Samsung UN46B8500 46-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LED HDTV

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:

Review 6 to 10 of total 55

Discontinued - caution is called for - but wow the picture.,
by SharkAttack, 2010-01-18

While searching for information on the programming of a cable remote I learned that this TV has been discontinued. I had purchased mine earlier in the day. Do your homework and get a good price - else don't buy.

The picture is stunning - read the reviews - it is not perfect - but it may be the best. It kills all my other flat screens.

Sound is fine for regular TV viewing - I will likely get a small HT system to enhance movies.

The remote is not IR but the set does respond to my old (newer) Samsung HD remote - I have not figured out how to program my cable remote to manage the basics on this set - but there is hope.

Discounts appear to be coming - I got a great price though I did not understand exactly why at the time.

Update: After a few days of use - I have programmed my cable remote to control the general everyday features. The sound is all I need for every day TV viewing. The picture is almost too good - I will try the CNET recommendations this weekend.

Everything I thought it would be and MORE!!!!,
by T. Siu, 2010-02-20

What can I say...

When I first started looking for televisions, I started in the $1200 range. I purchased a PN50B860 from vanns for $1200 and was amazed by the picture quality of the plasma but what was happiness soon turned for the worse when I heard the buzzing of the plasma and saw image retention on the tv just after 15 mins of viewing a news station. This was unacceptable so I returned the set and continued my search. Now I've got my eyes set on the 46B750 or the 46XBR9. Both have gotten great reviews and recieve lots of praise for accurate color and great black levels, I was about to purchase the xbr9 at $1500 after tax and shipping when I saw the massive price drop for the new Samsung 46B8500. It hit the price point that I wanted and was the best LCD-LED TV you can buy. Yes, I realize that 3D tv's are coming and this TV does NOT support it, but I will be purchasing another TV in the next 4-5 years and by then, the 3D format will either have died out, or will have matured into a beautiful new medium that everyone has accepted. Either way, at that time I will upgrade, for now, I want the best 2D lcd-led television that my $2100 can buy.

Pilot delivery was great, they called to confirm the appt 15 mins before hand and arrived promptly at my door. Two guys carried it into my home, took it out of the box and asked me where I wanted it to be set up. I told them that I could handle all of that and I just wanted to check for damage. There was none so they were off on their way and I was moving my TV into my living room. I turned the TV on, put a blu-ray on and my jaw dropped to the floor... I've had a local dimming LED-LCD from VIZIO and I had a PN50B860 to reference picture quality to and believe me, this TV is EVERYTHING EVERYONE has raved about. I now understand why it's so damn expensive... Everything about this TV just screams high end quality. Believe me, when I say that I thought all the reviews for this tv were biased and maybe even faked by other people. Now I know why they call this TV the King of LCD's (as quoted by Cnet).

The black levels... I have to start with that! When there is media that shows black on this TV, it plunges you in the dark abyss of the darkest dark that you have absolutely ever seen in your life on an LCD. And unlike other local dimming TVs, you DON'T NOTICE WHEN THE LED'S TURN OFF! It's incredible, the blacks can plunge a whole room into complete utter darkness. I have a room that has light completely blocked from it and I can't see the tv when the screen goes black. I have noticed some blooming on the standard video setting but after tweaking the settings the blooming is considerably less noticable (almost non-existant except for the most insane white against black contrast such as white text against black background, but even then it is not noticable until you look for it.)

The remote is just beautiful, there is a light sensor so the backlight does not waste battery life during the day and a motion sensor to turn the backlight on when you are looking for the remote, there was a reviewer that said the motion sensor is too sensitive, but I like that! If the remote is on the couch and my room is dark, I dont have to go looking for it, all I have to do is hit the cushion or surface a little bit and the remote will light up so that I can easily find it. Also the scroll wheel is GREAT, you just have to know how it works. The remote turns the scroll wheel off so that you don't accidentily scroll with it all the time, the scroll wheel turns on after ANY input button besides the scroll wheel is used, this is great when I hit "menu" and then use the scroll wheel. The people that say it is sluggish to respond are probably trying to scroll without any input, in which case it can take a turn or two to get the remote to accept input. All these "CONS" that people have been pointing out are actually PROS for me! I love these features!

