray discs, I can say that my wife and I are completely satisfied with our choice. 1.2″ thick, only 39.5 lbs, and the best picture I’ve found yet, and it runs cooler than anything I’ve looked at so far. We are completely satisfied with ours, and I can highly recommend it to anyone in the market for a new flat panel TV. As far as the minor faults stated by “experts”, they may be apparent to someone with a lot of test equipment, but for normal viewing, we find no downsides to the picture at all, regardless of the source or the kind of viewing, i.e. sports, movies, HD TV programs, etc. All play perfectly for us, and we are glad that we chose the set we did, and both occasionally remark on how good the picture is.

My suggestion is to carefully watch all of the TVs on display at a large electronic store to see which one produces the best picture for YOU, and buy from a store that will take it back and/or exchange it for you in 30 days if you’re not satisfied with it once in your home. Fry’s Electronics will do that, but we have no reason to exchange the Samsung 8000 Series we bought. We love ours, and look forward to many years of viewing pleasure.
YMMV

I posted back on August 5, hoping at the time that the price of the 8000 would go down. Shortly after, one of the ebay sellers offered free shipping and a rebate offer of about $250. The total price was about $1850. Most of the rebate money (from two sources) has now arrived. I also bought the Samsung BDP3600 Blu Ray player.

I only have a four-year old WalMart bought 29 inch Panasonic CRT to compare it to, but the 8000′s picture is astounding. I’m sure I could adjust it to be much better than the wonderful quality that it already is, but it seems good enough. There is a tremendous selection of controls to change it if I ever want to. The Blu Ray player loads extremely fast and upconverts DVD’s so well that I don’t really need to get Blu Ray discs. Unlike the Cyberhome DVD player, however, the 3600 won’t play most of the crummy pirated DVD’s I bought in China. Also, the sound is not very good. Someday we’ll be flush enough to buy external speakers.

It’s a beautiful set and is not the dust magnet the CRT was. I haven’t seen the need to clean it in the two months I’ve owned it. Maybe any of the new non-LED sets would have amazed me just as much as the 8000. I guess I’ll never know, but my wife and I are certainly very happy with the TV we got.

Love it picture of Samsung UN46B8000 240Hz LCD is totally awesome.

Im hoping to get this in time for xmas. I noticed the picture quality is outstanding and highly recommend it

The expensive, stylish Samsung UNB8000 series has its share of picture quality drawbacks, but a firmware update helps, and the thin frames are worth serious bragging rights.

Jeez, you people don’t know you’re born! The 55″ 7000 has just arrived here in Argentina and it’s priced at US$5290 (that’s 1.4 times my annual take home salary). I’d love the luxury of being able to compare it with an 8000 (unlikely to arrive any time this year), but I’m just going to dig deep into my savings and put up with the 7000…

What type of HDMI cables are recommended for the 8000 series 240hz tv? Does the hz in the tv change the recommendation or would decent cables work?

Hi gentlemen,
I’ve been reading pretty much all this page and have a question:
Is the difference between a Edge-lit and Full Led that big?
What would be the best full-led screens available at the moment?

I have just purchased this TV, but have experienced and problem in getting the unit to display in Colour. The TV is connected to a PVR digital Decoder. The input is via standard AV cables, I have tried everything but it will not display in Colour, What else can I try?

I have read everyone of these comments to see if anyone else had experienced what I had or maybe I have bought a poor looking Samsung LED HDTV. Just recently I purchase a package deal at BB (UN46B8000 + Samsung Thin Wall Mount) for $2200, but then had it adjusted to $2000 after seeing the price drop within the same week in store–not sure why. However, price has gone back to $2200 w/o the free mount.

Based on my observation, I was quite disappointed. No matter what settings I played with and placing it side-by-side with my 3-yr old SONY XBR2 (Silver w/ clear frame around it). The Samsung LED did not have the clarity as the SONY. Even with the local over-the-air digital channels, the picture quality is not comparable to the SONY.

When I hooked both up to just the standard RCA cables from the SD DirectTV box, the Samsung LED lacks clarity (edge contrast is blurry), facial tone color is not as real looking, RED/BLUE/GREEN colors are over-exposed (too bright), WHITE (not as bright), and BLACK (not as black). I am not sure if SONY has better technology in terms of their video processing, but the price justifies the picture quality for those that could afford one.

