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177 of 187 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very pretty picture, some of the time., October 16, 2009
This review is from: Samsung UN46B8000 46-Inch 1080p 240Hz LED HDTV (Electronics)
The UN46B8000 is a very good display if space is an issue. However, it is not exactly what I was expecting. The store display I had seen was in open light and the display was connected to a Samsung BluRay player. This appears to be the key, as the display has some proprietary processing enabled for Samsung players. The 240Hz conversion gave the picture an odd life-like quality and I really liked it for CGI films. I figured that would translate well to games and I was tired of the poor black performance on my Aquos, so I picked up the set. A couple of things - first, even though this is touted as LED technology keep in mind that's only for the backlight. The display tech is still LCD. You're not getting per-pixel illumination. You're getting edge-mounted backlighting supplied by LEDs. Second, the set is very laggy. The video has about a 150ms lag when all of the upscaling is turned off and 'game mode' is enabled to reduce lag. In full processing mode (240Hz, dynamic contrast, etc) the lag is over 500ms. If you don't have a Samsung DVD player(which seems to correct it), this translates to noticable lag in video behind the audio track. Extremely annoying. And half a second makes playing games with any optimizations completely worthless. Lastly, the backlighting is blotchy in pure black situations with low ambient lighting. You don't notice it much in normal store/room lighting, but when you turn out the lights the backlight produces soft 'clouds' of grey shift through a solid black field. There are some hot spots around the edge as well, where a small amount of light bleed occurs.
The display has a decent number of inputs, especially considering its size. Four HDMI, a component, and a VGA. The lack of a dedicated DVI was surprising, but the first HDMI port doubles as a DVI with a converter (all ports will work with HDPC compliant DVI outputs, but only the first port can handle a standard DVI-I/DVI-D signal from a non-HDPC source).
A word about signal range - this display is very strict when it comes to valid source. A receiver that gave me perfect performance at 1080p with my Aquos produces an invalid signal error with this display. A cheaper HDMI cable I was using for my PS3 produced nothing but static on the screen. I had to go get an official PS3 cable to get a correct 1080p display. My ZuneHD dock will NOT display at 720p, regardless of what I've tried. It works fine on other displays, but the Samsung won't sync the signal. Very frustrating.
The extra features of the set may appeal to some, but I have no need for a terribly slow media streming service built into my set. Any dedicated media streaming station or game console is going to outperform the in-set features for DivX playback. The widgets were just a bad idea. I have a 50Mbps internet connection and they still take forever to load. They aren't really useful and 'typing' with the remote is an exercise in self loathing.
Aesthetically, the set is incredible. The ultra-thin bezel is a thing of beauty. Glossy in the right places and stylish. You will most likely want to turn off the blue LED on the front of the set though, as it glows so bright it is a major distraction in low light situations. This is easily accomplished through the setup menu.
The remote is a mixed bag. Most people buying a set at this price point will probably have a universal anyway, but some may not. Samsung even recognizes that their remote is overly cumbersome and they include a second 'mini' remote for basic volume/channel/source features. The main remote has a motion sensor in it so whenever the slightest vibration occurs (such as a bass-heavy moment in a movie) it lights up. Getting up to get a snack? It lights up. Did your cat rub up against your coffee table? It lights up. The actual controls are pretty standard. There's an iPod style jog wheel for navigating menus, but you'll probably give up the poor performance of the circular motion for standard four point clicking. This leads to misinterpretation of your input sometimes, since the wheel will move slightly when clicking on the four points and the selector on screen will move as a result. I would have perferred a simple arrow interface. Part of the problem may be due to the fact that the menus are very laggy. Most operations on the display seem to be.
I can't rate the audio because I don't use the built-in speakers. Given the size of the set, I can't imagine them being very good at anything but high to high-mid range. But I can't say for certain.
Final verdict- If space or wow-factor are an issue, then this set certainly fits the bill if you can't set up a high end projector. The blacks are decent and there are plenty of inputs. There are minor issues around the backlighting in low-light environments and it is not the best set for video gaming because of the lag. If you have a Samsung BluRay player you will get the most benefit out of this display. Other players will display noticable lag when some of the 'wow' features are turned on. If I had it to do over, I probably wouldn't at this price point, but if some of the plusses are what you're looking for it's probably worth it. *** out of *****.
