Every bit as good as I expected, April 2, 2011

This review is a little long winded. Skip to the bottom for just the pros and cons. Or, keep reading to waste 10 minutes of your life.

Over the last 5 years, I have been using a 58″ Panasonic Plasma TV. Not a bad TV, but not the greatest either. It was only 1080i, it got hot pretty fast (which made the room hot and the air condition kick on too often), and the dimensions were weird (I looked at entertainment centers that should fit a 60″ TV, but the TV still wouldn’t fit.). I felt an upgrade was in order.

I’ll have to admit, shopping for a TV was pretty fun. A lot of work though. The research was overwhelming at times. Websites upon websites, magazines, books, different people’s inputs, salesmen trying to sell you different things depending on which store you went to, etc. I narrowed it down to one of many Sony HDTVs or a Samsung C or D series. After narrowing it down to those 2 brands, it was a little easier. I went to about 4 different Fry’s Electronics and 7 different Best Buys to check it out in different situations. After that, it came down to the UN55D8000 (boy, did I memorize those numbers). To make the decision easier, I was looking on Amazon, and to my amazement, they had it for 0 less that everyone else, plus free shipping. Score!

With the free shipping, it usually takes a little longer. I would say, from the time the order was placed, until it got to my front door, it took about 1.5 weeks. It came delivered from Home Direct, USA and had no issues with delivery. They were going to set up the TV, but I told them not to, since my entertainment center hadn’t come in yet. I opened up the box, put the TV on a soft cloth (our bed’s comforter) and installed the stand. Eight screws, piece of cake. I connected the Directv receiver and a PS3. There are a few settings you will set in the beginning when the TV turns on. Takes about 2 minutes, literally. After that, the fun begins! Going from 1080i to 1080p is a huge difference! I had a recording of Chuck on the DVR and it almost looked live. I also watched some regular satellite programming and even the non-HD channels looked amazing.

After wiping the drool off the floor, I wanted to check out the 3D part of the TV. I popped in the free copy of Shrek the 3rd in the PS3, put on the glasses and waited to be amazed. Aside from the amazing colors, it looked exactly like 2D! WTH?! Then, I remember reading somewhere that the PS3 does indeed play 3D movies, BUT with an upgrade. I waited about 30 minutes for the upgrade to finish. After that, loaded up the dvd again, and there was the movie with that funky 3D image. Hey wait, I have 3D glasses on, how come I see that. Oh, oops. Batteries need to be installed in the glasses. Finally! The 3D image was awesome! Seriously, watching TV in 3D is amazing. I can’t wait `til there’s more media in 3D. As it stands right now, the only real movies in 3D are either documentaries or cartoons, with the exception of a few regular movies (i.e. Resident Evil, Step Up 3, etc.)

I just set it up last night, so I can’t give you a whole lot more information. But, even if I did have more time, I don’t think I can give you the detailed specs that you might be looking for. I’m not an expert on home theater. Here’s an overview of pros and cons:

PROS:

* The lack of a bigger bezel really does make a difference. Not only aesthetically, but in terms of functionality, too (better 3D viewing. It looks like you’re looking thru a window.).

* Images are spectacular. Whether it be regular programming, HDTV programming, or Blu-Ray.

* Price on Amazon was very good!

* Delivery was pain-free.

* A lot of settings options, so you can set up the TV to your preference and the viewing scenario (i.e. movie, standard, etc.)

* 3D movie watching is stunning! I just wish Panasonic didn’t have exclusive rights on Avatar.

CONS:

* SmartTV is a cool feature. But, not a necessity. I really doubt that I’ll Facebook or Tweet from the TV.

* Audio isn’t great, but it’s adequate. I wasn’t really expecting much from a flat screen TV.

* Did not come with the touch-screen remote as was supposed to be the case in the beginning of the year.

* Have to mail in the vouchers (or register online) in order to get the 3D glasses. True, you do get a 3D starter kit with this TV, which has the glasses, but those glasses are a little different and use batteries. Also, you have to send out to get the free copy of Shrek Forever and Megamind. I really shouldn’t complain, though, since these are free.

* Needs a more detailed manual on how to use most of the features. The manual it comes with is thick, but it’s just because it’s the same thing in different languages.

Sorry for the long review. Us Yelpers write a lot of gibberish, don’t we?

UPDATE:…

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It was a great TV until notice the screen uniformity issue, June 8, 2011

I have been playing with this TV for one week, the image a color accuracy was great until I notice there is a white halo in the left and right side of the TV. After reading other users and expert reviews, seems like the screen uniformity problem is persistent.

I chat with Samsung representative and this is what they told me:

Please wait for a Samsung Agent to respond.

You are now chatting with ‘Dennis’. There will be a brief survey at the end of our chat to share feedback on my performance today.

Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK4380954317X

Dennis: Hi, thanks for reaching out to Samsung tech support. How can I help you today?

Visitor: Yes I bought a UN55D8000 TV,

Dennis: Okay.

Visitor: have a problem with the image, there is a white halo when watching dark scenes

Dennis: Where is this located on the screen?

Visitor: left side (more intense) and right side (less intense), middle (center) looks fine

Dennis: Is it on the corners that you can notice this?

Visitor: no, more like a vertical line from top to bottom

Visitor: but is not exactly a line, it’s a halo

Dennis: Please set the TV to Standard or Movie picture mode and lower the backlight to 7.

Dennis: Use the TV with this setting for 3 weeks.

Dennis: This should go away.

Visitor: tell me more why?

Dennis: This occurs when the LED screen emits more light.

Visitor: are the LED supposed to emit less light after three weeks?

Dennis: Using the TV with these settings will eliminate the excess light.

Visitor: yes, but it doesn’t look good since doesn’t have enough light

Dennis: Please change the settings and try this for at least 2 weeks.

