Comments Samsung Series 8 UE46B8000 - 46in LCD TV - TV - review

Currys	£749	Buy now

Comments

Please wait while we process your request

Please wait while we retrieve the user's information

Bio

Your bio is currently empty. Now is a great time to fill in your profile.

This profile is private.

This profile is only shared with friends.

This profile is under review.

We were unable to request friendship with this user.

We were unable to request friendship with this user. Are you logged in?

Your friendship request has been sent to this user.

We were unable to terminate friendship with this user.

We were unable to terminate friendship with this user. Are you logged in?

You are no longer friends with this user.

We were unable to ignore this user.

We were unable to ignore this user. Are you logged in?

This user is now ignored.

We were unable to stop ignoring this user.

We were unable to stop ignoring this user. Are you logged in?

This user is no longer ignored.

pluck_user_mp-abuse_too_long_err

Name withheld

james1000

12:32 PM on 4 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore james1000. Show Details Hide Details

And yet again it looks like I have fallen into the "still waiting for the perfect lcdtv" category. Am I being a perfectionist to expect a tv which ships with good picture, good sound AND good factory settings? At £1750 I really dont expect to have to tweak settings depending on what I am using the tv for. 5 years after purchasing my excellent Sharp LC26-GA4E and Im still waiting for a worthy replacement.

Score:

Name withheld

smx

1:10 PM on 4 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore smx. Show Details Hide Details

Buy Pioneer Kuro or Sony's X4500 models

Score:

Name withheld

PS3½

1:38 PM on 4 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore PS3½. Show Details Hide Details

Does the 200hz processing make any discernible difference over the 100hz used in the B7000 and B6000 (or any other 100hz sets). Is more detailed retained during fast motion? I'm asking this as many reviews of the Sony's 200hz Z4500 stated that there wasn't a major difference between it and Sony's 100hz sets.

Score:

Name withheld

Ripsnorter

1:58 PM on 4 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Ripsnorter. Show Details Hide Details

At the risk of being laughed at by other TristedReviews members in the playground at breaktime, is it possible to store the various settings (for games, films, etc.) for selection as and when, or does the set 'remember' them once the relevant source is detected? Or do they have to be entered every time?

Score:

Name withheld

PS3½

2:52 PM on 4 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore PS3½. Show Details Hide Details

The threat of burn-in rules the Kuros (or any other plasmas) out for many buyers, and the Sony X series is still quite expensive. Samsung, for most of the time, tend to produce good sets at a relatively reasonable price. I suspect their latest edge-lit LED models will sell buy the ton compared to many other brands.

Score:

Name withheld

Chocoa

3:40 PM on 4 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Chocoa. Show Details Hide Details

".....while using just a single screw. Impressive."

Gulp, 18Kg on ONE screw!!.. Better get that screw fixing right then.

Living in an old house, with dry lined walls, I would have to avoid said mounting, or my investment would be short lived ;)

Score:

Name withheld

John Archer

3:45 PM on 4 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore John Archer. Show Details Hide Details

Just thought I'd post a quick response to the first four comments on my review.

Regarding james1000's comment, I have to say that I feel you're rather cutting off your nose to spite your face here. If you actually compared a 46B8000 with your beloved Sharp, you would be astonished by how much better the new Samsung is.

I'm not saying you should definitely buy a 46B8000 - there are a lot of good TVs out there right now. But clinging on to a now thorougly outdated screen while waiting for a dream of perfection that will probably never happen (especially as the 'perfection' goalposts seem to shift with every new flat TV generation!) just doesn't seem to make much sense to me.

I also think that you're placing a bit too much emphasis on the 46B8000's factory preset concerns. This is probably my fault for being so clearly narked by them in my review. But the fact is that while shipping a flagship TV with rubbish factory settings is undoubtedly irritating, unhelpful and even pretty stupid on Samsung's part, getting pictures looking excellent on the 46B8000 really is only a matter of a few minutes fairly easy work - especially if you follow the guidelines note in the review.

In fact, although I didn't say so in the review, if you simply choose the TV's Cinema preset you'll immediately get a good improvement in images - although the results are still no match for an image you've set up yourself.

Anyway, the bottom line for me is that in 'punishing' Samsung for not doing good presets by not buying a 46B8000, you might actually be harming yourself more than Samsung!

Turning to smx, his suggestion that you buy a KURO is well made to some extent - so long as he meant KURO plasma, not KURO LCD. Though I would also say that smx may be surprised by just how close the Samsung's image quality - when correctly calibrated - gets to the KURO.

