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TOP 1000 REVIEWERon July 13, 2017
This television is pretty awesome. Ranked as one of the nicest flagship tvs you can buy, it begins to show off what the new quantum dot displays can do and it's entrancing even for non visual sensory people. Things come to life on this screen. The bezel is thin and it was clearly built to be mounted on the wall. It will look like a work of art anywhere you put it with rich bursting colors reawakening anything you've ever seen in your imagination. I love the Samsung up scaling technology. It does a great job, and streaming is a breeze on this interface. Unlike its little brother the Samsung 6 series, this does true hdr. No Dolby vision or connections for analog, but if you're a streamer this will not bug you. And there is always adapters. The sound is phenomenal stand alone in it's class and it isnt tinny at all. It's very full. This is going to give you a real serious multimedia experience for a budget.
I found a few cons. Even a great product has them. I figured I'd mention them. The screen is fragile and a bit of a finger print magnet. You may want to elevate it where kids won't be tempted and with the display this system has, they will, because it's truly magical.
For some reason all Samsung tvs have a horrible time with connecting to their own products. I have a Samsung Galaxy S8 and mirroring is still really glitchy. However, this is not that big of a deal for me as I mirror through Roku Premier which is much faster than the internals. The internals just haven't caught up with the rest of the tech out there yet.
Availability is sometimes sparse with these models as noted by a few tech centered popular websites, and many of these suhd tvs have some software issues that could affect your screen. However if you have super fast internet, a solid connection via wifi or cable, and some nice streaming devices you won't struggle with it as much as if you got it to act as an external player.
This TV can be mounted without seeing wires due to a hub Samsung provides you. So it looks like a true TV from the future. The motion is great without soap opera fx, and I prefer the flat screen at 55" as it doesn't seem to distort shapes.
If this is in your budget I highly recommend it. No breaking the bank. Higher build quality than its cheaper siblings and the beginning of the quantum dot technology. Suhd will blow your mind. Samsung knows screens. No, disputing that.
I think this is one great bargain for the price range.
I found a few cons. Even a great product has them. I figured I'd mention them. The screen is fragile and a bit of a finger print magnet. You may want to elevate it where kids won't be tempted and with the display this system has, they will, because it's truly magical.
For some reason all Samsung tvs have a horrible time with connecting to their own products. I have a Samsung Galaxy S8 and mirroring is still really glitchy. However, this is not that big of a deal for me as I mirror through Roku Premier which is much faster than the internals. The internals just haven't caught up with the rest of the tech out there yet.
Availability is sometimes sparse with these models as noted by a few tech centered popular websites, and many of these suhd tvs have some software issues that could affect your screen. However if you have super fast internet, a solid connection via wifi or cable, and some nice streaming devices you won't struggle with it as much as if you got it to act as an external player.
This TV can be mounted without seeing wires due to a hub Samsung provides you. So it looks like a true TV from the future. The motion is great without soap opera fx, and I prefer the flat screen at 55" as it doesn't seem to distort shapes.
If this is in your budget I highly recommend it. No breaking the bank. Higher build quality than its cheaper siblings and the beginning of the quantum dot technology. Suhd will blow your mind. Samsung knows screens. No, disputing that.
I think this is one great bargain for the price range.
on July 9, 2016
Although I ended up purchasing this TV at Best Buy due to shipping issues here, I am happy to leave this review. The television is, without a doubt, magnificent! The crystal clear picture and detail is unbelievable. I used an online site to calibrate it based upon the website's recommendation and am so very pleased with the picture. This is a marked improvement from my former LG 42" Plasma television. 4K had to be seen to be believed. I just finished watching STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS and my breath was taken away. This even beat the sharpness when I saw it in the theater! I also purchased the ROKU 4 and Samsung 4K BluRay Disc Player and both work flawlessly with the television and provide absolutely beautiful results. Keep in mind, your Internet service must be reliable and speedy enough to resist buffeting. I also have the TV linked to my TiVo and it works perfectly. What is especially amazing is that the TV also "knows" when you are using a particular device and automatically turns itself on and used the correct HDMI port. (You have four ports to utilize.) Now, why did I give it just four stars? Well, truth be told, if I could have, I would have only taken away a half of a star, but that, of course, is not possible. The only flaw that I found with the television is that, when mounted, the screen is extremely reflective so that if you have a lamp on opposite of the screen, you will have to turn the lamp off or the reflection is too great to enjoy the picture. Thus, you do not want a window behind you when you set up the TV, or any strong lights, for that matter. For me, it was a ready fix as I merely moved the lamp and all is well. Nevertheless, it is something to keep in mind if your purchase this television. (My former Plasma TV, mounted in the same place, had no issues with the screen being as reflective and the lamp was in the same place without issues for several years. I only noticed an issue when I mounted this television.) I really believe that you will be blown away by the picture and the lack of issues with motion blur, as this as 240 motion ratio and has no movie "judder" whatsoever. Make sure that you calibrate the picture. You can either pay to have someone come to your home to accomplish that, (which is costly), or you can do it yourself by looking online for calibration guidelines. I found excellent calibration levels by simply using Google and putting in: Samsung UN49KS8000 calibration you will see several sites that will clearly display the best calibration choices. I tried to post an actual excellent website, but Amazon would not permit me to post the link. When viewing the picture directly, the picture is crystal clear and really breathtaking. Keep in mind that I am using only a hi-definition TV antenna. There are reflection issues on the picture when viewed from the side, so be aware of this when placing your television. For me, it's not an issue since I view the picture directly and not at an angle. That said, the picture is spectacular. Here are some samples of broadcast TV, as well as some stills and a movie clip from THE LIFE OF PI in 4K using my 4K Blue-Ray Player and this 4K UHD TV!
