Samsung UE55ES8000
Just Tested
TVs
Panasonic TX-L47DT65B
It has its drawbacks, but this Panasonic is easy to live with and has an insightful and dynamic picture performance – it’s a great set
Read
Home cinema amplifiers
Denon AVR-X2000
The AVR-X2000 brings Denon back to the AV receiver top table in this ultra-competitive price category
Read
Soundbars
Otone Sonora AV-Lance
A decent, affordable effort from Otone but sound quality is tainted by a distracting brightness
Read
In this month's mag
July 2013
SUPERTEST: Soundbar solutions £250-£450
GROUP TEST: 46-47in smart TVs
GROUP TEST: Standmount speakers £350-£450
© 2013 Haymarket Publishing
Comments
To the list of "cons" can be added quite a limited viewing angle. I must add that although I'm not an owner, I've been researching this particular model as a number if reputable review sites / organisations are giving it top ratings bafflingly at odds with customer comments and reviews. (Some of these orgs are conspicuous in their omission if brands like Sony). I have, however, personally experienced the (poor) motion control. Taking all this into consideration, I think I'm going to do my own research. Sigh...
i really thought the £1000 cheaper sony 55in hx853 was in with a chance on simple picture quality vs. latest features & technological breakthroughs, the same way panasonic won a lot of awards in 2011,this approach has been spoke of in general,incl whf award winners reviews. Yes the samsung is an unbelievable tv,but wheres the mantra here...So a tech-laden super smart tv gets the best buy vote over direct rivals with possibly better pic & better sound,& costing 1/3rd+ less? surely this wasn't the 50in+ supertest result...in all fairness how many average households will we find a tv like this in?
johnjay, we're still right in the middle of testing many of the new 2012 TVs and there are plenty of models we haven't seen yet. So let's just say the situation is currently very 'fluid'. We've a Supertest of new 46-47in TVs in the August issue, on sale June 29th, and the result of that may interest you
thank you andy,i take it you mean the 46in bb. award.
as ive said the choice is aplenty at the moment & its good to see sony taking something this year,with all the 5star awarded tvs....their best year since 08,anyhow.
Yes, Sony certainly seems to be on a roll right now.
i really thought the £1000 cheaper sony 55in hx853 was in with a chance of reaching a best-buy list on simple picture quality vs. latest features & technological breakthroughs, the same way panasonic won a lot of awards in 2011,this approach has been spoke of in general,incl whf award winners reviews. Yes the samsung is an unbelievable tv,but wheres the mantra here...So a tech-laden super smart tv gets the best buy vote over direct rivals with possibly better pic & better sound,& costing 1/3rd+ less? surely this wasn't the 50in+ supertest result...in all fairness how many average households will we find a tv like this in?
Got my new set yesterday and already it has powered itself off and on FOUR times. Not impressed. Had this problem with an earlier 7000 series before I got my money back. Anyone else with similar issues? Is this linked to the capacitor issue?
Morpethmag, I've seen a few comments by other owners saying they've had a problem with this model turning itself off (and back on in one instance) for no reason.
Well I never thought I’d see the day that I would waver from using Sony monitors either professionally or privately, but when I read the review of the Samsung 8000 series on this site amongst others, I assembled my trusty test USB stick with my reference material and found a local dealer to see just how good this «wonder set» really is.
Even though this is a 55” screen, because of the almost non-existing bezel the set takes up the same real estate as the Sony KDL-52W4500 it replaced.
The set is thin – ridiculously thin.
Even when it’s switched off it looks like a work of art, a real wife pleaser.
During an hour of testing at the dealers two things came to light.
One - it was going to take a lot of tweaking to get the set to perform optimally.
Two - the 8000 handled absolutely everything I threw at it including high resolution 3D stills in .mpo format.
All the usual video formats also played without a hiccup from any input source that I pointed at.
On getting it home, the set found all my network devices such as my Squeezebox server, NAS drives, etc, and after fitting it with a digital CAM module and card, it pulled in all our national TV services.
