Samsung UN55B8500 55-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LED HDTV
Samsung UN55B8500 55-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LED HDTV
Picture performance, advanced connectivity, and an eco-friendly and stunning design come together to form Samsung LED TV 8500. For the image connoisseur, our highest 240Hz motion blur reduction technology, our highest 7,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio that displays incredibly deep blacks and pristine whites, and enriched color processing deliver outstanding video. Samsung Internet@TV has web TV widgets from Yahoo, Flicker, Ebay and others to entertain, inform and connect you to specially designed web content right on your LED TV. This Ultra Slim 1.6” depth set is the ideal complement for your room and your life.innovative digital technology. Powerful LED technology offers the most impressive contrast and color you have ever seen on a 55-inch screen; innovative 240Hz technology renders four times the frames per second compared to standard HDTVs, for motion that’s truly lifelike and smooth. A pre-loaded Content Library puts countless hours of information and entertainment at your fingertips. The Medi@2.0 feature brings online content – such as video, stocks, photo sharing and more – straight to your HDTV, with downloadable, customizable widgets that are easily controlled via the remote. The Ultra Slim Design is only 1.2 inches deep, and that’s including the tuner! Another visual highlight is the striking Touch of Color accented bezel. And with the photo frame wall mount, you can bring the elegant brilliance of this inches from the wall – in virtually any room. And with the same passion we have for delivering groundbreaking HD excitement and style, Samsung is dedicated to preserving the environment with LED TVs, through reduced power consumption (up to 40% savings versus 2008 Samsung conventional LCD TVs) and eco-friendly manufacturing techniques.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars The one to buy
Most of what I have to say about this TV has already been said - it really is the one LCD to beat at the moment. Everything that’s said about it really is true - the LED Local Dimming features really helps elevate blacks to - almost - the level of Plasma.
So it’s good, it’s really good, but that’s all been said before. Instead I’ll focus on the elements that aren’t quite there IMHO.
FIrst off - the remote. It’s RF (radio frequency), not IR (infra-red) like every other device out there.
Not a big deal if you only use your TV remote, but it does mean you can’t use your existing remote (e.g. cable box, receiver, etc.) to control the TV, and it also means you can’t use the TV remote to control those other devices. So gone are the days of one universal remote to control everything, unless you want to go out and buy a Logitech Harmony 900 Remote Control (Black) to go with it.
Given that the TV, almost by definition, is the one component that isn’t going to be hidden away, it seems odd to have opted for RF over IR.
Secondly, the stand. It really doesn’t seem stable enough for such a large screen. Yes, it’s sleek, it’s subtle, but it doesn’t seem to offer enough stability in my mind.
If you’re wall-mounting the screen you’re fine (given a suitable wall mount bracket, of course), but be aware that the screen seems unstable when on the included mount. That said, it hasn’t yet tipped, but living in an earthquake-prone area it’s of special concern to me.
Those are the only real issues I’ve encountered. There’s a few other elements that might or might not be important to some people, but I’ve never seen them discussed anywhere before.
The TV really needs some way of turning off the inputs that you’re not using (or concerned with). I will likely never use an antenna connected directly to the TV, yet I can’t remove the ‘TV’ option from the On Screen Menu (used to switch between inputs). Come on Samsung! why not? The same goes for the PC input. There’s even a dedicated button on the remote to switch to this input. I’d guess that the majority of users nowadays would use a cable or satellite STB, so there should be some way of re-assigning that button to the users’ preferred input rather than only linking to the antenna.
It’s worth noting that the OSD does demote idle HDMI connections so they’re out of the way. It should be able to do the same with the other inputs, too.
The TV has a digital optical output that relays sound from any input through to a receiver. In theory this works great, except that if using HDMI input to the TV, only 2-channel audio is output. This might be common (e.g. some idiotic limit of the HDMI standard), but it was completely unexpected to me.
It does mean that you’re going to be running audio (presumably optical) cables between any HDMI-based device and your receiver - you can’t rely on the audio being routed through the TV.
For reasons I don’t understand, all the HDMI ports are arranged vertically on the left-hand side of the unit. While not a big problem, it does make routing cables harder and means you need longer cables than you might think - given the cost of good HDMI cables, this can add up. Samsung aren’t alone here - most TVs I’ve looked at do the same thing, but it’s inexplicable to me.
On a similar note, the thin profile of this screen also extends to the connectors on the back - don’t try and use cables with overly-thick connectors (such as some of the cables from people like Monster Cable. The TV just won’t take them. To be fair, the manual does state a 14mm maximum thickness for cable connectors, but that’s not until after you’ve unboxed the thing and are fiddling around with the cabling.
