Samsung UE65HU8500 UHD 4K curved TV review

The shift to 4K at the higher end of the quality TV market is now firmly underway. With all name brands now committed to UHD screens, even though general availability of native 4K content (broadcast, packaged media) remains probably around a year away, installers specifying rooms with some claim to futureproofing should be upgrading to 2160p. There remain choices to be made, however: should you install flat of curved?

Samsung has firmly nailed its colours to the bendy mast this year, heralding the shift from flat to curved displays as an evolutionary one in the history of television. But what should an installer make of such next generation displays? We've been taking a closer look at the 65-inch version of Samsung's flagship HU8500 UHD TV. Integrators also have the choice of 55- and 78-inch models, the UE55HU8500 and UE78HU8500 respectively.

Samsung UE65HU8500: Build quality and features
Certainly from an aesthetic point of view, this big curving panel is remarkable. At 40mm, it's significantly deeper than previous Samsung flatscreens, and sits on a hefty curved Aero Arena pedestal stand. Consequently, it doesn't actually feel as premium as previous range toppers from the brand, but equally that's probably reflective of its aggressive price point. This model retails for just £3,999.

The curved design is obviously the key talking point here. There is a wall mount for the screen, but it's debatable if clients would want a curved screen on their wall. Frankly, it looks pretty silly; on furniture though the design is a good deal more appealing.

There are no AV connections to the screen itself. Instead, everything hooks into the separate 'Smart Evolution' One Connect interface box (pictured below). This contains the terrestrial and satellite tuners, plus four HDMIs, with 2.0 support for high frame rate 4K, HDCP 2.2 and MHL 3.0, three USBs, one of which is USB 3.0, component video via an adaptor and Ethernet. There's also high-speed IEE.802.11AC Wi-Fi onboard. The One Connect box tethers to the screen with a thick proprietary lead which also supplies power. This modular approach is certainly useful in so much as when 4K standards evolve, and they will over time, the box can be replaced while the screen remains in situ

Two handsets are supplied, a standard IR model and a pebble-shaped Bluetooth oval which combines a touch sensitive pad with gyroscopic control and Hot Key buttons. The latter is very similar to LG's Magic Remote. Samsung naturally continues to offer motion and voice control, with the Full HD camera now properly integrated into the bezel of the screen.

The brand's Smart portal offers a variety of subtle changes this season, including casual games and a split-screen Multi-View mode, which allows simultaneous live TV/connected content to be displayed side by side (a return to PIP and PAP). On the gimmicky side, there's also an advanced Soccer mode; we know it's a gimmick because when you select it, it announces itself with a crowd roar. Rather ingeniously this has been designed to auto-record match highlights, activated by crowd noise.

The HU8500 is also the first 4K UHD screen we've seen this year to incorporate an HEVC decoder, making it compatible with the Netflix 4K streaming service, which has now begun to operate in the UK.

It should be noted that the versatility of the twin tuners has been improved on this set, and now includes the ability to watch non-tuner content such as streaming media or Blu-ray, while recoding two channels to an external USB HDD. 

Samsung UE65HU8500: Performance
Samsung has ploughed all its new image processing into this screen (as opposed to the flat HU7500 which has a 2013 panel spec), and the results are largely spectacular. Contrast, black level and image dynamics are high.

Full HD content is well served by set's upscaler, not least because there's no visible line structure in its images. This obviously allows the set to be located relatively close to any viewing position. The TV's colour performance lends itself to some very vibrant hues, and has excellent out-of-the-box settings. While Full HD content looks good when rendered at 2160p, images from the Netflix 4K service are superb. Installers will need to ensure a fast broadband connection to get this service. The optimum stream is 15.6Mbps.

Currently there's only a limited amount of 4K programming available from the streaming giant, just House of Cards Season 2 and a selection of Moving Art travelogues, however all look wonderful. Dealers with these screens front of house should ensure the Netflix content is playing just to demonstrate the potential of the UHD panels.

The display can also natively play back content from the YouTube 4K channel, although the provenance of the material available here is somewhat less assured. Compression artefacts are often quite visible, even if image definition appears to be very high.

That said it's best to steer clear of the set's 'optimised' Soccer mode. Pictures here are nothing less than horrible; it's Dynamic Shop mode in an England shirt.