As for the Sony X4500s, these too are superb sets - but only, again, after you've invested time in calibrating them properly. They tend to push green way too much and look overbright, for instance, if you just stick with their presets. Plus they don't look nearly as nice as the Samsung - if that sort of thing bothers you! - and cost hundreds of pounds more.

As for PS3, I'm afraid I'm not in a position to comment definitively on his excellent question, as I haven't yet seen a B7000 or B6000. But based on previous Samsung 100Hz incarnations, my gut instinct is that the B8000's 200Hz system actually does make an appreciable difference. I'll try and remember to make some mention of this when I finally do review a B7000 or B6000.

Finally, I can tell Ripsnorter that you can save settings on a 'per input' basis. So you don't have to recalibrate things every time you switch sources.

Hope this is all helpful to you in some limited way!

Score:

Name withheld

PS3½

4:59 PM on 4 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore PS3½. Show Details Hide Details

Thanks for the reply John. I took a chance and ordered a 46B8000 a few weeks ago. I based this decision on my viewing of the B7000 (which I thought very good indeed), but wished to opt for a 200hz set as I watch a lot of football. The B7000 would probably have been fine, but I thought I may as well go the extra step. Hopefully I won't have to wait that long to find out!

Score:

Name withheld

Elysium

5:22 PM on 4 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Elysium. Show Details Hide Details

I really would like to know just how well the set compares with others in terms of 'gaming' - which is something far too many reviews concentrate too little on it seems. I understand that all sets have a "gaming" mode - but we need to know the exact effect this has in terms when the using our beloved console. In terms of giving motion problems, judder, etc. Naturally we would like to lose as little quality as possible - and then there is the issue of input-lag which is a concern for the hard-core gamer. It's one of the reasons I have been leaning towards the Panasonic Plasma G10 .. but I hate to worry about burn-in or image-retention.. so a lovely LCD with as little input-lag as possible, and good design is what I am after..

Please give some further indication on the input-lag, gaming concerns.

Score:

Name withheld

james1000

6:50 PM on 4 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore james1000. Show Details Hide Details

@John Archer.

Thanks for tackling my points, if somewhat arrogantly. Please could you explain how Im cutting off my nose to spite my face? If my "beloved Sharp?" had packed in and I was without a tv then fair enough, but it still does its job well enough. Yes it may not be cutting edge anymore but Im not the sort to upgrade for the sake of it. As far as Im concerned there IS an issue with image quality if you have to tweak settings individually for high def content, xbox 360, blueray and sky receiver. A good portion of your review is taking up explaining all necessary adjustments which may be helpful but wont win any prizes in this tvs marketing campaign. I dont mind a little tweaking but one setting is all I need with my outdated Sharp so its intriguing why a model 5 years newer cant match that. Viewing angles arent the best and im sorry but a tv which needs "the right room conditions" is ridiculous. Audio is poor too with 6/10. Finally, I fail to see how Im punishing Samsung. This is a strange thing to say simply because Im disappointed with how the tv fairs in your review. If anything being disappointed shows I like Samsung. Until a tv is released which scores well with picture, audio and a generic setting I think Ill "cling on to my thoroughly outdated screen" thankyou very much.

Score:

Name withheld

David27

7:32 PM on 4 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore David27. Show Details Hide Details

what to do, i was looking forward to reading Johns review on the new samsungs, i thought i'd probably end up getting one, but i have to say the Sony W5500's review seemed more impressive, since i'm not the most techie person the idea of having to tweak settings does put me off, is there much between the two?

Score:

Name withheld

Ripsnorter

7:46 PM on 4 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Ripsnorter. Show Details Hide Details

@John Archer.

Thank you for replying to my query. All I have to do now is hope that the design meets the approval of She Who Is To Be Feared.

Score:

Name withheld

klawd

8:15 PM on 4 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore klawd. Show Details Hide Details

hi John

please help us out which one would you pick out of these three. samy b8000, sony w5500 and the pany g10 plasma ? (or wait till the z5500 comes)

Score:

Name withheld

GrimFandango

11:42 PM on 4 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore GrimFandango. Show Details Hide Details

Thanks for a great review.

One question though:

I am to upgrade my old Toshiba 36" CRT TV with a flat panel display and am very uncertain about what would be the best tv for me.

I primary watches movies from DVDs, but I do also like to watch the UEFA European Football Championship and the FIFA world cup every 4 year when they take place. I will not accept a TV which performs bad in either of these categories.