Yes, the Samsung is very thin, but SONY’s XBR10 is also very sleek looking. However, I am thinking of returning it. As a matter of fact, now thinking back to when I purchase the SONY XBR2 3 yrs. ago, the reason I chose it over the Samsung was due to the picture quality. At the store, the Samsung LED looks great (not sure what type of source BB hooked it up to), but not at home when it sits next to my SONY XBR2.

I have two Nikkai 10″ Freeview TVs and they are excellent. Sound obviously not wonderful as the speakers are small, but perfectly adequate. The picture quality is surprisingly good. Both over a year old now and no problems.

I agree with a few who commented on Samsung’s 8000 series. I am disappointed with Samsung 8000 LED, 240 hz TV’s clarity. The picture quality is inferior to SONY CRT Vega/Bravia series. The LED TV’s picture is blurry and edge contrast is very poor. Somehow the picture does not look real. Wish I could hang on to good old CRT TV.

I just got this one for about 2 weeks but not quite sure that the picture quality is better than the 120 hz. I didn’t test with blu-ray discs yet, but connected with cable I think it’s not different from the 120 hz.

I just bought 8000 series one week ago. At the same time I bought flip mino hd camcorder. Initially I thought it may not be good quality of the video with 720i which is the out put of flip mino.But surprisingly picture quality is fantastic.

Been reading these responses and it strikes me funny.
One new plasmas consume forty percent less and are so close in energy consumption why any of you knuckleheads are buying inferior plastic well marketed same lcd technology for hundrends if not thousands more.Buy a 55 inch lcd instead of a 63 plasma that has a way better picture. You guys buy into some tech talk about 1080i vs 1080p when in fact a tv 50 inches or less you can’t tell. True with larger TVs Another thing how thin your tv is common on guys! Plasmas have a slimline at 2 inches and its a plasma. I bought a Samsung PN63B590 at 2300 dollars not led lcd that can touch it for picture cost and quality.Dont get sucked into paying antiquated technology because its thinner.Someone prove this wrong. Forget Best buy they have contracts with Sony and others and they are going to market what will make them the most profits they are double dipping the same mark up the second time around with Led terms versus LCD there using plastic to cut cost and material. Quality hmmm Mercedes and Bentley other higher end cars may not goes as fast as a Corvette but what a piece of fiberglass and plastic the vet has.

Picked up the Samsung 55′ UNB8000 on boxing day.. took down my 43″ pioneer plasma.. picture is beautiful very sharp colorful and vibrant.. but the panel upset me when areas of the screen go dark I can see white cloudy images mostly on the left half of the tv… very upset feel like returning it..

Once again a report that measured vertical resolution increases with the LCD update rate, yet no explanation of HOW this can occur.

1) Since it is the deinterlacer that outputs lines to the LCD panel — HOW could the panel update-rate alter the functioning of the deintelacer? The deintelacer inputs a new field every 1/60th second. So even with the cheapest deinterlacer, at 60Hz, 512-lines from the input signal should be sent to any LCD. So how can an LCD TV display only 330-lines?

———–

In past reviews, cheap LCDs provided 330-lines, but the “Region LED” Samsung you reviewed last year provided about 630-lines at 60Hz and about 1000-lines at 120Hz. So why does this new Samsung need to run twice as fast to get the same vertical resolution?

————

2) Assuming the deinterlacerin the Samsungs is good one — on the level used in Plasma HDTVs — it should be able to output about 1000-lines under motion. These 1000-lines should be sent to the 1080-row panel! So, why wouldn’t EVERY update show ALL 1000-lines?

3) You report that at 120Hz, 640-lines are displayed? And, at 240Hz, finally all 1000-lines are displayed. What is it about the LCD panels that forces either 2 or 4 updates to show all the lines coming from the deinterlacer?

4) Alternately, perhaps it is the motion estimation circuit(s) that affect the number of displayed lines. Is the motion estimation (interpolation) chip somehow “creating” double the vertical resolution coming from the deinterlacer? If so HOW does the chip accomplish this task?

5) Bottom-line, as I read your review the viewer ONLY shows full vertical resolution at 240Hz. But, I think most of us agree that:

a) Interpolation should not be used with film sources.

b) But, if you turn JR OFF, in order to obtain full vertical resolution you need to run the set at 240Hz. But, showing film content at more than 48Hz (or 72Hz) creates a “video” look. So shouldn’t reviews make it REALLY clear that if you want to watch film without interpolation and at the minimum possible frame-rate (60Hz) — vertical resolution is going to be only 330-lines! Do those who use BD and buy these LCD sets really understand this limitation?