The HGU8500 supports Active Shutter 3D. Two pairs of glasses are included in the box. 3D depth and detail are pronounced, creating great stereoscopic imaging. While there is some crosstalk, the fun factor remains high.

Calibration options are many and varied. There's a wide variety of image management, including a professional calibration mode for those offering such services. It should be noted that motion artefacts are present to a lesser or greater extent in nearly all preset image modes with Motion Plus image interpolation. The best options for visual performance are Motion Plus Off, which presents a clear image but has low motion resolution; Motion Plus Clear, which has no overt artefacting but some horizontal panning judder and Motion Plus Custom, wherein Blur Reduction should be set to around 8 and Judder Reduction set to zero.

In terms of design, the panel is considerably bulkier than LG's curved OLED offerings and suffers cosmetically in comparison. There are also placement considerations. Sit close enough and there is a feeling of immersion which can almost be giddying. However, while off axis contrast and colour is above average, there are issues with screen geometry. Viewed from an angle the closer edge contracts the image in a way not seen with flatpanels. There may also be issues with local reflections.

Samsung UE65HU8500: verdict
Overall, the HU8500 impresses for the right reasons. Overall image clarity and dynamism is high; the panel image processing technologies at play here are very compelling. The feature specification is loaded and the new Quad Plus processor also ensures a great user experience. The set is swift to respond and navigation is a breeze. The appeal of the curved screen itself is going to be down to the client. Ultimately, we feel this screen is best sold in on the back of its style and fashion credentials than any visual benefit attributed to the bend.     

Samsung TVs in 2014: Everything you need to know

This is the first guide of a series explaining what's new from each major TV brand in 2014. Feel free to ask any questions that you have. 

To say Samsung had a successful 2013 would be an understatement. It dominated the global HD TV market as the number one selling TV brand, and after a slightly slow start it also ended up taking the lion’s share of the new UHD/4K TV market. But how does the Korean giant intend to build on this remarkable success?

Based on its showing at CES 2014, with 4K and curves. Pretty much every public statement Samsung made at CES 2014 about its TVs focussed on either the UHD native resolution of some of its TVs or the benefits of ‘the curve’ in TV design.

5 things you need to know about Samsung TVs in 2014

1. Samsung is going big on the curve


What is it? Having introduced the idea of curving TV screens with its debut OLED set last year, Samsung has gone curve crazy for 2014 introducing curved models to both its UHD LED and HD LED TV ranges. In fact, it even dared to claim the world’s ‘curviest’ TV in the shape of a 105-inch UHD TV hero set – a model introduced more to grab headlines, mind you, than with any real hopes of launching it to market.

What we think: As we noted in our first look at the Samsung 65U9000, the impact of curving a TV seems very dependent on the size of screen you’re applying it to. With small screens – by which we mean anything below 60-inches – introducing a curve creates more problems than benefits. Issues like poor geometry and a very limited viewing 'sweet spot' dominate. 

However, above 60-inches the sweet spot grows, geometry issues diminish, and you’re thus more able to absorb the potential benefits of curvature – namely a greater sense of depth, less colour and contrast loss during off-axis viewing, and even a marginal boost in clarity as the TV curve tracks the curve of your eye. It also has to be said that curved TVs tend to be pretty easy on the eye. We’re still not completely convinced the world really needs curved TVs, but some of Samsung’s large new models have at least started to open our minds a bit.


2. Samsung is going even bigger on 4K / UHD

What is it? UHD – or 4K as it’s also known – is a picture format that quadruples the number of pixels from a Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 resolution to 3,840 x 2,160. Samsung had only a couple of UHD TVs for 2013, but it’s introducing two and possibly three new UHD ranges for 2014. It’s also having a stab at solving the lack of 4K content by offering 4K films to buy on HDD from 20th Century Fox and Paramount on HDD, and compatibility with Netflix’s upcoming 4K streaming service.

What we think: We’re huge fans of UHD here, and fully embrace Samsung’s decision to offer more UHD TV options this year. And provided the films don’t cost too much and are readily available, the provision of 4K films on HDD – as many as 50 may appear in the first 12 months – could prove a great reason to turn to Samsung for your UHD TV.