on May 19, 2017
This TV has been almost perfect for me. The picture is outstanding, and I have had no issues whatsoever getting it to play UHD content, HDR content and streaming various video formats from internet without buffering or digital artifacts. I was shocked that it was able to natively decode and play 4k .mkv files from my Plex server (which isn't powerful enough to actually transcode and stream such files). I have the KS8000 connected via ethernet cable so I can't comment on WiFi, and I've never actually tried a speedtest, but it has never stuttered once on 4k Amazon and Netflix and Youtube videos (Amazon seems to look the best).
The UI (Samsung Tizen) is.... not so bad as to cause violent fits of rage and yelling. This makes it the best Smart TV UI I have used, and light years ahead of (trigger warning for android purists) Touchwiz. The remote control is not quite as good as the UI. I hate these ultra minimalist remotes with like 5 buttons plus a D-pad, that are skinny and black and engineered to embed themselves deep inside crevices of any furniture with cushions. Sometimes the only way to find it is to wait for someone to sit close enough to its hiding place to cause it to press a button. Fortunately, the TV includes IR support (not bluetooth-only) so the remote can be replaced with a cheap universal IR remote (Interset INT-422-3 has been great).
There is a bunch of unremovable crapps that you can't uninstall or disable, but you can at least move them off to the side. This is true on every TV from every company these days, I'm sure, so it's lame but what can you do. I will say, though, that the apps made for Tizen generally run very well, and quite snappy for a TV. It's obnoxious that manufacturers will not put better hardware in TV's at this price point, because the UI feels glacially slow at times if you're used to a modern phone. However, the UI is much snappier in this TV than LG and Sony from this year, last year at similar price point.
The biggest problem with this TV, and all the new ones, is the generation gap problem. The biggest TV watchers are still the over 50 crowd. At the risk of over-generalizing, many of this demographic aren't big fans of making TV's like giant tablets, and this is more true the older the user. I honestly don't think my 70+ parents would be able to use the TV, much less set it up, because they just don't understand the UI and the difference between Tizen apps, external inputs, apps on external inputs, etc. Sure, I can set it to just default to their DIrecTV STB, but God forbid they sit on the remote that embedded itself in the sofa and mysteriously change the input to live OTA TV. Seriously, I think they need to enable remote desktop protocol for family members to "fix the broken tv", regardless of security concerns. The UI is too convoluted for the standard telephone walk through ("...Click File, then preferences...No. No. That's Edit. File. No..." is less frustrating than this would be).
I suspect that Amazon is aware of this generation problem, and that is why they are introducing their line of TV's. This is pure speculation, but I think those will not have the tech specs geeks want, but will be a 4k TV that feels like a TV not a computer, and that is exactly what the market needs.
But back to this TV - if you're tech-savvyish this is a great choice. We have since gotten a smaller Sony XBR800D and I'm very disappointed with it. The picture is great on it, but not quite as good as this. The only other good thing about the Sony is that the UI is androidtv, but the hardware ruins it anyway. It is SO SLOW. Violent fits of rage slow. The remote control is worse than the KS800 for the opposite reasons. It has 20 million buttons and you can't feel them apart. It can't play 4k .mkv files, it does stutter playing 4k from internet despite wired connection. KS8000 is hands down better.
I've read the forums and I'm aware of many people getting bad KS8000 units and having frustrating problems. I've experienced none of these, but it's important that you set up the TV and carefully inspect the screen for issues and put the TV through its paces so that you can return it before too late. Also, many people complain of firmware updates making it worse. I was seconds away from clicking update when I decided to research it a bit, and I'm glad I did. I have no issues on firmware 1168, but many have problems with 1169. If it ain't broke don't even touch it. I set auto-update to off and do not plan to ever turn in it back on.