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62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Picture clarity is stunning with Digital or HD, October 14, 2009
This review is from: Samsung UN46B8000 46-Inch 1080p 240Hz LED HDTV (Electronics)
I only gave this 4 stars because 5 stars represents "perfect" to me, and I doubt any product out there made is "perfect".
First of all I like most am not rich and this kind of money for a tv is insane. But if you've decided to upgrade your older lcd (or) finallys witch from your crt, and you were planning to try and spend around $1000 or $1200 tops, I'd really suggest you wait, if it takes 6 months, wait, and save enough money for a great tv like this.
I searched online for the best reviewed tv's in the price range I could afford, and like most of you I wandered into the tv section of Walmart and other stores to see the screen definition and prices of various tv's out there. I decided if I'm going to make this expensive transition I'm going to wait a few months until I could get the tv I really wanted. Well I finally have my un46B8000 and find myself watching commercials cuz they look so cool !
First of all I am a long time user of Tivo. Mine was the standard digital 2 drive version so I decided to upgrade and order the new XL HD tivo. In the week while I waited for it's delivery, I was watching my usual cable digital channels on this new tv. It's IMPORTANT to note that the digital picture is just stunning on this tv... without the HD channels. Shows look oddly different, like many yrs ago when they switched to video taping our nightly comedy shows instead of filming them.... and I remember how odd the picture looked in video.. it was unusually clear and realistic... Well I'm experiencing that again with this new tv.. Just watching Two and a Half Men, the new picture clarity baffles and stuns me! it's like watching a whole new program! and digital commercials, I actually find myself rewinding to watch them! it's just odd !!
The color intensity and clarity are stunning and THERE IS NO DAMN HUM !!!
Also I find the speakers quite adequate though I'm hooking up the new Samsung soundbar (with blu-ray) to this tv today... but the speaker quality of this tv doesn't bother me at all. Plus you can fine tune the sound to your liking.
Setup is easy especially with an HDMI cable - one cable! (depending on your setup). For me it's the normal cable out of the wall into my Tivo, then the HDMI cable out from my TIVO and into the back of the TV, and wah-lah.. it's done. (Only the HD TIVO's have the HDMI connector).
CONS: the directions, the booklet and the website suck - Most of us have hooked electronics up before so you can figure it out but if you're a beginner.. good luck with that! There's no excuse for the lack of info in the huge booklet and the Samsung website - there is more info on this amazon.com page above about this tv than there is in the book (or) on Samsung's site.
CONS: I don't like the remote, glad I have my great Tivo remote. ex: if you want to adjust the color saturation, you'd like to see the picture on screen while you're doing it so you know how much to adjust it.. but sadly this stupid remote and tv have this big pop up screen that blocks the entire tv picture while your making your settings! so dumb- I find myself making a setting then clicking "exit" so I can view my change, then go back into the "menu" several times to set/change it some more. This is a minor issue I guess because once you have your chosen settings you'll rarely fix it again, but still it's a dumb setup. My remote also skips around on that menu screen without me clicking anything.. (a flaw in mine or all of them?) again not a big deal once it's setup but it skips around badly..
PROS: In the menu there are 4 choices for a picture to choose from, "Dynamic", "Standard", "Natural", and "Movie". The pro here is that those could simply be called 1-2-3-4 instead because once you choose one of those above, you can scroll down and change what they are. Meaning you can scroll down and change the color saturation, tint, contrast, etc for each of those items. My tv is in a very bright room so I set one setting (standard) for day viewing and made a darker screen choice (natural) for night time, which is more soothing to my eyes.
Some of the menu settings may confuse you but you need to just play with it, curse a little, and you'll figure it out.
PROS: there is a "backlight" setting which I am amazed I can keep rather low. My tv is in a very bright room, approx 12' from a 8'x8' patio door where I let lots of light in for my indoor plants everyday.. I am stunned how well I can see this tv in this bright light WITHOUT changing to any bright setting. This bright room was the main reason I hesitated for so long from upgrading my tv because I was worried this bright room would be too much for a new lcd (or plasma).. well this tv is amazing in a light environment.