3. Samsung has a new Smart Remote

What is it? A total revamp of the track pad second remote shipped with many of Samsung’s 2013 TVs. Its most useful new features are a new point and click system, a centrally positioned, remarkably small trackpad you can control with just small moves of your thumb, and slightly more buttons.

What we think: For the most part we’re all in favour of this new remote. The point and click addition is particularly welcome, adding a new brilliantly intuitive option to Samsung’s already impressively wide-ranging control eco system. The extra buttons are welcome too as they reduce the amount of submenus you have to use without making the remote feel complicated or cluttered. We’re not convinced about the thumb trackpad yet, though, as we found it a little unresponsive and hard to use with precision. But maybe it’s something you get used to with more practice.


4. Samsung’s 8-series HD range isn’t flat



What is it? Samsung has elected to make its 8-series HD (as opposed to UHD) platform curved, and hasn’t provided a flat alternative. 

What we think: The 8-series has consistently delivered better picture quality than the step-down 7-series you’ll now need to go for if you don’t want a curved screen. So by making the new HD 8-series curved Samsung has prevented picture enthusiasts who don’t like curved TVs from being able to get their hands on Samsung’s premium 2D picture quality. It’s worth adding, though, that when we questioned Samsung about this situation, it was suggested that Samsung decided not to do a flat version of the 8-series because its flat UHD series, the 8500s, won’t cost that much more than the 8 series.



5. Samsung has gone cold on OLED

What is it? Despite launching an OLED TV in 2013 (pictured) and waxing lyrical about OLED’s quality, Samsung has been conspicuously silent about any OLED plans for 2014. After some probing we discovered that they have a single 55-inch new OLED model, due for launch at a currently undisclosed date. It hasn’t mentioned OLED in any of its main press materials, nor featured it on its stand at CES 2014. 

What we think: We guess we can understand Samsung’s decision to step back from OLED (at least for now). If OLED manufacturing yields still aren’t great meaning prices are still going to be high, maybe it makes sense to just focus on UHD for now and come back to OLED when it’s more stable. But that doesn’t mean we’re not disappointed, for OLED remains a technology capable of mesmerisingly brilliant picture quality – as underlined, ironically, by the explosive quality of the new OLED range on the CES stand of arch rival LG…

Samsung mainstream 4K TVs offer true local dimming

Among the two 4K/UHD resolution LED LCD TVs we reviewed in 2013, the Samsung UNF9000 series was our favorite. The UNHU8500 is its closest match in the company's 2014 lineup.

It's available in a massive range of five sizes: 75, 65, 60, 55, and 50 inches. It arrives this April, and pricing has not been announced.

Among exotic sets like the curved HU9000 and exorbitant S9, the HU8500 is a sort of everyman's 4K resolution Samsung. Samsung says it has improved the upscaling to make 1080p and other non-4K content look better, and it also touts a color-improving thingy called "PurColor."

More important from a picture quality perspective in my book is the presence of the same kind of actual, hardware-based local dimming that helped make the UNF9000 one of the best-performing LED LCDs of last year. It's also worth noting that you can't get that kind of local dimming in a flat 1080p TV from Samsung this year; the only 1080p model to have it, the UNH8000 series, is curved.

Of course the HU8500 gets all the Smart TV bells and whistles, including a "Multi-Link Screen" that can divide the screen into two separate windows, each showing different content (live TV and YouTube, for example). It lacks the gesture control found on the step-up HU9000, but otherwise its Smart features are very similar. There's also the same promise of upgradability. While the HU8500 has a standard input array -- in contrast to the external One Connect box used on the F9000 and HU9000 -- it does include a port that can accept a future One Connect box to enable whatever upgrades, including, potentially, new input schemes, Samsung devises. For 2014 the set supports HEVC, HDMI 2.0, and HDCP 2.2.

What’s the difference between HDMI 1.4 and HDMI 2.0? What exactly is “future proofing”?

Most HDTVs today use the HDMI 1.4 standard to process video and audio signals between a source, such as a Blu-ray player, and your TV. 4K Ultra HD TVs in the market also utilize the same HDMI 1.4 standard. HDMI 1.4, therefore, supports 4K Ultra HD resolution.