It was only after it finished storing all the stations did I realize that the antennae had yet to be connected, so the tuner must be really sensitive although to be fair I do live within line of sight of the transmitter mast.
A pleasant surprise was the inbuilt FreeSat tuner that was buried away in some submenu, luckily I have a fully wired quad head on my Sky dish here in Norway, so connecting one of the cables brought in all the usual channels loud and clear.
I’m very critical when it comes to picture quality and I was initially a bit wary of edge lit LED technology but I was positively impressed with the absolute uniformity of the panel lighting.
The supplied glasses are both lightweight and stylish, extra pairs were available at a very reasonable £20 a pair.
3D was the best I have ever seen – forget what you’ve seen at the cinema, this really was like looking through a window and after a few minutes you really are immersed in the film that you are watching.
Also on my shopping list I had to pick up a new 3D capable BluRay player and I was lucky to get the last Panasonic DMP-BDT300 in the shop.
I like this player and although it’s a few years old, I use one at work and I have yet to see a better picture at the price point (which was £180 by the way).
Also it conveniently has a twin HDMI output so I can use one cable directly to the Samsung and the other cable to my trusty Onkyo amplifier so I can enjoy both Dolby True and DTS Master formats.
The good bits!
Practically everything, love the design, picture quality, booting up speed and motion handling (after using the “game mode” by the way!)
The colour rendition after careful calibration is spot on.
Voice control was a novelty at first but it’s actually quite impressive.
Love the way that whatever source you are watching, if someone is Skyping you, a requester pops up on screen to allow you to ignore, reject or accept the call, which is where the built in camera and twin array mics come into play.
It was fun to dictate a message within Skype and see the words appear instantly in the chat window.
The online “hub” content is also very good and includes countless programs of demo material including dozens of 3D productions which really show of this sets capabilities.
These streamed directly from online without a single frame drop although I do have a 100/100 fibre connection.
The free Android app for my mobile phone was useful and easy to operate too!
Connect any USB memory stick or hard drive to the back and it plays instantly.
Neat the way it shows a spinning CD graphic when playing back audio media, it’s just another example of the attention to detail that this set is packed with.
There is a rear panel that will accept an expansion pack in the future to bring the set up to 2013/2013 spec should the eggheads at Samsung dream up any hardware improvements in the years to come which is a nice way to ensure your set keeps up with developments.
The bad bits!
The gesture control is a bit of a waste of time IMHO but some may find it cool I suppose.
Kinect it is not.
The sound is a bit tinny but what can you expect from a razor thin set?
It’s OK for daily viewing but let’s face it, anyone buying one of these babies is going to integrate it into a home cinema system anyway so it’s a moot point.
The conclusion!
If you want to silence the room, spin up the 3D Transformers – dark Of The Moon disc and wait for jaws to drop.
Even in high contrast scenes the shiny metal punches out of the inky blackness of the background.
It’s amusing to see people’s heads reel back as shards of glass virtually fly out from the screen.
The depth of the screen is amazing as is the apparent forward field so items really do extend from the screen
No matter how often you play the cookery demo from the hub material, those salt & pepper shakers almost smack you in the face!
I never thought the picture of my Sony would be surpassed in only two years but that’s what has happened with the 8000.
The video processing circuits are first class and up scaling of SD material was excellent.
On average, the set uses a very thrifty 100 watts of power which is comparable to a single light bulb.
How the engineers crammed so much tech into such a slim chassis is a real head scratcher.
So that’s my first impressions, hope you find them useful.
Oh yes, had to contact Samsung about a technical question and the woman on the other end of the line had all the answers right away and even called me back to see if I solved the situation.
For the less tech user you can go into the menu and invite Samsung support to actually go inside the set online and run a diagnostic service, another detail that makes this set the one to beat.
Thanks Tonya for sharing your great experience with the set. Please could you also share the "Picture" settings (incl Advanced) that worked best for you? Would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance - Enjoy the TV!
Well, of course I can, but please be aware that you should only take it as a starting point as so many factors come into play such as type of source, actual model of BluRay player, source of material, ambient lighting and of course personal preferences.