CONS: again the remote - some shows you are still watching in 4:3 ratio mode (old square screen), otherwide the picture looks too stretched out. Then there are shows that are easily viewed in 16:9 (wide screen). You need to go all the way into the menu to change this setting if you want a dif screen for dif tv shows, (click "menu" then "Mode" then scroll down to "Picture Options" then choose "size") --- it's insane to have to go through all that to change the screen/picture size. Again, my award winning tivo remote (!!) has this feature as one of it's buttons easily accessed right on the remote .. just click "aspect" and I can change the aspect ratio of any program I'm watching.. But for those of you with just this tv's remote, you'll need to go through all those steps I listed above to keep changing the aspect ratio - annoying! (Their remote and "menu" are a big reason I couldn't give this tv 5 stars)
PROS: the tv is light weight enough I could lift it. The base which you must attach is as heavy as the tv it seemed, but it all looks stunning once set up.
CONS: price - ridiculous! I found it elsewhere and saved $300 off Amazon's price. I use Amazon to buy lots of items of all types but for something like this I searched google and ebay for a better price (and found it on ebay). Be sure to consider delivery costs (and tax where applicable) when choosing where to buy it.
PROS: thin beyond belief
PROS: blacks are so black that even on a limited black setting, the screen edges (when watching 4:3 ration) are as black as the actual tv frame..
PROS: it's a nice looking tv. chrome base with a thick glass stem leading up to the tv. A bright, deep, flourescent blue light shows at the bottom when the tv is turned on - pleasing to the eye.. oh and the tv hums a slight tune when you turn it off and on!
PROS: I have no glare problems in this bright room next to this huge patio door.
CONS: You really do need to be almost dead center when watching this tv for the best picture
PROS: The swivel stand is very helpful to put you dead center for viewing. (Although I'm usually approx 3' off dead center (to the side), approx 10'-12' distance from the tv, and the pic is still spectacular).
CONS: there is no S connection on the back (if you need one) and the other connections are setup squashed into a side panel.. not the easiest to connect and some thicker connectors may not work on this tv (as mentioned in this indepth review below)
[...]
That article (above) is the most indepth info I found on this tv before I bought it.
One last thing. With the new HD Tivo's you need to get rid of the cable box and use cable cards. When the cable guy came out yesterday he had been installing cable cards (in new Tivo's) all morning. When he came in and first viewed my tv which was turned on, after spending all morning in front of other people's lcd/plasma tv's all morning, he took one look at my tv picture and simply said, "wow". That was his first impression walking up to it and seeing it's clear picture! (and keep in mind it was still on a regular cable digital picture, not HDMI yet). So basically, after seeing all those other tv's all morning in everyone else's home.. he was blown away by my new Samsung UN46B8000 ! So there! I have bragging rights! lol.
So when watching HD channels or your digital channels you should be very pleased with this tv.
46" is a pretty big tv imo. This old lady loves NFL and watching Brett Favre and Eli Manning has been great on this new LED LCD tv. The 2 ms response time is impressive, the color intensity is indescribable, the clarity, and the contrast is spectacular when watching football. You will need to go into your menu settings and tweak all these features to your liking (sound, contrast, tint, color, black levels, backlight, sharpness, etc.)
[...]
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80 of 84 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
very nice, June 5, 2009
This review is from: Samsung UN46B8000 46-Inch 1080p 240Hz LED HDTV (Electronics)
Consumer Reports has not rated this set yet. Their current top rated set is the samsung ln650, which although good, has minor flaws, such as "3-ball effect" (tennis and football), varying shade of green on football fields when comparing line of scrimmage versus either side, and some smudginess.
I see none of that with UN46B8000 that I bought last week. Fast motion is excellent. White is white, black is black, and reds and blues are beautiful. Clarity is excellent. Once in a while I've seen intense yellows and greens where I've wondered if it was an accurate depiction, but I've not made any adjustments yet. But, it's hard to get all these qualities, especially whites, in plasma. I'm not a professional, just my observations based on a few months of shopping.
My opinion is that plasma has lost it's advantage, especially if you consider power consumption. Plasmas only advantage now is price, but that should change over time.
The only problem with the un46b800 I've had is that occasionally the backlight setting jumps up. I think c/net mentioned this. Still, I'm very satisfied with this set.
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