The UI (Samsung Tizen) is.... not so bad as to cause violent fits of rage and yelling. This makes it the best Smart TV UI I have used, and light years ahead of (trigger warning for android purists) Touchwiz. The remote control is not quite as good as the UI. I hate these ultra minimalist remotes with like 5 buttons plus a D-pad, that are skinny and black and engineered to embed themselves deep inside crevices of any furniture with cushions. Sometimes the only way to find it is to wait for someone to sit close enough to its hiding place to cause it to press a button. Fortunately, the TV includes IR support (not bluetooth-only) so the remote can be replaced with a cheap universal IR remote (Interset INT-422-3 has been great).
There is a bunch of unremovable crapps that you can't uninstall or disable, but you can at least move them off to the side. This is true on every TV from every company these days, I'm sure, so it's lame but what can you do. I will say, though, that the apps made for Tizen generally run very well, and quite snappy for a TV. It's obnoxious that manufacturers will not put better hardware in TV's at this price point, because the UI feels glacially slow at times if you're used to a modern phone. However, the UI is much snappier in this TV than LG and Sony from this year, last year at similar price point.
The biggest problem with this TV, and all the new ones, is the generation gap problem. The biggest TV watchers are still the over 50 crowd. At the risk of over-generalizing, many of this demographic aren't big fans of making TV's like giant tablets, and this is more true the older the user. I honestly don't think my 70+ parents would be able to use the TV, much less set it up, because they just don't understand the UI and the difference between Tizen apps, external inputs, apps on external inputs, etc. Sure, I can set it to just default to their DIrecTV STB, but God forbid they sit on the remote that embedded itself in the sofa and mysteriously change the input to live OTA TV. Seriously, I think they need to enable remote desktop protocol for family members to "fix the broken tv", regardless of security concerns. The UI is too convoluted for the standard telephone walk through ("...Click File, then preferences...No. No. That's Edit. File. No..." is less frustrating than this would be).
I suspect that Amazon is aware of this generation problem, and that is why they are introducing their line of TV's. This is pure speculation, but I think those will not have the tech specs geeks want, but will be a 4k TV that feels like a TV not a computer, and that is exactly what the market needs.
But back to this TV - if you're tech-savvyish this is a great choice. We have since gotten a smaller Sony XBR800D and I'm very disappointed with it. The picture is great on it, but not quite as good as this. The only other good thing about the Sony is that the UI is androidtv, but the hardware ruins it anyway. It is SO SLOW. Violent fits of rage slow. The remote control is worse than the KS800 for the opposite reasons. It has 20 million buttons and you can't feel them apart. It can't play 4k .mkv files, it does stutter playing 4k from internet despite wired connection. KS8000 is hands down better.
I've read the forums and I'm aware of many people getting bad KS8000 units and having frustrating problems. I've experienced none of these, but it's important that you set up the TV and carefully inspect the screen for issues and put the TV through its paces so that you can return it before too late. Also, many people complain of firmware updates making it worse. I was seconds away from clicking update when I decided to research it a bit, and I'm glad I did. I have no issues on firmware 1168, but many have problems with 1169. If it ain't broke don't even touch it. I set auto-update to off and do not plan to ever turn in it back on.
on February 21, 2017
This is an awesome TV. If you've done your homework you may already know that. The 8 series for Samsung's 4k tv's is the way to go. If you really can afford it, go for the 9 series but honestly I don't think it makes that big of a difference. Spring for the extra cash, over the 6 or 7 series, it's worth it. I almost got the Ku6300 but changed my mind at the last minute. Everything looks amazing on this TV. Everything! Even regular dvds look great. They look like blu rays in quality. The HDR 10 bit panel with wide color gamut will blow you away. I'm spoiled and catch watch anything on 1080p televisions.
on January 3, 2017
After several months of searching for a 4k TV (and waiting for a price drop) I went to BestBuy to see the UN55KS8000FXZA and was very impressed with every aspect of the TV.
First impression, bright, sharp colors made this TV stand out from every other TV on display (comparable to the LG OLED).
If you are going to mount this TV you might want to purchase the proper bolts (M8 x 45mm) - something like this: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B019ZEIJYU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I did not have the correct bolts and had to find some at Lowes.
The Remote is a smart remote that works like a smart remote should - I can use it in place of a Dish remote, Amazon Fire TV remote and my Sony audio receiver.
Some people have complained about the cable hub but I think it is a great idea - I have a cleaner looking cable system and only the power cable and hub cable going up the TV stand cable tube - Nice!
One last note, the annoyingly bright "Samsung" marque light can be turned off in the settings.
First impression, bright, sharp colors made this TV stand out from every other TV on display (comparable to the LG OLED).
If you are going to mount this TV you might want to purchase the proper bolts (M8 x 45mm) - something like this: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B019ZEIJYU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I did not have the correct bolts and had to find some at Lowes.