6) It seems the best one can get from ANY LCD is to buy one where you can turn-off JR (interpolation with 2:3 pulldown sources) AND can obtain full motion vertical resolution at only 120Hz. It’s possible that 120Hz is not so much greater than 72Hz — that film will still look like film. (However, having experience with 25fps film viewed on PAL 100Hz HDTVs, makes me strongly doubt anything above 72Hz will really be acceptable.)

7) Its been widely reported that the motion interpolation chips create unwanted artifacts. But, what about there ability to pass natural film grain? I suspect that these chips must filter-out random-motion detail (grain) in order to generate objects that are following more predictable motion paths.

Even if you only want interpolation for video (60i) such as sports — if you want to minimize interpolation artifacts you’ll need to lower the update-rate which, of course, also lowers vertical resolution. So, one could have spent tons of money to get the same 330-lines vertical resolution you get from a cheap LCD.

I purchased the Samsung 55′ UNB8000 2 weeks ago at BB and have had a problem with it going black/quiet for 5 seconds. I’ve run the power through a Monster 1600 power filter and also straight from the wall receptacle. Voltage fluctuates between 118V – 122V. ANY THOUGHTS??? Will this hurt the TV? Return it?

Cheers!

I purchased the Samsung 7100 from best buy just before Christmas. The picture quality was truly amazing as far as color & black depths. I did experience the “3D” effect some people have said they love while others claim to hate, for me some times I liked it others I didn’t. This was not a problem for me as it could be adjusted away. The deal breaker for me was that blurring could NOT be adjusted away. I am a commercial printer & my job demands I have an eye for detail. I returned the 7100 series & brought home the 8000 (both models 55inch). The issue still is there but much less notable. I can now live with what little blur there is. On the 7100 I couldn’t even play a game on my xbox 360 without getting a headache. I am nearly 40 years old & a serious gamer. If you are having issues gamming on the 7100 or 8000, make sure you adjust (turn up) ALL of your display settings on 360 & of course noting less than 700 monster cable(1000 monster cable preferred). Hope this helps my fellow gamers as well as anyone else with a sensitive eye to blur. Here is a good video I found describing the major differences between the 6000-7000-8000 led series.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-zM2cpu1PBpU/learn/videos/HDTVs/SamsungLED/6000-7000-8000.html

I am not convinced these TVs are better than the older, LN52A/B750 and LN52A/B650 models. They certainly are much thinner and cooler looking and cheaper to run!

Those earlier models may have better contrast off-center, and they may have better brightness uniformity (less clouding). This is a new technology (the LED wave guide) for samsung and it hasn’t been the perfected yet.

The 1.2 inch thickness is definitely MUCH better than my LN52A850, which has the HDMI connectors shooting straight out the back (not sideways), which was stupid, imho !!

Great Post! I work with Sharp and know first hand about the confusion out there regarding LED TVs . These TVs are LCD TVs that are only backlit by LED lights which are far more efficient and brighter and more consistently bright all the way to the edge of the screen. The picture quality is far superior to standard LCD TVs and as an added bonus, the LED lights provide an execellant reduction in energy consumption.

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I just bought a the Samsung LED 8000 series 55″. How do I get the picture to stop looking like it was shot from a home movie camera? It’s like I am watching it from the 1st person point of view, not like a regular movie or tv show.
Please help!

Otherwise, the picture quality is awesome! Love the tv!

Hi all, i had a samsung 46”-8000 series 240hrtz, and the tv was amazing! beautiful colors and awsome picture. so i decided to traded it and upgrade to a 55”-8000!..and the picture was just as great..but i noticed those white dims on scenes that are dark on this new tv, you guys think samsung will do something about it if i call costumer service?

Same exact problem here. I just got the 40″ 800240htz and there is definately a problem with filmed images looking like hi def video – I’ve messed with the different settings to try and fix it – this works somewhat but there has to be a way to get rid of this problem – I didnt spend that much money to have my favorite films look like a 1950′s teleplay.

same Problem here. Really it is very frustrating.

i have a question to ask i have a UN558000 LCD and now with the new 3d mode TVs out now .my question is my 8000 LCD compatible with this 3d mode if i purchase a new 3d bluray player. rt now i have it hook up to my PS3 consul and would i get the 3d effete ?thank you

when i am watching regular tv on the series 8000, some of the mation is is jumpy. can u explain why this does this?