HDMI 2.0 allows 4K Ultra HD content to be processed at up to 60 frames per secondHowever, since 4K Ultra HD TVs have four times as many pixels as Full HD 1080p TVs, additional capacity is required to process any video and audio signals between the source and TV. As a result, the newest HDMI 2.0 standard was recently introduced into the market. HDMI 2.0 allows 4K Ultra HD content to be processed at up to 60 frames per second, instead of a maximum of 30 frames per second for HDMI 1.4. This difference may not matter to many consumers as movies and TV shows are filmed at 30 frames per second or less. However, it may be important to gamers and others who have 4K content that was shot at more than 30 frames per second.

Many 4K Ultra HD TVs that will be released in 2014 are expected to carry the newest HDMI 2.0 standard. However, some manufacturers have developed ways to allow 4K Ultra HD TVs with HDMI 1.4 to be upgraded to the newest HDMI 2.0 standard, thus “future proofing” TVs available today. Sony, for example, can perform this upgrade on most of its 4K Ultra HD TVs through a free update over the internet. Other manufacturers may allow customers to upgrade their TVs through the purchase of external boxes, such as Samsung’s Evolution Kit.

If 60 frames per second are important to you, check the TV specifications before buying to ensure that your TV has HDMI 2.0. If not, you should ensure that there’s an easy way to upgrade from HDMI 1.4 to “future proof” your new TV.

Samsung UE55HU8500 UHD TV Review

In case you haven’t noticed, Samsung is betting big on 4K Ultra HD and curved televisions this year, and no product embodies this more than the company’s flagship UHD (ultra high-definition) TV for 2014, namely the HU8500 series. It’s available to buy in the UK in three screen sizes: the 55-inch Samsung UE55HU8500 (which we’re reviewing today), the 65-inch UE65HU8500, and the gigantic 78-inch UE78HU8500.

The 55in HU8500 features a native screen resolution of 3840×2160 (four times the pixel count of a 1080p HDTV), a curved design, and the most current next-gen specifications including HDMI 2.0 (allowing for 4K@60hz/50Hz playback), inbuilt HEVC decoding (for Netflix 4K streaming), MHL 3.0 (supporting 4K@30Hz) and HDCP 2.2 copy protection standard. As if the UHDTV isn’t futureproofed enough, the UE-55HU8500 ships with an external “One Connect” box containing the television’s processing circuitry, which can potentially be replaced (at a price) with a newer one offering the latest upgrades.

Note: Our review was conducted with the 55HU8500′s firmware updated to version 1100, the latest at time of publication. Europe’s HU8500 series is equivalent to the Samsung HU9000 in North America.

Design

Regardless of what you think about curved displays, the gentle concavity of the UE55HU8500′s screen will undoubtedly stand out among the swathe of flat-panel TVs on shop floors. Inspected from the sides, the chassis – encased in polished chrome trim – is thicker than what we’ve seen from most Samsung edge-lit LED LCD televisions, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing if it contributes to better backlight uniformity in the presence of both a curved screen and 4K resolution.

In combination with the subtle curvature, the 10mm-thin black bezel produces a quite surreal “picture floating in air” effect. The supplied table-top stand sports a brushed metallic grey base which is not only marked with a “UHD” inscription, but also arced to perfectly complement the curvity of the LCD panel. Unlike last year’s F8000 range, the 55HU8500′s non-swivel stand doesn’t span the entire width of the TV, and so can be placed on a smaller AV rack. Wallmounting is possible, though understandably the outer extremities of the HU8500 won’t be flush against the wall… unless you live in a lighthouse (a favourite in-joke among detractors of curved tellies).

Connections

The 2014 version of One Connect box has been beefed up, even though it takes up less footprint width-wise. Upon powering up the TV we immediately noticed a soft, whirring fan noise emanating from the box – Samsung informed us that they’ve fitted a fan this year due to several complaints of last year’s One Connect box running overly hot.

Ironically, the underside of the new One Connect box included with our review sample became hot to touch after some time anyway despite the fan, so now we’ve got two problems of heat build-up and fan noise (which was around as loud as a post-foam-fix Panasonic ZT plasma in our test room). To be fair, we couldn’t hear the background noise over normal television volume at sensible viewing distances, but prudent placement is essential.

Calibration

Note: Our UE55HU8500 review unit was calibrated in its [Movie] mode (the most accurate picture preset on Samsung TVs) using CalMAN 5, the industry-leading video calibration software. For reasons we’ll explain in the “Motion” section later in this article, we calibrated the set with [LED Clear Motion] engaged.