The following setup is based in a darkened room, playing Pirates Of The Caribbean "On Stranger Tides" using a Panasonic DMP-BDT300 BluRay player connected directly to the Samsung TV, with the second HDMI output of the Panny feeding my Onkyo amp to get the full HD audio.
I use this disc as the production was shot entirely using RED ONE digital cameras and although the cinema 3D experience was less than enthralling, Disney pulled all the stops out when it came to mastering the BluRay release.
The quality, sharpness, colour and depth of the picture is nothing short of astounding, real demo stuff.
If you don't own this disc may I humbly suggest you rush out and get one, this is one impressive disc for both audio & video
PM standard
BL 20
Con 100
Bri 45
Sh 50
Col 50
Tint Centre
DC Medium
BT Off
FT 0
RGB Off
CS Native
WB (All 25)
Gamma 0
I find these settings will provide an inky blackness and a good contrast without over exposure.
The only remarks I heard from the guys who saw the film last night was "the picture is almost too realistic" which I took as a compliment.
I'm still tinkering around with the Freesat and Digital TV settings.
Also still burning in the set so no doubt these settings will be optimized after it passes the 100 hour mark.
Oh, I also made the Panasonic player region free for DVD by using my trusty URC-7740, works like a charm now with all my region 1 discs.
Thanks T.! Much appreciated and reassuring as it so happens that I had very close similar settings... out by a mere couple of points on Bri,Sh, and Col. Yes it's all down to personal pref and conditions but sounds like what you're aiming for in home viewing is similar to my objectives.
BTW - I do indeed have the Pirates Of The Caribbean "On Stranger Tides" on BlueRay and will be trying it for sure with your comments in mind. Did not appreciate the refrence importance of it, so thanks also for highlighting the production background info!
The BlueRay/3D player connected to my Samsung is a Sony BDP-S780, the amp is an old very trusted Pioneer XV-DV55. I'm on the look out for another DVD player for a another home set up and will check out the Panasonic DMP-BDT300.
Many thanks again!
Well I have it for a few days first thing first it look like Samsung have sorted out the brightness problem it's a great looking tv apart from the camera at the top of tv it produces the best video I have ever seen the black light bleed is only noticeable when the screen is dark and you in the dark also there is only three hdmi ports why? the smart hub is lacking bbci player and lovefilm but its about time the backlight bleed is sorted its been a problem since they first brought out back light tvs
I bought last years d7000 led screen it was the best tv I ever bought apart from one thing when watching lower grade material there was a diference in brightness across the screen ie some areas of the screen looked ether darker or lighter than the other known as banding which is a probelm with led screens let's hope they have sorted this out with this years model if they have I will be very happy if not I be wondering why no review has picked up on this fault
Had a good long look at the 46es8000.I was in shock at the amount of clouding i clearly seen in broad daylight on this tv.No amount of tweaking could make me decide to purchase one,even at half the price,patches of clouding cover the screen.Then 3D crosstalk(mons vs. aliens),man i was astounded how bad it is.After reading this review i expected to see a great performance from this tv.Yes its wonderfully vibrant & colourful but the backlight ruins the viewing aspect,yes its that bad.Its a great looking set with all number of tricks and snazzy remote but after the 55" review i was expecting a tv with class leading pic & unifofm screen,instead its like the c7000 but worse bar looks & while picture is actually showing,it seems ok.Also contrast isn't that good either with dark greyish blacks & theres a veil over picture also while showing a flower garden demo.Maybe it was (another) faulty set,which i doubt as fault wasn't just one particular aspect,man i was so surprised it left me feeling very happy with my tv with a tiny bit of light from left corner,after this im totally chuffed with my tv!
Just purchased the 40ES8000 and I am surprised to see there is no iPlayer in sight and no ability to install. Have now seen similar comments on the Samsung website.
Was the iPlayer functionality on the test set out of the box?