One other thing I couldn’t find documented anywhere - including Samsung’s site - is power rating. The back plate lists 465W maximum - significantly better than just about any plasmas of the same size I looked at. Typical draw seems to be around 250-350W, depending on what you’re viewing.
I don’t understand why power ratings are so hard to come by on these things.
So despite the above all sounding negative, I’m really, really, happy with the TV - all the good things have already been said and I’m just highlighting the few things that caught me out.
5 Stars The best of the bunch
I have been looking for a big screen for a while now. Years even. I had pretty much resolved that I was going to get the Sony XBR 8. It has local dimming and is nearly universally referred to as the best LCD unit out there. My problem was that I wanted something with some of the more modern connectivity and interactive bells and whistles. The Sony XBR 9 and 10 added some functions, but were inferior to the XBR 8. Then came the Samsung 8500 series. Just like the XBR 8, it does not do edge lighting - but rather uses LED for lighting only in the areas that need it (local dimming - it REALLY gives you deep blacks). I got a chance to see the Sony XBR 8 and the Samsung 8500 side by side and while the Sony was good… the Samsung took the game to a whole new level.
To give you an idea of my setup, I have DirecTV and a PS3 which I use to play my Blu-Ray, Netflix and DVD discs.
The very first thing you will want to do when you hook up your set is connect it to the internet and check for updates. When the set was delivered, I jumped right in and start checking out the picture quality with DirecTV. As I went through channels, some in HD, I was starting to get worried. I was seeing some areas that seemed washed out and was noticing things that had me thinking that the set was not handling motion as well as I had seen in the showroom. However, once I checked for updates, found some, and installed them, everything was well. The issues I was noticing went away and the set performed flawlessly. Now any items I see are the result of the quality of the content.
CONNECTING IT: Do NOT pay tons of money for HDMI cables. You can trust me on this. I bought one $99 cable a $45 cable and a $9.99 cable. I tested all three and there was absolutely no difference in picture quality. The bottom line is that the signal is digital… it is a string of ones and zeros. You either get a picture or you don’t. I tested these cables for a week and was able to return the expensive ones. This is not like the old stereo speaker cables or component cables that used to connect your tape deck to your receiver or your receiver to your TV. You could actually make an argument for expensive cables in those cases because it actually carried the signal. In this case, it just does not make a difference.
The HD content on DirecTV looks amazing. The lower resolutions stuff is REALLY going to stand out as bad, but that is the result of the source.
Netflix content surprised me. Now you can get Netflix content off a variety of boxes… so I cannot comment on all of them. However, I can tell you that with either an xbox 360 or a PS3, you are going to be pleasantly surprised by the quality this set gives you. The HD content on netflix is not quite as dazzling as your going to come to expect from HD, but it is amazing considering it is streaming material.
The quality of Blu-Ray discs (I have so far only played Star Trek and 300, but they are STUNNING) on the PS 3 is top notch. If you have an upscaling DVD player (Which the PS 3 does) you will find that the DVDs will look better than you have ever seen them look before. I just sat down to watch ‘V for Vendetta’ on DVD and it looked amazing. The upscaling is definitely improving the experience and the Samsung is really making it look its best.
Whatever you connect to the Samsung 8500 is going to look amazing. However, don’t count on them sounding amazing. The built in speakers are a bit problematic. They seem to be pointing towards the back of the unit. As built in speaker go, I have heard much better. I am currently shopping for some external speakers. I suppose the good news here is that the unit has easy support for external speakers.
The interface is also a bit of a pain. Not horrible, but a bit wonky and the menus seem to lag a bit behind input from the remote. The one ray of sunshine in this is that you will find that fine tuning the picture is relatively easy and straightforward. I was able to get a picture I was happy with after about 20 minutes of fiddling - without ever having to dig up the manual. Also, the presets are actually pretty good. I don’t think you need to tweak the “Movie” setting at all if you are doing a Blu Ray or DVD night with the lights turned off and some popcorn in your lap.
It integrates easily with a ton of things from iPods to iPhones and hard drives. It also supports widgets - but I have to admit I have not really jumped onto the bandwagon just yet.
The delivery from Amazon came off without a hitch. The guys brought it in, set it up and let me do a quick inspection to make sure it was not damaged in any way.
While the pricetag may seem a bit high, I think you will find that the price on Amazon is just about the best out there. I did quite a bit of shopping and found I was saving more than a few hundred dollars buying it on Amazon - it also helped that I had a ton of Amazon gift certificates at the ready! If you are on Amazon Prime, delivery is then free and once you do all the math, you are saving a whole lot of money.
