Comment on Samsung UN55HU8550 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD 120Hz 3D Smart LED TV by Professor H “1amazonreviewer @ gmail . com”.
Samsung Second Generation 4k UHD – Very Impressive,
This is the best picture quality of any TV I have had. It is a 4K TV and even though there isn’t any 4K content yet without getting movie on a hard drive and paying out the nose. This Samsung upscales the content up and it looks pretty darn great. Noticeably sharper then others that I looked at. The sound is also very good. There are plenty of smart features and internet hookup without having any external devices like Roku, Apple TV. Upconverts any source inputted. Samsungs latest backlighting technology.
I bought the TV for the picture quality not really for the 3D. Most of the smart features are just extra pluses.
It does a decent job of upscaling the HD content, but remember it is trying to upscale from HD to near 4K and the information is just not there for it to do real 4K. It, for the lack of better terms, makes a guess on what 4K should be. That withstanding it does guess well, and will offer a better picture than standard HD, just not UHD so expect that. Samsung isn’t talking about what the specs are for the up scaling at the time of this review.
Pros:
1. Excellent color and sharpness. Also controls to can easily adjust the picture to any way you wish (moe color saturation, less saturation, sharpness, brightness, etc) Lots of smart features I am still learning.
2. Excellent sound upgrade from standard HD Samsungs. For the price it should have good sound huh.
3. Watching Lord Of The Rings On This Will Make You Cry
4. 3D works great and comes with four sets of glasses.
Cons:
1. Dialog box pops up telling you that you can use voice controls. This is very distracting and I don’t need the a dialog box on the TV to pop up to tell me this. Its in the instructions booklet. It doesn’t happen very often- but it is annoying. You can disable this but it takes some time to dig through the screens until you are there.
2. Heavier than standard HD versions of Samsungs, like the 8000. Good info for those mounting on wall.
3. No Content to justify early adopter purchase price.
4. Friends watching Lord Of The Rings (Also crying picture is so good) begain plotting to take “Precious” from us.
There is just nothing to watch right now and the prices of these 4K sets are going to drop at least another 500 just like when the HD sets came on the scene. Plus the 4k technology will most likely get better when they decide just how the content is going to be implemented. On the upside Samsung uses what they call a Hub or One Connect box so if content inputs get better you can just replace the hub box instead of kicking yourself that you have to get a new set.
I tried the Netflix 4K streaming and it’s a mixed bag at this stage. Some of the nature documentaries look like 4K and some look more like 1080P.
The UHD dvd players are coming so if you have this Samsung you will be ready from day one. I think even the xbox is going to offer 4k content when connected. Does have a superior picture than non UHD tv’s. Its just gonna cost ya a little more brother. I had to have it. I couldnt wait. My current tv died on me and I had to do something. The only thing I could rationalize, being addicted to great new technology, was to go into debt to feed my habit. I am so ashamed at my weakness.
In all seriousness:
My suggestion is if you must have the latest 4k tech then here it is. Much better than Sony especially with their no customer service. The LG’s do look good, just not this good.
UPDATE 4-25-2014
Ok there has been a big controversy on whether this model comes with a one connect box or not. You get a different story everywhere. Found a Samsung training representative who spent two hours educating me on every 4k tv on earth and what was what. One Connect; 2013 version of this model had the external One Connect box. 2014 version of this model has internal One Connect with no external box. When One Connect technology is updated you can get the external box and it overrides the internal to keep everything cutting edge. He said samsung is supporting One Connect for a guaranteed four years to guard against your tv becoming obsolete. I asked him about the 1080p to 4k upscaling. He said yes it does a good job at kicking up standard HD better than Sony or LG, but if you want to see something great, get a 4K bluray player, then he drug me around to show what it could do. It was very impressive. He shared a story about the 9000 which requires an external One Connect box to opperate as all the technology is in the box and the tv is basically a monitor, said stores all over the place are misplacing the boxes when they move a tv and have all these dead big screens everywhere.This TV is a keeper.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Glossy screen, black bezel and cabinet, silver T-Shape stand
The Tuner receives over-the-air HDTV broadcasts (Seperate HDTV…