To avoid teleshow like look display, turn off 240 Hz thro Settings and see if it helped.

For those who are uncompromisingly loyal to plasmas, I have seen many tv’s in real-world play. Before recently moving on to work on outdoor cable plant, I worked on about 8 homes a day for 4 years. The best picture quality I have seen to date was once about a year and a half ago when the led-lcd’s first came out and most recently when I went on vacation and my best friend had a Samsung led-lcd. I’ve seen plenty of plasma’s and they weren’t all that great to me. In my opinion, the more significant selling point of the led-lcd’s is the lifespan of a set w/ such superb picture quality. Another thing that bugs me is that it seems to be the case that a lot of people don’t realize the flat panel “leds” are actually lcd’s. The reason I’ve found to cause this ignorance is the marketing. They differentiate regular lcd’s as such and led-lcds as “leds”. I personally have a led-dlp, and my next set will put that set in the basement for video games and whatnot(although I use it for that now), and it will be the Mitsubishi Laservue-the best picture to date. The price will be coming down soon. I’ve seen a site that was selling the 65″ for $3999. When it’s in the 2k range, it’s mine.

Thin is in at Samsung. The company’s new 6000, 7000 and 8000 LED backlit series measure a svelte 1.2″ deep. These sets just about disappear when viewed from the side. The top of the line 8000 series, available in both 46” ($3199.99) and 55” ($3999.99) versions, adds true 240Hz refresh rate to the feature-packed 7000 series. Samsung calls these sets “LED TVs,”

I keep looking at the tags that you say they’re both LED’s but it clearly says the b650 is an LCD and the b7100 is an LED. Where are you seeing that it is printed on both tags as being LED’s????????

I truly believe Plasma TV’s are the worst picture possible. Very Ugly compared to LED TV’s. I used to own two plasmas I could never get the Hi-Def looking as good as my LED TV, not even close. The Plasma screen is made up of a bunch of square pixels that can’t produce that crisp Hi-Def picture an LCD TV can or not even close to the Hi-Def resolution of a 8000 or 9000 series Samsung LED 240hz TV.

I’m no guru, but I’m trying to learn. Here’s what I’ve found. So I just bought two new TVs. Samsung 46″ UN46C6300, LED-LCD from Costco for 1699. That’s my upstairs TV. Then I bought the Samsung 50″ 3D plasma PN50C7000 for downstairs (I have a 48″ hole for my TV, and Plasma is the only 50″ TV). I have also installed both TVs downstairs under the same conditions, so I can give you direct comparison from this week.

I have highly lit room. Believe it or not, I found the Plasma to be better with regards to reflection. The LED-LCD wasn’t that bad at all. The Plasma was better.

The plasma gives off a ton of heat, the LED-LCD did not. Walk near the TV and you can feel the plasma heat. Not the case with the LED-LCD. My be a function of the size of the TVs, I don’t know, but just my observation.

I bought the Samsung 3D bluray, and a Dennon reciever capable of handling 3D with the new HDMI 1.4. I bought all brand new Monster HDMI 1.4 cables ($100.00 bucks for 1 3-foot cable). Upconversion of 2D content to 3D is pretty cool. Not sure I’ll use it too much, but it works. Not as great as Monsters Vs Aliens in 3D but it works. Looking forward to Avatar coming out in 3D soon.

But I have to tell you – so far, I am overall dissapointed with the Plasma. I keep wanting the LED-LCD back down stairs. I continue to find flaws with the picture in my plasma that I just don’t see on the LED-LCD. Picture is crisper with the LED. Plasma has bad blurrs and inperfections when watching non-HD channels that the LED doesn’t seem to have. In fact, I am probably going to return the plasma, and go for the Samsung 55″ LED-LCD 3D TV.

I would welcome any comments, as I’m still trying to figure all of this out.

One more thing – BURN IN on the Plasma. Watch a TV channel for an hour. When you change the channel, you will see burn-in. Yes, it goes away pretty quickly (with 10-15 minutes), but what a pain in the ass. I can see things from the last channel I was watching for a bit. It’s annoying.

I have a Samsung 46in LED TV.I just bought it 5 months ago.I noticed a series of horizontal black fine lines on my screen.Is that normal?Because when i bought the unit it wasnt there.