Samsung UN65D8000 65-Inch 1080p 240 Hz 3D LED HDTV (Silver)

Know what you’re getting: a great TV, July 18, 2011

By 

Daniel Manning “dophin26” (Bay City, MI, US) –

  

I understand there were a lot of people who thought they were buying a TV with the same bezel (the outside frame of the TV) as the 55″ TV that came out before it. They were misled by Amazon’s picture and possibly the CES information that had shown a smaller bezel. Apparently, from what I’ve found, Samsung decided the smaller frame couldn’t support the size and went with an almost 2″ brushed metal-looking frame. I have a “fleckstoned” gray wall and it disappears when the lights go down. Honestly, once past the cool factor of the small bezel is put aside, the TV really shines, in my humble opinion.

THE QUICK GOODS:

1. Awesome looking picture. Not too hard to get settings online to home calibrate it nicely.
2. Good 3D picture. Megamind is awesome on this. Also watched Sanctum, Tron, and Avatar. All good. The 2D to 3D is kinda cool too. Its not the pop-out you get with a 3D movie, but it does a nice job on the fly.
3. The Smart Hub is intriguing. There is a lot there. Other than Netflix, I haven’t gotten too involved in it, but I can see potential.
4. The QWERTY keyboard on the backside is handy for trying to insert passwords and when using the net.
5. Multiple inputs are great.

THE QUICK BADS:

1. Flashlighting. The TV has it. It is apparent when the screen is all black. Fortunately, that is rare and 95% of the time, you don’t detect it at all. I think this is overblown in some write-ups.
2. The web browser. It seems really slow- and I have it hooked up through a wired connection (faster than wireless). I can get to websites fairly quickly, but getting video to roll is another thing.
3. Soap opera look. Many had commented on this and I had no idea what it was. It is that video-like image that is almost too clear out of the box. I used some calibration settings I found at Cnet to get some better settings.
4. NO PAPER MANUAL. You pay this kind of money and you have to get the info through the TV or online? That is a bunch of BS.
5. The price itself. Man, I love the TV, but I just am not sure if it is $1500.00 better than the mid=priced sets.

Overall, I can clearly say this was a monster step up from the 55″ Hitachi I had before. HD channels and especially Blu-ray look just stunning on the TV. Everything just pops. I feel many of the reviews here are focusing on the “bait and switch” they think happened because of the bezel. Fortunately, I did my research first and knew what I was getting.
There are plenty of ports in back and you should have plenty to get all of your stuff connected. If you really want to do it right, just run everything through a receiver and run one hdmi cable to the tv. If you choose to run multiple cables, you can even have different settings for each port. If you like your TV to pop, but want your movies to look more cinema-like, you can do that too.
Hanging the d8000 on the wall wasn’t too hard. I did it myself, but I’d suggest a partner. I used a slim wall mount that tilts and it looks great.

EDIT UPDATE: Just am FYI, the flashlighting issue is becoming easier to recognize as time rolls on. Maybe I’m just seeing a lot of dark materials, but the screen is flashlighting like crazy.

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First Impressions, Pro’s and Con’s, October 5, 2011

Just purchased the UN65D8000(X-something-something). Noticed a flashlight-like spray of light coming up and to the left, from the bottom center of the screen. Also, some minor light-clouding around the rest of the border was visible. These annoying light effects were only visible when dark screen was shown. Used it for 8 days with no change in the abnormality. I called Samsung and their tech dept told me that, ‘it is normal and it should dissipate and dissapear withing 2-3 weeks. After that, if it is still there, I can call back and they will send out a repair technition to repair free of charge.’ I was suspicious of this diagnosis, as it seemed like BS.
It was enough of an annoyance that I returned the tv and exchanged it for a new one within my 2-weeks of purchase from the electronics store. I have had experiences before where a ‘technician’ or low-paid guy-with-a-logoed-polo-shirt comes to fix the device and you end up with more problems than when you started.
*The new TV also has flashlighting – but with less than before. Now, there is a small, brighter cloud in the center, midway up the screen. (again, only visible with homogenous, dark backgrounds).
From what I saw and heard, the Sony high-end (full-backlit) is better, but will cost a lot more and they might not have the large version out yet. This Samsung unit is a decent compromise.

Pro’s:
– Fantastic resolution and brightness – we tone down the color, saturation, brightness, and edge-lighting so our eyes don’t get sun-burnt.
– Smooth subject movement when respective features are selected.
– Beautiful Frame/Bezel, it is understandable that such a large tv would have a larger support frame to avoid warpage.
– Lots of inputs and adjustments possible. Easy to hook up and view external photo and video devices.
– Quick powers up and syncs with other Samsung devices nicely.

Con’s:
– Flashlighting and clouding on dark backgrounds.
– Screen adjustment features are thrown around in a few spots within the menu hierarchy and are confusing to choose between.
– ‘Soap-Opera effect’, looks like you are watching reality TV when its a blockbuster movie. This could be something people new to HD have to get used to, not sure.
– Price (ouch).
– Haven’t figured out how to auto-swivel the tv on the stand yet, maybe it’s only manual?
– Detail in some very dark images is lost.

.

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