Surprised there's no BBC iPlayer as according to the Samsung website it's a standard app as part of the Smart TV package:
http://www.samsung.com/uk/tvapps/
tvspecv,sexy,very sexy but not 4k? if you had a 4k set what would you watch?...yea thought so.
If you guys think the capacitor failure issue in US samsung tv lawsuit is something out of pandora's box,think about the xbox 360. Failure rate was 30%!!!! when it first shipped. But MS compensated everyone without question.
The best capacitors are all made in Japan inc. PC power supplies and Motherboards these days with those solid caps are good for ten years and some are even gold plated. Clearly Samsung and others are complicit to the issue. Samsung expect the TVs to be fixed by extended warranty in the US and for people to switch and buy new ones before the capacitors blow. US TV warranty is as good as their heathcare.
2012 is not the year of the TV. Sony will just fix their panels to aviod 3dcross talk;Pana will promote leds in their big sets to fight off sony, samsung and Lg; samsung will cram more 'B and O' gimmicks into their TVs;Philips however is looking to give us something new abeit at a higher cost.
Leds/lcd TVs can't give us anymore viewing contast levels, 10,000 to 1 is really what the average scene will have so the dynamic range nonsense of 1:500,000 is a misanomer. Has anyone ever seen a film with 1 to 50 million contrast levels? Its all labtech talk.Brightness levels of 400 cd/m2 is as high as we could expect like with prof quality PC monitors.Viewing angles at 178 degree is adequate. Color space of these TVs are would not be 100% of ntsc color gamut. On these measures, no real improvements compare with 2011 range with the exception of plasmas??
Backlite edge bleed cannot be irradicated now or in the future, pro' pc screens even from Hazro,Dell,Asus, even Apple? exhibite this. It's hit and miss.If this really bugs you, get a plasma.
OLED,4k resolution will when it arrives and at mass market will be THE new start for the TV revolution.For now we are at the tail end of the current TV throes.
As for the 3d , hapless and gimmicry confined to more kids movies. The problem is that the movies need to be shot with 3d cameras and not converted in 3d in studio in Korea.
@Gamemaker,3D movies have to be shot using 3D cameras & are converted in a 3D studio...really? you only discovering this? LOVL..seen as nearly all action movies are now shot in 3D,sort of leaves your gimmicky only for kids theory a bit cold,doesn't it... what lengths are some op's going to over the threat of a new piece of technology being this great & feeling that their current c/d 7/8000 isnt as good or anything near this magical piece,not a bad pricetag in comparison to last years prices IMO & im not a samsung fan,but credit where its due,its a hell of a TV,no denying...also talking about "labtech talk" well you have more numbers and specs in your posts than any1here would care to read,not meant to offend just stating,oh & BTW a native contrast of 10,000-1 on an led backlit lcd tv?? you're really having a laugh...right?
Most of the bluray 3d disks have failed to inspire, take Thor for example, reviews say the disk look flat and not worth bothering. Others like the last Resident evil film looked fabulous and this was shot in 3d. I am sure James Cameron's Titanic shoot in 2d in 1997 will look fab in post 3d production. Ask how much and how long it took and you can understand how, Much 3d movies just don't get the same treatment.
As for films shot on 3d, it is cheaper for studios to shoot on 2d and convert in 3d. Films like Street dance was shot on 2d.Clash of the Titan the remake was shot in 2d and the 3d blu ray result is not worth the extra cost.
As for contrast levels in TV, it is a fact that no present set can produce a static contrast of 5 million to 1. If any set has this officially measued I like to know? White light Leds unlike gas discharge lamps can in a lab produce very very high contrast levels, but in a TV that also requires the electronics to add to the mix. You would need a set to be very bright down to very dim(450 cd/m2 to 0.0001 cdm/2) and those gradiations cannot be produced in the consumer sets. They say a brightness of 120 cd/m2 is ideal brigfhtness and beyond that it will hurt your eyes.
The best led/lbd PC professional monitors including the Apple ones costing £700to £1000 for 28 to 30 inch cannot do those static contrast, how would a TV using the same backlight tech achieve it?