I don't watch much sport execpt for the above mentioned, and for TV it is usually "Idol" type of shows once in a while and news.

I guess based on this input the Pioneer Kuro KRP-500A (or KRP-500M) would be my ideal choice, but I have one other habit that ruins this a bit: I also like playing games from PC!

From the downloadable manual for the Pioneer KRP-500A it says the highest resolution this TV supports is 1280x1024 (both for VGA and DVI), while I am a bit uncertain of the M model as the manual seems to suggest this supports Full HD also for PC (maybe someone can help with clarifying this?).

It also says in the manual that it is not recommended to game for more than two hours as there is a chance for burn-in then.

Even if I ditch PC playing in favour of PS3/XBOX360, this burn-in issue would still be an issue.

I think these issues pretty much rules out gaming for me on the Pioneer plasmas.

I am therefore thinking that maybe a high end LCD TV would be more perfect for my needs, and have specifically thought about this new 8000-series of Samsung, the sony top of the line Z series (46" inch), or maybe even the forthcoming Samsung 9000 series. I was also thinking about the Philips 9803H model, but have ruled this out because I would like the extra size so that the leap from my old TV feels even greater.

Now to my question:

* What recommendations whould you give to me based on my input above?

* Would the 8000 series be a perfect match?

* Is there any indication that the new 9000 series will be released before summer (june/july) or would I realistically probarbly have to wait until christmas time for this?

* Or should I rather use my PC connected to my trusty Dell 2408WFP for PC gaming and ditch all plans for big screen PC gaming and rather consentrate on film and thus go for the Pioneer?

Score:

Name withheld

basicasic

12:23 AM on 5 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore basicasic. Show Details Hide Details

I notice you mention Samsungs claim of a 40% power saving over normal LCDs. Did you check the power consumption of the set to see if their claims were true?

That aside good review and impressive set.

Score:

Name withheld

Pbryanw

3:31 AM on 5 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Pbryanw. Show Details Hide Details

@james1000 - Having owned two Samsung TV's, including my current TV, I can confirm that a bit of tweaking is required to get the best picture results. However, if you enjoy visiting tech sites like TR, then you'll probably used to a bit of tweaking to get the best out of hardware and software :)

I don't know why Samsung sets don't come with better out-of-the-box settings, but I suspect one batch of settings will never please everyone. Also, as each new generation of TV's come out, I find there are more features, and therefore more settings, to control.

I think it's becoming worse with each new TV generation. My Mum & Dad's CRT Toshiba, bought about ten years ago, had about four picture options (contrast & brightness were two). Compare that to my Samsung which has one main picture menu, with about 10 options, with two further picture sub-menus, which offer finer controls. I just think a bit of tweaking is something you've got to get used to, especially with newer TV's, and especially on the higher end models.

Score:

Name withheld

en1gma

2:09 PM on 5 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore en1gma. Show Details Hide Details

Most - if not all TVs - come out of the factory with rubbish settings. This is normally because the manufacturers set them to "look good/stand out" in somewhere like Currys or Comet, as opposed to your front room where it is likely to be not so brightly lit, etc. Just using the simple THX Optimiser tests on Disney/LucasFilm DVDs, for example, makes such a difference.

Of course, by going through sites like TrustedReviews, readers here are less likely to buy on a whim in a shop, aren't then?... ;-)

Score:

Name withheld

Kezman

7:57 AM on 6 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Kezman. Show Details Hide Details

I thought i read somewhere recently, though I could be wrong, that Samsung's as of yet unreleased 9000 LED series as well as having a seperate media box, will be LOCAL dimmed. Doesn't this therefore directly contradict samsung's suggestion that edge based LED is superior when the top of the tree 9000 will apparrently go the other way?

Score:

Name withheld

phantoma

2:13 PM on 6 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore phantoma. Show Details Hide Details

Nice review, thanks.

What's a good SoundBar One could use with this panel?

I wouldn't want a dedicated 5.1 system for watching regular TV or the occasional movie really.

Score:

Name withheld

PauloAmore

5:54 PM on 6 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore PauloAmore. Show Details Hide Details

Hi,

Thanks for the review (of a TV i've been waiting for). I wonder though if you reviewed the DLNA functionality of the screen? I'm hoping it is easy and plays loads of video codecs so I can rip DVD's onto a NAS or a windows home server.... But, it needs to be easy, elegant and childs play. Is it?

Thanks in advance

Paulo

Score:

Name withheld

jenseike

7:11 PM on 6 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore jenseike. Show Details Hide Details

Hello..