Greyscale

The default [Colour Tone] setting of “Warm2” in [Movie] mode was reasonably accurate – delta errors (dEs) would have been even lower had Samsung targeted the 2.4 gamma standard recommended by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for flat-screen HDTV used in a dark room for studio mastering, instead of the more conventional 2.2:

Pre-calibration RGB tracking and delta errors (dEs)

In [Movie] mode, Samsung offers a two-point white balance (WB) controls and also a more precise 10-point system. We only needed to use the former to achieve a beautiful result:

Post-calibration RGB tracking and dEs in [Movie] mode

After calibration, delta errors (dEs) measured below 2 across the entire luminance range, meaning that the image on screen will appear tint-free be it dark or bright. Of course, we could take advantage of the ten-point WB controls to flatten the greyscale even more, but any improvement would be academic, since 3 is the theoretical dE cut-off before inaccuracies become visible to the human eye.

Gamma

The Samsung UE-55HU8500 is equipped with a pseudo-local dimming system which can extract higher dynamic contrast from the TV’s edge LED backlight, the on/off state and intensity of which is controlled via the [Smart LED] option. The default [Smart LED] setting in [Movie] mode was “Standard” which skewed gamma tracking, as you can see from the graph on the left below:

Pre-calibration gamma tracking	Post-calibration gamma tracking (2.35)

After dropping [Smart LED] to “Low” intensity, and dialling [Gamma] down to “-2“, we got overall gamma to track fairly close to 2.4, ensuring a punchy, rich image with a realistic rise out of black.

Colour

Three [Colour Space] options are available on the UE55HU8500: “Auto“, “Native” and “Custom“. Out of the box, “Auto” measured closest to Rec. 709 HDTV specifications. Instead of expanding the gamut (dashing any chance of fulfilling Rec. 2020 UHD colour space – not that any consumer-grade display on the market can do it), “Native” caused cyan and yellow to deviate significantly from the correct coordinates.

[Colour Space] “Auto”	[Colour Space] “Native”

[Colour Space] “Custom” is Samsung’s excellent RGB-based colour management system (CMS) which fortunately uses the more accurate “Auto” gamut as its starting point. After some tweaking, we obtained a first-rate result:

Post-calibration colour saturation tracking

Delta errors (dEs) were curbed under 3 across all the saturation tracking points we measured – essentially the HU8500 4K Ultra HD television exhibited no colour errors that would be perceptible to viewers.

Post-calibration colour errors (<3 not appreciable to the eye)

Benchmark Test Results

Dead pixels	None (would be difficult to spot at 4K resolution anyway)
Screen uniformity	Acceptable considering it’s edge-lit and curved
Overscanning on HDMI	Defeatable with 1080p and 2160p (UHD) content
Blacker than black	Passed
Calibrated black level (black screen)	0 cd/m2 (LEDs shut off)
Calibrated black level (ANSI checkerboard)	0.041 cd/m2 with [Smart LED] “Low“
Black level retention	Auto-dimming with full black screen
Primary chromaticity	Excellent
Scaling	Excellent
Video mode deinterlacing	Very effective jaggies reduction
Film mode deinterlacing	Passed 2:2 PAL and 3:2 NTSC tests in SD and HD
Viewing angle	Decent – blacks & colours wash out beyond 40° off-axis
Motion resolution	1080 lines (and likely higher) with [LED Clear Motion] on
Digital noise reduction	Optional; effective when engaged
Sharpness	Defeatable edge enhancement
Luma/Chroma bandwidth (2D Blu-ray)	Full Luma; Chroma vertically softened
1080p/24 capability	No judder in 2D; telecine judder in 3D
Input lag (Leo Bodnar tester)	73ms in [DVI PC] mode
Full 4:4:4 reproduction (PC)	Yes, with [PC] input label

Power Consumption

Default [Standard] mode	97 watts*
Calibrated [Movie] mode	107 watts
Standby	1 watt

*Note:Out of the box, [Eco Sensor] was enabled by default, which explains why energy usage was lower before calibration than after.