I doubt anyone has seen a TV picture with 50 miliion to 1 measurable contrast with white led or lcd backlight, however a biliion colours possible.One other Home Cinema magazine but not What Hi Fi does measure contrast levels, and they are nothing like what is cliamed by TV makers. A quote of 'mega contast' means what??
My old Sony w5800 in 2009 using ccfl lighting cliams 100,000 to 1 contrast. I know I aren't seeing that.It has been measured by test but not by what hi fi.
leds and lcds have hit the glass ceiling....only price is holding the charge of progress - OLEDs or CLeds.
OK, Contrast isn't everything in making a fab TV picture, there also resolution, brightness. gamma and colour space and developments to be made there. But mis representation in contrast numbers has been used by TV companies in making there sets sound great - analogous to the 600hz refresh that adorn plasma ads.BS.
Also what you read about are consumer products not professional.....no one can afford a pro version of these sets even if they could do the real static mega contrast.
There is a slump already in TV sales with the likes of Sony and Pana going low tech with passive LG screen production, you think they give a monkeys about giving you to die for contrast TV sets. They are lucky they are still in business!!
yea,certainly these contrast ratios dynamic or mega or whatever are only there to make numbers look good.but your W5810,my W5500 had exactly the same native or true contrast of approx 3000:1,almost as good as some recent plasmas from 2010/11.But uneven backlights are not yesterdays news,so IMO the stronger contrast levels tv co's are putting in lcd panels causes mura effect or clouding as its also known.But i hadnt any problems after a bit of time calibrating my last 3 sony tv's which reportedly suffered backlight problems.I never said anything about wanting to have a tv with contrast levels to die for.I would like to see the lcd led tv with a real world contrast of 10,000:1 in an average scene,as you put it.,with a domestic everyday tv,not any pro tv. Sony themselves claimed the W5 sets have a dynamic ratio of 100,000:1 not any review.
Interesting comment from you:-
"Backlite edge bleed cannot be irradicated now or in the future, pro' pc screens even from Hazro,Dell,Asus, even Apple? exhibite this. It's hit and miss"
if edge bleed is "hit and miss" then there is some variable that can be adjusted so all screens are a hit.
The real problem is the public in general have little engineering knowledge or interest and size/features matters more than quality. If the return rate rose above 5% then solutions would be found or the technology would change. Its all about ease of manufacture and what the puplic will accept. Remember the days of duff pixels!
@rogerft yes,well put.Any lcd ive had over the years had some amount of clouding,but i never fell into hyped clouding problem debates. I calibrated the set as far as it wouldn't have any bearing concerning real-world viewing. Never had a samsung though...
With edge lit w-led screens a special diffuser spreads lights and depending how well it does the job in giving even lighting, however not all 4 screen edges of the TV are mounted with leds to save cost...yes the problem can be fixed on this issue? Problem is Lg display and samsung has a monoploy on lcd screen manufacture, sony have to buy what there is...including the backlight bleed ones. So blame samsung!Also as white led ages all at diifferent rates so unifomity is harder to perfect in the long term
Led back light is not what people are led to believe, they may be smaller than ccfl discharge lamps making thinner sets possible and environmentally friendly...performance gain in dynamic contrast is just on paper.Static contrast which is truer viewing experience is not dictated by backlight technology.
LG displays formerly Lg philips are one of the biggest player in panel making for 30 inch ws pro monitor screen.For a 30in pc monitor with display port and hdmi they use 18 ccfl lighting modules to ensure better even lighting, not a whiff of w-led backlit in this size, and achievies a 105%ntsc color space and true 10 bit panel with 1 billion colors with a 2065x1600. OK it doesn't do 3d as it is a 60hz screen.
CCFL isn't dead, they are better than w-leds from a pros perspective
Sony's greatest LCD TV set the Z series launched in 2009 will match any led edge lit TV from even its own stable on CIM colour reproduction and static contrast. I own the W5800 without the wide color gamut ccfl. Localised dimming doesn't work accurately with edge lit led tvs,creating halo effects, so it's waste of time.