I think that this was a great review and I have decided to buy this tv rather than the 7000 series.. I have a couple of questions for you however. First, did you notice any clouding/flashligting on this tv. I know there have been many complaining about this on the 7000 series.. If you noticed this, will I be able to calibrate this out?..

Last, I see you are mentioning some calibrations tips in the review - but I am sure that you tweeked a litle more than this. Can you provide your calibration tips to me?. I would be gratefull since I am collor blind and therfor have big problems doing this my selfe.. Thanks again for the review..

Jens

Score:

Name withheld

Systematic

2:44 PM on 7 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Systematic. Show Details Hide Details

John,

Please could you write a quick post on what settings to select to achieve the the best possible performance out of this set?

I will be purchasing the 40" model on May 12 and will be using it for primarily SD broadcasts, Occasional BRAY and Occasional PS3 games.

Thanks mate.

Score:

Name withheld

RAMIT

3:07 PM on 8 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore RAMIT. Show Details Hide Details

Hi, Great review I'm pretty well sold on this TV. How and where did you get one from, as they don't appear to be in stock in the UK yet ?

Also do you know why they don't appear to be selling the 55" version in the UK, it is on the US SAMSUNG web site ?

Score:

Name withheld

varun

7:14 PM on 23 May, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore varun. Show Details Hide Details

Hi John, Nice review thanks. I am contemplating between : Samsung 7000(100hz) vs 6000(100hz) vs Samsung 40B750(200hz). The 8000 is not yet out in India. The led ones are nice looking but the speed of 40B750 is 200hz bcos of which I am considering the same. Pls give your recommendation

Score:

Name withheld

Valsam

9:00 AM on 10 June, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Valsam. Show Details Hide Details

It is a confirmed and actual FACT. Samsung will Release (Release date and price yet to be announced) the next LED model B9000.It will introduce for the first time LOCAL DIMMING in her models therefore eliminating any previous backlight flaws , clouding or whatever.

What scares me is her possible price. How much higher than the 8000 will be? My guess on this is that will be above or very close to 3000 euro.

Well I guess Time will tell. I am now canceling my plans of buying the B8000.

Score:

Name withheld

Systematic

5:32 PM on 11 June, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Systematic. Show Details Hide Details

Finally got the B8000. As there are no sites outlining the best settings for this model, I applied the 7020 settings that are mentioned on a different site. Not impressed at all. Can John pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease go into more detail about the best settings for this set?

Score:

Name withheld

Valsam

6:29 AM on 12 June, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Valsam. Show Details Hide Details

Sorry My Mistake.

The Local Dimming ability will be introduced on the B9000 model, not the B8000

Score:

Name withheld

Conor

1:23 PM on 26 June, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Conor. Show Details Hide Details

Hi John, i'm sure you are a very busy man. I would greatly appreciate if you could post a comprehensive listings of the calibrated settings you used during your review for the ue46b8000. That would be fantastic. Many thanks

Score:

Name withheld

guruofsex

1:06 AM on 30 July, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore guruofsex. Show Details Hide Details

I am very thankful to the site for this review. I do have a question though, as I live in netherlands and I do not currently own a mansion, ue46b8000 is a bit too big for my livng room. Should I expect too much difference when buying the ue40b8000? I would hope that only difference will be the panel size and not the performance and image quality. I would like for some thoughtful insight from more experienced users/consumers. Thanks.

Score:

Name withheld

Afterglow

1:12 AM on 19 November, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore Afterglow. Show Details Hide Details

My parents have had the Pioneer Kuro 5080 (I think it’s that model, it was the top of the range one - not the 508 which was a lot cheaper - sorry off hand I’m not 100% which was the top model) for about 2-3 years, before that a Toshiba 55” rear projection, I still have my Sony 41” rear projection which was one of the first large screen rear projection tv’s and was tv of the year and scooped many awards a long time ago.

I advised my parents to purchase the Kuro 5080 after carefully checking out reviews etc at the time, it was classed as the best plasma tv made at the time, I was a little disappointed with the quality of non HD sources compared to the Toshiba 55” rear projection - to be honest I preferred the Toshiba, HD sources were of course brought the Kuro into it’s own, I did find large areas of the sets plasma screen shifting/moving sideways which happened now and again - not sure if this is normal for a plasma tv?

Anyway I’ve always kept an eye the new tv technology over the years and could not be tempted or saw the point of HD 720p tv’s - basically obsolete before HD has even been readily available.