The color is great, spot on and lots of POP! Yes there is glare from this TV, that is a non issue because when I am seriously watching the TV at night, my whole room is set in darkness and I see no glare at all. During the day, I set the brightness up and the glare is a non-issue. There are plenty of settings and for a videophile like me, it is a must. The AMP settings are great, I've noticed a lil bit of judder here and there but nothing my g/f can pick out. I am extremely sensitive to the slightest of artifacts or judder and there was not enough of it to be found here for me to be picky.

I will not list my settings because a quick google of that topic will yield you plenty of that information.

You have to see this TV in a dark room to really appreciate this television... When it goes black, you'll be amazed at how beautiful darkness can be. Don't be fooled by other televisions that lose black detail when they dim the backlights. There are a lot of sets that dim the backlights to achieve a "higher" black level. This TV DOES NOT DO THAT! You wont even notice the LED's turning off or on. It's incredible, you have to see it to believe it.

If you are on the fence and can afford this tv, BUY IT! Why get a mediocre 3D tv when you can get the BEST LCD-LED television of today?!

I think that is all there is to be said, if I have left anything out or if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave a comment and I will make sure to reply to other potential owners of this product. So please feel free to ask away!

btw... I never write reviews as you can tell if you try to find other reviews on products I have purchased, but this TV just blew my mind and it would be a dis-honor, not to write about a technology that makes my heart tingle.

Nice TV,
by Nigel, 2010-01-10

I think this is an amazing TV as far as picture quality. When I first bought it I thought it was horrible, then I discovered the "soap opera" effect. This judder feature is supposed to fill in with additional frames. What actually happens is that I was watching a movie and it looked like an old episode of the Australian soap called neighbors. Once you remove this judder feature, set it well down (on each input) the picture quality improves dramatically. Now I am thrilled with TV.
For all those out there worried about Harmony remotes, this TV although having an RF remote supports infrared. My Logitech 880 works well with this new TV. I didn't have to do any learning mode, just put the TV number into the Harmony device, add and away it went. I did have to change the latency of the TV. I told the remote it takes 12s to power on, it does seem to take a while. This allows the input switching to work.
I won't go into other features since many of the reviews have them.
I would have liked more component inputs since my old DVD players are component so I am playing my US DVDs through my PS3, I also miss the SVHS. My Harmon Kardon has on screen display through SVHS so I'm a bit perplexed at how I will be able to configure it.
I do have one current issue with voice sync which seemed to improve when I put the PS3 on HDMI-1, hopefully I will figure out who is to blame.

BUY IT ! This is the best TV on the market as of April 2010 !,
by Hans Blix, 2010-03-18

UPDATE on DLNA:
DLNA function works perfectly on this TV set. Naturally, you need to install a DLNA server application on your computer in order to establish the connection to your media on the computer. I found "Twonky media server" application for my Mac for about $20 which works flawlessly with this TV. I am able to stream out most of the videos (depending on format) and MP3s and JPEG photos via the Wi-Fi network out of the computer, into the TV (TV does need Ethernet connection if you do not have the Wi-Fi adapter). I built an Ethernet outlet on to the wall behind the TV, works great. Also, I am sure there are free DLNS servers out there for PC. Just Google it You don't want to miss DLNA, if you have bunch of AVI videos on your computer.

REVIEW:
I have spent one month with two brand new TVs from BestBuy in order to make the following review here.

This is the best TV you can buy below $7K. Yes, in fact, one of Pioneer's Kuro models is probably a better TV which cost about $7K if you want to spend that much and if you can find it. If you don't, then the only option is this TV, and it is not a bad option.

it has Ugly remote
it has Un-stylish Glossy Bezel
it has A Bit lengthy installation of of the stand
it has a non-innovative menu
It was delivered a bit late.