Visitor: can’t understand why 2-3 weeks? what happen after? can I go back and use whatever setting I want?

Dennis: Yes, you can change the settings after two to three weeks.

Visitor: Ok, just to let you know, I will post this in Amazon ratings, if this is not a fix I will say so… Samsung doesn’t say this to customer when sell the TV and this seems to be a problem with the design of the TV itself…

Dennis: These are the troubleshooting steps that we can try for this issue.

Dennis: We are not suggesting you to use the TV with these settings for ever.

Visitor: Ok, I will try…thanks.

I will try and let you know, although I’m considering returning it given this is a very pricey TV…

UPDATE: Here is an update on the troubleshooting suggested by Samsung on screen uniformity…

I don’t see material improvement using the setting that Samsung’s representative suggested, and honestly don’t think it will make any difference (or at least I do not understand why would be better just changing the setting temporarily). I could wait another week but don’t have more time to wait before having my window to return… so I have finally decided to return it since the white halo doesn’t go away and this TV is just too expensive to have this type of problem… if this TV would be 00 or less, I would keep it for sure.

To be very balance in my review, still think the colors are great and the exterior design of the TV is the best I have ever seen, but it seems like this great exterior design is the one creating the screen uniformity due to the thin bezel…I have also notice two additional minor issues with this TV, motion blur issues on fast pace scenes and the remote control range which is relatively short (8 feet or so).

So I’m switching to a recently announced Samsung PND8000 which is supposed to be top rated plasma… same interface and remote control than the UND8000, I will write a review once I get the chance to play with it…

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Not quite ready for prime time, in some respects, April 23, 2011

By 

P. Kalina (Midland, MI USA) – See all my reviews

  

  

I wanted to give this TV a glowing review; after all, it has some of the latest LED technology, and the style is trend setting. After a week with this TV, I am less than satisfied with the ‘Samsung Experience’. Let me get this off my chest first. Did you ever go to an event, like a county fair, early, when not all the rides and attractions were open? You’re excited because it looks like it can be a lot of fun, but it’s just a bit too early for the full experience. Well, that’s the way I feel about this TV. First of all, the 3d glasses that are supposed to ship with this TV were not in the box. Instead, there is a voucher you may mail in, or go online to order (which I did). After a week and no response, I called to find out why the delay. I was told to read the voucher’s fine print, which said there was a 10-12 week wait for the glasses. Not good. Secondly, I found an issue with the remote control unit, which is not a fun thing to have in your hand. It is sort of short and stubby, with two sides. One side has a QWERTY keyboard for text entry, and a touch-sensitive pointer. I find that the up, down, right, left controls do not work correctly with my unit, and called support to report this. They seemed very interested in the matter and told me they would call back in 45 minutes (after they set up a testing unit) for further info. There was no call back. Another reviewer mentioned the difficulty in pairing the remote with the TV, via Bluetooth. I also found this to be a problem and not consistently easy to do.

Samsung has incorporated a feature called Smart Hub into their ‘Smart TV’. This is a portal that has Netflix, Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook, Pandora, a web browser, and several games and applications that are either free or paid for. The feature is nice and I look forward to seeing it develop. You need to register your TV and create an account, similar to an Apple ID, before you can purchase any of the apps. You would think you could do this from the TV, but you can’t; you need to go online to do this. Not a big deal, but it was confusing. The Samsung website is not ready for prime time either. The discussion board is not yet running. One nice thing is the Live Help, which works VERY well. However, I was not able to get the level of help I needed.

Okay, enough with the gripes. This is one fine TV. It is very light, has a narrow profile and includes a nice, chrome-plated stand that lets you to rotate the TV about 30 degrees in either direction. A big factor for me was the thin bezel, which allowed me to fit a 46″ set into my 43″ wide cabinet. The TV has plenty of inputs, including some strange connectors that let you to connect component and composite video. I do have a non-HDMI DVD that uses the component connectors, and it worked well. The setup of the TV is not difficult if you have some experience with hookups, and I was able to get all the components and my receiver working in short order. As I mentioned above, I am not a big fan of the shape of the remote, and I am trying to duplicate most of the functionality in my Harmony universal remote.

One thing I did was hook up my TV to my iMac to show photos to my photo club. I was not expecting the quality to be better than my 27″ iMac, but it was FAR better. The color was most natural in Movie mode, Warm 1 setting. The sharpness was uncanny. I saw no obtrusive artifacts on the screen and was pleased as punch at the jaw-dropping quality of my photo images (and so were the club members). The TV is connected to our UVERSE system, and the HD quality is very good. I have no measurement or calibration tools, but I have a fine eye for photography. The color balance, contrast, and sharpness are excellent. The only thing I need to get a handle on is the ‘Film mode’, which can turn watching Modern Family into a strange experience; it almost makes some programs look like they were videotaped like a soap opera. I leave this feature ‘off’ for the time being. Tonite we watched the 10 Commandments (1956), and the quality was incredible! I have yet to see any Blue Ray DVDs, as I haven’t purchased a player yet. And, of course, I don’t have the glasses for 3D. I do plan to update my review as these things change.

This TV merits at least a 4-star rating. I may add another depending on how things develop.

Update 6/8/2011

Finally received my 3d glasses from the ‘Samsung Fulfillment Center’. They are active-shutter type glasses and come with standard USB cords to charge them. You can plug the cords into the back of the set and the glasses will recharge when the set is ON. We watched our first 3D movie together last night. The 3d effect was excellent and I could see no artifacts. The glasses fit over my lenses and were comfortable. They turn on automatically when they sense a 3d broadcast, which is nice.

The chunky remote usually just sits waiting to be used, as I have programmed a Harmony Universal remote to…

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