A few months ago I saw Samsungs LED tv’s on demo in the shops and in my personal opinion and experience - I have not seen a tv like it! The quality of the picture is in a league of it’s own - a much higher level than any other tv format ever, I’ve been a professional photographer since the mid-nineties and only compare other tv’s similar to film (there was some exceptional sharp film made) but nothing compared to the clarity and vibrance of transparency film which is what the Samsung LED tv’s look like.

One shop demos still images on two Samsung LED’s in their window and it is like looking at high quality prints, not like any tv image I’ve ever seen before.

It’s taken a long time for myself to be tempted by a tv other than my beloved Sony 41” but the Samsung UE46B8000 is the tv to do it.

All tv’s need tweaking once set up at home to your own personal requirements, factory presets mean nothing to me, digital cameras have presets and are nothing until you tweak them yourself, I think buyers look too much into what the full spec of how much a product offers, yes there’s a key list we need to check but let’s face it, most features are never used a lot of the time.

Phantoma - I’ve been admiring Yamaha’s soundbars / built in surround sound from one trendy looking box - these look a fantastic and I bet sound it too, I have the old analogue yamaha surround amp 7 speaker set up in my room and just could not fit those speakers in my new living room, so these new Yamaha’s would definitely do the job!

Score:

Name withheld

mandeepi

9:18 PM on 26 November, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore mandeepi. Show Details Hide Details

Im looking at getting this as I wouldnt need a device like a popcornhour. However a review on Cnet says it cant decode DTS on MKV's.

Does that mean the ac3 will be outputted to the optical out so if you had an external decoder, that will take care of it?

Score:

Name withheld

BalazsJavor

8:27 PM on 2 December, 2009

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore BalazsJavor. Show Details Hide Details

Does someone know what the difference between the UE46B8000 and UE46B8090 models is? Local internet shops list both models, but so far I haven't been able to find out if there is anything in the UE46B8090 that's worth the couple of hundred Francs more...

BTW, I'm also trying to find out the same about the Sony 5500 and 5800 series (e.g. KDL-46W5500 and KDL-46W5800 or KDL-46Z5500 vs KDL-46W5800). If someone knows that I would welcome some info on that too. Thanks!

Score:

Name withheld

nigel

3:34 PM on 6 January, 2010

This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore nigel. Show Details Hide Details

Recently bought the 40 inch 8 series UE40B8000. Happy with the TV except the media player capability. DLNA video does not pause, fwd or rew so is useless. You need a hack to enable access to smb or nfs shares which then allow the facility (as if using a usb drive).

Even worse, your ripped dvd video or any anamorphic format file will not scale full screen. According to the Samsung guy on tecnet forum this is because anamorphic format are not common in the US market (so tough). See the lengthy pleas in the forum falling on deaf, then belligerent, ears. To fix this needs a more invasive hack - say goodbye to your warranty.

Score:

Please wait while we file your abuse report.

We're sorry. We were unable to report abuse at this time.

We limit the number of reactions an individual user can submit over a given period for quality reasons. You have currently reached that limit. Please try resubmitting your abuse report again later.

Comment is too long. Enter 500 characters or less.

Type Comment
(optional)

Please wait while we send the email.

You may send this to 5 e-mail addresses. Please separate each address with a space.

We're sorry, but the item you are sending has been removed from the site.

We're sorry. We were unable to send the email at this time.

Please specify a recipient.

You can only send messages to 5 addresses at a time.

The address "" is not valid.

Subject

Please specify a subject.

Comment
(optional) Send Cancel

Score
vote upvotes up
vote downvotes down

More Photos

Despite initial concerns that the UE46B8000's edge-based LED lighting might heavily compromise the TV's picture quality in the name of nothing more substantial than a little extra design slimness, as well as another set of dismal image presets, this is a TV to be reckoned with. Indeed, after a bit of initial recalibration and in the right room conditions, its pictures actually seem to back up Samsung's claims that edge-based LED lighting is potentially a superior picture quality technology to direct RGB LED lighting. And I don't mind admitting that nobody could be more surprised about that than me.

Overall

9/10

Write your own review

Reviewed by John Archer

04 May 2009

Price as reviewed

£1,750.02

Currys £749 Buy now

Comments on Samsung Series 8 UE46B8000 - 46in LCD TV

Overall

Price as reviewed

Comments

Comments

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Name withheld

Best prices for Samsung Series 8 UE46B8000 - 46in LCD TV

Awards

Scores in detail

Price as reviewed

Manufacturer

TV round-ups

TrustedReviews newsletter

Three of the best Premium TVs