We have to see if the 2012 range can fix that.
White light led is just a stop gap till the oled technology is ready.
Panasonic was right,so far,about larger sets should be served by Plasmas!! The panels are superior and can even do 4k, it can match oled sets, that is how good plasmas are!
So lcd/led are becoming history soon.....
i swapped out my 46W5500(w5810 has freesat=only difference) for the 46HX-803 which incedently has a wcg panel holding useless for now deep/x.v. colour spec & there was a marked jump in PQ on the 803,ink black levels with a lot more detail recovery & more real looking colour,..The 2009 Z4500 (Z launch model 1st 200hz motion interpolation) was a fine tv no doubt,but so was the 500.00 cheaper W4500 with similar PQ.
The electronics implemented in the flat screens are the important factors, I don't doubt the 2011 HX Sony TVs are better than Sony's older sets but it isn't down to the panel being a edge lit led. People need to dig this! Anyway those sets are known to have 3d cross talk issues, and Sony have to introduce new panels to deal with that.LCD/Leds bog standard panels aren't the best for 3D.
I recall in the 80s when the trinitron and diamondtron cathod ray tubes were used by many monitor makers, but the monitors made by Sony and Mitsubishi seem to have the leading edge with their superior electronics. Same quality tubes but differing performances in the monitors from Ilyami, Sony,Eizo, Mitsibushi etc.
Now Sony buys screens from Sharp??? What a fall from grace.BS.
If you do a bit of research,you will find Sharps panels have vastly improved,one of the few co's that lately have uniform screens,without backlight bleed or flashlighting.You seem very offended that lcd has momentarily gotten better, Of course BE-3(as it is/was called),the processing chips sony implement on the panels,wether LED backlit LCD or CCFL backlit LCD,are what gives great contrast & colour with excellent motion handling. Obviously you have not been keeping up with recent events,but the sharp panels have been used by sony on a number of tv's in the last couple of years & the S-LCD plant was owned by both sony & samsung.Sony themselves are looking to manufacture & produce in-house panels in the near future according to the crystal -LED promotion at CES this year.I loved my previous W5500 but face it mate CCFL backlights are almost history.Ive had a 40" W4500 with WCG-CCFL backlight,my previous W5500,CCFL,now the HX803(S-PVA panel as well btw) with a dynamic edge-LED backlight & i could never go back to the W5500,even without the internet tv access & 3D,in HD/SD-2D is where the HX wins hands down,which is most important in my book..I only seem to get crosstalk from hsbs 3D,but never enough to get bothered about. A full HD3D bluray its not even barely noticeable or not even there in most cases. A movie like Avatar is a sight to behold in 2D or 3D,but the 2D bluray was brilliant on the W5500 too as i remember.
Really dissapointing review as the main question for previous 8000 owners is how bad the light bleed and screen uniformaty is ? I can't believe What Hifi have not commented on this unless there is a gagging order by Samsung.
Letterbox films viewed in the dark were awful on my ue55D8000 with light bleed into the black (now grey) bars!
Perhaps the reviewer would like to comment on this problem and how bad it is on the new sets?
We're of course aware of some issues with the backlighting of previous Samsung TVs, just as we're aware owners of other brands of TV have suffered similarly. Whenever we've encountered uneven backlighting in screens we've reviewed we've been at pains to point it out. There have been occasions, in fact, when we've raised the issue with a manufacturer even if it's not a problem we've personally encountered.
There's a paragraph in the review of the UE55ES8000 dealing with the quality of the backlighting, and the reason we don't mention unevenness or lack of uniformity is because we didn't see any.
The idea that Samsung might be able to dictate the terms of our review did make me smile, though.
I don't see how you can use the naked eye to accurately judge the unformity of lcds at lab level - you will need to take points reading using calibration software combined with say a Lacie blue eye pro colorimeter. Its unlikely it will not be uniform but then its objective
Thank you Simon nice to get a reply. Could you comment if you experienced light bleed or bright edges to the screen and of course could it manage solid black bars on letterbox films viewed in dimmed lighting? I believe we may have cinema black on the new ES range but it is difficult to view sets in dimmed lighting in the shop which is how many people watch movies.