YET, this TV has the best picture available in any LCD/Plasma/LED HDTV out there.

POSITIVES:

BLACK LEVELS--------Black levels with this unit are second to none. I doubt that any other TV can reach the black level perfection as 8500. Perhaps the fact that this TV has back-lit, not edge-lit unlike most of the other LED TVs on the market is the reason for the difference. OR, the reason might be that Samsung is the NEW SONY of 2010s.

Experience: I tested and returned two Sony TVs before getting this from Amazon: Sony BRAVIA XBR Series KDL-46XBR9 46-Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV, Black and Sony Bravia EX700 Series 46-Inch LED HDTV, Black. XBR9 was very good in picture quality (and design) but failed miserably in black levels. EX700 was horrible in simple terms; both in black levels and picture quality. Eventually, I have decided to get the TV with best reviews on Amazon, which was the 8500. In fact, if you look at it, all the reviews are 4 star and above, except few which was not the reviews of the TV but the delivery service. BestBuy did not have the 8500 but 8000 series for some reason. Lucky, this forced me to buy it from Amazon which had one of the lowest prices on the Internet.

TIPS:
-There are optical, 3.5, RCA, and USB connections. I will mostly use the HDMI for signal transfer however.
-Stand is heavier than the TV, so, TV stands well on the surface.
-It has manual motion flow option; you can use the "clear" motion flow to decrease the artificial day-time-soap effect if you insist on using the motion flow option. I opt it out totally.
-yes, there are websites suggesting specific calibration for this TV, but, honestly, the best calibration is the one that is customized for your eyes. So, just play with the options until you reach to the configuration best for you.
-If you have cable box, program it for Samsung TV (not the first two keys but the third key). You will be able to control the sound and power without needing the TV remote, which is huge but very functional.
-TV's RF Remote has a motion sensor which turns the key lights on in the dark, if it senses you closing in. I guess it helps to locate in the dark.
-I don't even dare to calibrate it much. Out of box, the picture is perfect (except the 240 Hz needs to be turned off to get rid of the artificial effect of daytime soap operas).



NEGATIVES:
(if I must to list some negatives, however, picture quality nullifies any negatives about this TV)

-Not unique to Samsung, but thick bezels are very unappealing. Sony seem to be one who paid attention design aspects of TVs (but not the picture quality).
-If you move few feet from the center, picture quality gets grayish; concern for some but not me.
-Ugly remote, but most use the remote coming with cable provider anyways, not a big deal.
-No Netflix or Blockbuster. I tested Netflix with XBR9, 720p online content was very appealing. perhaps Samsung will have a firmware update for it, or I might get a Blu-Ray player with Netflix.

CONCLUSION:
Yes. Yes. Yes... BUY this TV. I heard that none of the 2010 Samsung TVs will have full back-lit LED. So, this remains to be the only model with full back-lit.

This has been an excellent transaction. Thanks Amazon..

Phenomenal TV,
by Aaron, 2010-01-19

I have owned this TV for about 11 days, and the picture is simply one word "incredible". I calibrated the set to what CNET's review configuration for the best picture. If you are sitting straight on with the TV the blacks are inky black(yes they do fade a bit when you move to the sides but not bad by any means). I was using a 46 inch Samsung DLP before this set and the picture is night and day between the two sets. The one thing though I didn't quite anticipate was reflections on the screen, coming from a matte display, but if you have any bright windows behind your viewing area, you will see it in the picture which required me to upgrade the curtains for that window but the glossy display does make the picture shine that much more. Also you can use any of the harmony remote with this TV without any problems(Choose the **B8500 model), being the remote that comes with the TV is a RF remote. And as people have stated in other reivews, The yahoo widgets are slow, but to me that is more of a gimmick to be able to add more features to the set and truthfully I will probably not use them at all. But for the best TV with the best picture the B8500 model is hands down at the moment the best you can buy(but it looks like Samsung has discontinued all the 8 Series LED TV's since they are no longer on their site, and next year all the sets will be edge lit LED's not local dimming from the announcements at CES).