Samsung's UN55C8000 LED TV (LED backlit LCD) represents a good first step in full HD 3D technology, but it's definitely not without its flaws.
Drawbacks:
* High price
* Problems handling 24 frame/second material (movies)
* Mixed results with upconversion of standard def material to HD
* Some crosstalk on native and upconverted 3D content
* Some lighting uniformity issues (compared to best plasma and local-dimming sets)
Pros:
* Nice black levels and shadow detail for a super-thin (under 1-inch) edge-lit LED set
* Bright, accurate colors
* Energy efficient
* Excellent 3D effect with native 3D content
* Decent 3D upconversion of 2D content (varies based on content)
* Extremely robust selection of IPTV content (web-based widgets, audio and video streaming)
As for price, yes this is one of the first full HD 3D TVs on the market, so you can expect to pay a premium, but $3500 (list) is a lot to pay for a 55-inch TV. Panasonic's comparably sized and featured 54-inch 3D VT25 plasma lists for $500 less. Even Samsung's own 3D-capable 46-inch LCD set (standard CCFL backlighting), the
LN46C750 sells for about half the price of this LED-lit model. At $1799 list, the 46-inch 3D LCD is only slightly more expensive than comparably sized, comparably featured 2D models.
For SD upconversion, the C8000 does well with the standard "jaggies" tests and 2:3 cadence detection in its "Auto 1" mode, but it falls apart with mixed content (video titles on a film background), creating combing/tearing artifacts on the screen unless you go out of your way to change the mode setting to "Auto 2" mode. A good video processor should be able to accomodate both types of content without the user having to go deep into the set-up menus.
The C8000's 3D feature is both a pro and a con. On native 3D content, such as the "Monster Vs. Aliens" on Blu-ray 3D as well as some test patterns we had on a USB stick, the set's illusion of depth and dimensionality is impressive -- as good if not better than the 3D effect seen in most theaters. And we found that it maintained the 3D effect even from 25 feet away and from well off-axis (watching TV from the side of the room, instead of directly in front of it). Yes, there are times when you can get some crosstalk (left eye image visible by the right eye, which leads to ghosting), but this is fairly sporadic and generally isn't so obtrusive as to minimize one's enjoyment of the movie. Samsung added a setting in the 1016.0 firmware that allows you to adjust the 3D mode to minimize crosstalk and this does help, though even with the feature enabled, there can still be some crosstalk at times. Also, Samsung offers a real-time 2D to 3D conversion feature which is more effective than we expected and can give you some additional depth and 3D qualities on existing content. It's particularly effective on vector-based animation and games, but even on theatrical titles such as "Star Trek" and "Avatar" on 2D Blu-ray Disc, certain scenes do take on a pleasant (though mild) sense of depth.
Back in 2D mode, we did notice one unexpected issue with the C8000's handling of 24p content (24 frames/second) from standard Blu-ray Discs. Previous Samsung models had the ability to apply motion interpolation (Samsung's "Auto Motion Plus" feature) for video-based content independently from film content. The separate settings for "Judder Reduction" (film) and "Blur Reduction" (video) worked independently. This allows the user to apply motion interpolation to video sources, like live sports and concert videos, minimizing screen blur and smooting out the motion, while still presenting movies in a native 24p mode that preserves that "filmic feel" that many movie-lovers prefer. In the C8000 model, even with Judder Reduction OFF (set to 0) in "Custom" mode, there is still some motion interpolation going on, which causes movies to look a little more like video (called by some the "soap opera effect"). Hopefully this is a problem that can be fixed via firmware but as of the time of this review, that is not yet available. [update: this issue has been confirmed by Samsung QA and engineering]
As an edge-lit set, there are also some issues with picture uniformity. When you're lighting up an entire set with just a string of LED lights along the edges, there's only so far that a diffusor panel can go to get a nice uniform backlight. Samsung has improved this over last year's edge-lit models, through the use of a technique called "Precision Dimming." With Precision Dimming, areas of the lighting assembly can be turned off or dimmed independently of other areas. So instead of having one big bright backlight, with only the LCD shutters to provide darkness, the TV can selectively dim parts of the screen (like the top and bottom letterbox areas of 2.35:1 and 2.4:1 movies). This leads to less hot-spotting around the edges, and better overall black levels. It's not quite as effective as full local dimming with a "full array" LED backlight, but it's better than having no local dimming technology. Combined with the 2010 improvements in the LCD panel itself, the uniformity and black level performance of the new sets is getting closer to a plasma or full array LED/LCD set with local dimming. Next year, they'll probably get even better.
Color reproduction of the C8000 is excellent, with saturation near the performance of the best plasmas (and this color and grey scale accuracy holds up even in the dimmer 3D mode), so no real complaints there, but the colors don't quite "pop" as much as they do on local dimming LED and plasma sets as the level of the blacks is not quite as deep as those other technologies.
In terms of the internet streaming and IPTV content, again, no complaints here: with VUDU, Blockbuster VOD, Netflix streaming, Pandora internet radio, and Yahoo widgets, etc., as well as DLNA compatibility, the C8000 TV brings a wealth of content to your TV from your home network and from the internet at large. One might imagine that over time these services will also be helpful in providing native 3D content which for now is extremely hard to come by.
Overall, there is a lot to like about the C8000, but it does suffer from a few first generation issues. If the high price and relatively minor issues with 2D upconversion and occasional 3D crosstalk don't worry you too much, then it's definitely worth a look. But there's also something to be said for waiting to see what they come up with next year when more content is available and some of these early issues have been worked out. It's also possible that some of these issues may be improved with firmware updates, so early adopters may still benefit from enhancements as time goes on.
Our complete review of the UN55C8000 is available on Big Picture big Sound (dot com).