Looked at the ES8000 in a variety of lighting conditions, Roger, found no discrepancies around the edges of the screen and decent depth to the static black bars when watching 21:9 (not something I can say of the D7000 I use at home, btw). And you're right, a shop-floor demo is only an indication as to a TV's performance in a domestic environment.
Thanks again Simon.
Lets hope the production sets are as good as your test unit and consistent!
Kind regards.
"2012’s going to be quite a year for televisions"
Are you guys at What Hi-fi hiding in a cave or something?!?! Is that statment ironic?!
I think anyone who wants a TV in 2012 is going to have to pay through the nose - Its a hugely over saturated market with major player's priorities being cutting their losses.
Samsung, the biggest TV company on this planet hit with a massive class action suite http://www.dailytech.com/Samsung+to+Pay+Millions+to+Settle+Lawsuits+Over+Mass+LCD+TV+Failures/article24065.htm
Samsung leaving the LCD business as there is no money in it http://www.investorplace.com/2012/02/samsung-maneuvers-to-spin-off-its-lcd-tv-business-focus-on-oled-tvs-ssnlf-aapl/
Sony all but leaves the TV market after making losses every year for 8 years!!!!!!!
http://www.slashgear.com/samsung-buys-out-sony-s-lcd-share-in-940m-tv-deal-26204499/
Seriously - if anyone has not already got a large format plasma/LCD you have missed the golden age for buying one, prices are going to sky rocket, with far fewer companies or models on offer.
Careful with that lightsabre, and read a little more carefully, young Jedi:
- Yes, a class action suit in the States, which it still challenges, but has agreed to settle in the interests of a speedy resolution for its customers.
- Samsung is not leaving the LCD business, but is spinning off its LCD panel manufacturing business to another company under the same parent.
- Ditto Sony isn't leaving the TV market, as it made very clear in its sessions in Japan last week (reported on this site); rather it pulled out of the S-LCD panel-making joint venture with Samsung to enable it to source LCD panels, and indeed finished TVs, from alternative sources.
And yes, there is oversupply in the market, along with new areas of production (eg China, Taiwan) stepping up production capacity. My A-level Economics was a long time ago, admittedly, but that suggests to me falling, not rising, prices.
There is little prospect of an undersupply of brands, models or stock, and in the current global economic climate, the chance of prices skyrocketing are non-existent.
So Sony now buys panels from Sharp? Including the backlight bleed ones too as it doesn't make its own panel and enforce zero tolerance to backlite bleed? That is a serious problem before they make the sets.
sexy very sexy but not 4k
Not sure about the look of the stand but mounted on my wall that would look quite nice. That expansion port leads me to question what 'musthave' features they are preparing for next years range, intriguing? hmmm tempted
I've owned several Samsungs in the past year and am currently using a UE46D7000. Although picture quality is fine, edgelight bleeding is a real issue. Under normal viewing conditions (normal lighting in the evening) bleeding around the rightside edges are easily visible.
Worst thing, Samsung isn't willing to do anything about this and says it comes with this type of TV. In their own words: It's a LED characteristic.
I'm definately curious about the ES series, but with this kind of support it will be a NO GO for me.
Your absolutely right to be cautious,funny thing i have a tv with an S-PVA panel,edge LED lit & it can be calibrated to a very acceptable uniform screen,without any blackbar flashlighting or clouding,so if it is a characteristic of edge-LED how come the clouding complaints poured in on the C & D 7/8000 models with the same panel? Obviously samsungs picture processing isn't up to scratch. The undefeatable LED backlight control didn't help on the C series i don't think,but i must admit if i was a samsung fan & was in the market for a £2500 (gasp) tv,i would be straight on my way to demo this tv.
Top brass from Sony have said elsewhere that if the panels in its TV have backlight bleed then its samsung fault.So I concur with you critique of your set.