But, is it worth the extra grand to get this unit instead of the Sony XBR 8? No doubt in my mind. I have since gone back to the store and seen the Sony and can clearly see the contrast difference. The 8500 just blows everything else out of the water when it comes to reproducing those deep, rich blacks. With the better HD quality source, you are going to feel like you could reach right into the set and grab ahold of Leonardo DiCaprios spindly little neck.
5 Stars Samsung 8500
I’ve been waiting for this TV for quite a while and I was really sad to see MidlifeCrisis’ opinion that the 8000 actually had a better picture. I went to my local video store to do my own assessment. First, both TV’s are great, but the color on the 8500 is absolutely perfect. It is very natural and lifelike. The array of LEDs really helps the overall quality become completely natural across the entire screen, side to side and top to bottom. Is the picture worth $1,200? I don’t think so. So I’ll wait until the price drops to a more reasonable level. One other item I wanted to clear up. Many folks have commented on how the picture drops off at 15 or 30 deg. of viewing angle. This worried me as I pictured how my computer screen really drops off at very small offset from head on… This TV is nothing like my computer LCD! Sure the picture drops off a little, but I went up to about 80 degrees off center and could still see the entire picture just fine. Go take a look and I’m sure you’ll be impressed… The only negative thing I can find with this TV (other than the price) is the screen. Why couldn’t they have a matte screen option for us folks with lots of windows in our rooms?
5 Stars Beautiful TV!
I originally purchased the UN55B7000 and was not at all satisfied with the LED edge lighting. There was no way to get rid of the light shining in from the corners of the screen and the backlight uniformity was terrible on dark scenes. I tried to like it because I did not want to spend nearly twice as much on the 8500 but I could not get past the search light effect in the corners. I returned that one and purchased this TV and I am very glad I did. There is no comparison between an edge lit LED and this one with the local dimming back lit LED’s. In the brightly lit stores, you can not appreciate this feature like you will in your dark living room. The black bars on the top and bottom when watching a movie with a ratio that does not fill the screen, are black, not grey. You will not see any light shining in from the corners. Also, the dynamic contrast feature of the 7000 series would make the screen lighter and darker during the movie depending on the light of the scene. That was very annoying. With the local dimming LED, this is not a problem. The picture is also noticeably better with all video sources whether HD or standard definition and I am using the same cables with this TV as I did on the 7000. I have the blur reduction set on 10 and the judder set on 2 for the best looking picture I have ever seen on a TV. I have Dish HD and the HD channels look amazing on this TV. Even the standard definition channels look very good. There is a very noticeable improvement on picture quality over my last LCD TV and the 7000 that I returned. Every time I watch this TV, I feel that it was well worth the price I paid for it. If you are looking for the best picture you can possibly get from a TV, LCD or plazma in my opinion, this is the one to get. If you take some time to play with the adjustments, I’m sure you will find settings that will make you say WOW, that’s amazing!
5 Stars No buyers remorse here!
I’ll review the TV and my experience with Amazon.
First off, the TV is beautiful. Picture clarity is as advertised. Its been said many times before, you simply can not beat this TV with anything currently in production.
Yahoo widgets are pretty worthless, but I didn’t get this TV to check my fantasy football team score anyway, or the weather for that matter. They are very slow/sluggish. Perhaps they will improve this with some firmware updates.
Wife and I watch a lot of blue-ray movies and this TV displays them perfectly. I’m often amazed even after a month of ownership at the clarity of the movies and the colors in this movie. I haven’t had any blooming effects, at least any that were noticeable.
Its pretty easy to set up and navigating the number of menu options available are pretty easy, although my hands do have a bit of trouble w/ the remote “ipod” type wheel, although it does click as well. Although I bought a harmony 1100 to use with this tv and other components so I don’t’ have this problem anymore!
I’m getting this TV professionally calibrated in 3 weeks, so I’ll update my review once I’ve had that done to see how this baby really shines!
Amazon’s service for my order left a lot to be desired. First TV showed up damaged which was a huge disappointment. A quick call to Amazon and some cash back on my purchase resolved this. They shipped out a replacement unit that day and it arrived at my home in less than a week. This TV arrived in perfect condition. You can’t really fault Amazon as much as you can the delivery service. Its a roll of the die for experiences.
I would without a hesitation recommend this TV if its in your budget range. I saved up for about a year to purchase a TV and held out for a while before settling on this TV. Purchase price was $3700 from Amazon. I see its gone back up, purchased this unit the week of Thanksgiving.
Filed under: 1080p HDTV Plasma Reviews