The Remote is a smart remote that works like a smart remote should - I can use it in place of a Dish remote, Amazon Fire TV remote and my Sony audio receiver.
Some people have complained about the cable hub but I think it is a great idea - I have a cleaner looking cable system and only the power cable and hub cable going up the TV stand cable tube - Nice!
One last note, the annoyingly bright "Samsung" marque light can be turned off in the settings.
on September 11, 2016
Replaced a 2012 55" Panasonic plasma because of power surge. Plasma TVs are superb at angle viewing and motion refresh rate. Parts and new TVs no longer available. My research found this TV and it is very comparable. Angle view and sports motion look great. Smart functions and apps interface fast. Calibrated using the THX app on my phone to get a great picture. Turn off most auto functions including the auto motion function. Very satisfied. Sometimes too good of resolution for the broadcasted format. So dont panic and change settings, change to channel. 4k Netflix is very enjoyable. $1475 was a competitive price but still too dang high for a TV. Roll Tide.
on December 15, 2016
I pulled my old TV off the wall, set up the new TV, fought with the cables, etc. The Samsung worked for 3 hours, then just turned off in the middle of a show. It won't turn back on. When I went to the web - I see they have a lot of problems like this and lots of complaints about the power supply going bad. There was even a youtube video on how to fix your Samnsung power supply. I called customer service (which took 1/2 hour on hold) and they said they would send out a tech and it would take 2 weeks. Really? 2 weeks to have a tech look at it and they might not be able to figure out what is wrong? I think I will just return it.
on April 10, 2017
I was hesitant to buy a TV online but went to several local stores and many were out of stock since they were transitioning to 2017 models. So I decided to try Amazon on this 2016 Samsung that had many good reviews and was a good price. I was very impressed with both the TV and the delivery from Amazon.
Delivery: I was able to select which day I wanted it delivered and then was kept updated on the delivery status by Amazon. The delivery company called a few days in advance to verify a 3 hour window of time, and they did arrive that day within the window of time even though it was 10 min prior to the end of that time. They brought the TV in, removed it from the boxing, placed it on our TV stand, plugged it in and verified it was functioning. They took a picture of the functioning TV and took the old box/trash away. I was very pleased with the delivery.
The TV: It is great! Have only used the TV for four days but it has been used a lot during that timeframe. We replaced an older Samsung flatscreen (HD TV) with this one and wow, what a difference. Out of the box without any tuning whatsoever this is a great looking deep colored screen. With a few tweaks it is amazing. There were easy step-by-step onscreen setup instructions. The remote is lot better than the older large clunky devices and is a smart remote that even recognizes voice commands. I liked the concept of having just one cable to the TV which then links to a hub where you plug in other devices. Only issue I had was the TV remote could not recognize my Tivo device from my cable provider for all functions, but it did change channels and volume. I use a generic remote anyway which worked great with the new TV. The bezel is very small and the thickness of the TV is perfect for us.
Overall I was impressed with this TV and would highly recommend it, especially at the discounted price. I’ve already seen reviews of the 2017 version of this TV and some are not very favorable so I'm glad I bought this one.
Delivery: I was able to select which day I wanted it delivered and then was kept updated on the delivery status by Amazon. The delivery company called a few days in advance to verify a 3 hour window of time, and they did arrive that day within the window of time even though it was 10 min prior to the end of that time. They brought the TV in, removed it from the boxing, placed it on our TV stand, plugged it in and verified it was functioning. They took a picture of the functioning TV and took the old box/trash away. I was very pleased with the delivery.
The TV: It is great! Have only used the TV for four days but it has been used a lot during that timeframe. We replaced an older Samsung flatscreen (HD TV) with this one and wow, what a difference. Out of the box without any tuning whatsoever this is a great looking deep colored screen. With a few tweaks it is amazing. There were easy step-by-step onscreen setup instructions. The remote is lot better than the older large clunky devices and is a smart remote that even recognizes voice commands. I liked the concept of having just one cable to the TV which then links to a hub where you plug in other devices. Only issue I had was the TV remote could not recognize my Tivo device from my cable provider for all functions, but it did change channels and volume. I use a generic remote anyway which worked great with the new TV. The bezel is very small and the thickness of the TV is perfect for us.
Overall I was impressed with this TV and would highly recommend it, especially at the discounted price. I’ve already seen reviews of the 2017 version of this TV and some are not very favorable so I'm glad I bought this one.
on December 6, 2016
This TV must be seen to be appreciated. The picture is amazing and the automated initialization makes setup a breeze. Very versatile, with a wide range of configurations, and the picture is close to rivaling the OLED technology at a fraction of the cost. My only regret is not waiting two more weeks when the price dropped $100.00, but even so, I still feel I'm getting my money's worth. Well done, Samsung!