Picture Quality

Black Level & Contrast Performance

After pegging peak luminance to our usual target of 120 cd/m², the native black level (i.e. with [Smart LED] disabled) on our Samsung UE55HU8500 review unit measured 0.069 cd/m²on both a full-field video black signal with auto-dimming defeated by pressing the [INFO] button, and a 4×4 ANSI checkerboard pattern. While higher than the circa-0.05 cd/m² we’ve seen on Samsung’s SPVA panels in recent years, the slightly brighter blacks were perhaps understandable given the complicated warping process needed to produce a curved screen, and in any case bettered every IPS LCD television we’ve reviewed.

[Smart LED] activates the pseudo-local dimming system (we use the prefix “pseudo” because technically true local dimming is only possible on full-array, direct-lit LED LCDs) on the HU8500 edge LED TV, which comes in 3 strengths: “Low“, “Standard” and “High“. All three deepened ANSI black level to 0.041 cd/m²; and full-screen black (auto-dimming defeated) to 0.008 cd/m², 0.002 cd/m² and 0.0017 cd/m² respectively (from the “Low” to “High” settings).

The [Smart LED] “Standard” and “High” positions obscured shadow detail and altered gamma too much for our liking, leaving [Smart LED] “Low” as our preferred option. Some luminance fluctuations remained visible during challenging low-APL scenes (for example as Batman emerges from the shadows to meet Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises – timecode01:10:04), but they were infrequent and worth the compromise to improve black-level response.

For some strange reason, engaging [Cinema Black] darkened ONLY the bottom letterbox bar in scope ratio films on our review unit – we’re not sure if it’s a sample-specific quirk or a model-wide phenomenon. In any case, we detected no global luminance shifts (unlike certain iterations of [Cinema Black]), so we’d happily leave the option enabled to not only better blend the black letterbox bars to the bezel, but also conceal any backlight unevenness.

Backlight/ Screen Uniformity

It’s rare to see decent screen and backlight uniformity on edge-lit LED LCD TVs at the best of times, so it’s with some trepidation that we went about examining this aspect of the UE55HU8500 by putting up full-field grey patterns of various intensities. Credit where it’s due – Samsung’s engineers have done a remarkable job considering the stress that has to be applied to the LCD panel to bend it. Sure, we saw a vertical band on the right side of the screen, and patches of horizontal streaks on a 10% grey pattern, but they never troubled us in real-life content – even with medium-fast panning shots across a tonally even background which is what happens frequently in football broadcasts – unless we sat/stood more than 45° off-axis.

Once calibrated, our Samsung 55HU8500 review sample exhibited no significant backlight bleed or clouding, but even if it did, auto-dimming on a full black screen and/or [Smart LED] “Low” should alleviate any backlight inconsistency.

Motion

The 55-inch HU8500 delivered some of the sharpest motion clarity we’ve seen from an LED LCD display, thanks to Samsung’s much-improved black frame insertion (BFI) technology which can be enabled by setting [Motion Plus] to “Custom“, then switching on [LED Clear Motion]. Sony has been leading the pack with its BFI system (namely the “Impulse” mode on Bravia TVs) over the past couple of years, but it’s now been eclipsed by the one Samsung implemented on the UE55HU8500 (at least until we get the chance to test a 2014 Sony Ultra HD 4K TV).

Brightness, flicker and double ghost images – three issues that plague most BFI systems, even Sony’s excellent Impulse mode to some extent – have been addressed effectively on the UE-55HU8500. With [LED Clear Motion] engaged, the television had no problem hitting our peak luminance target of 120 cd/m² for critical viewing, or even higher for daytime use. Samsung’s skilful implementation of BFI also meant that we didn’t really see much flicker on photorealistic content except during truly bright scenes, or double image ghosting beyond test patterns.

Since [LED Clear Motion] supports native 1080p/24 playback this year (last year’s version didn’t), we saw no reason not to use it for every possible type of content, though unfortunately it cannot be applied in [Game] mode or to digital TV broadcast from the internal tuners.

Like last year’s high-end Samsungs, the UE55HU8500 suffered from the occasional motion hiccup after scene cuts, which was particularly obvious with digital television broadcasts, for example as the scene switched from a slow-mo replay back to the live court view as Andy Murray was bouncing the ball ready to serve during BBC‘s airing of the Davis Cup tennis event. The whole picture would stutter, which might be accompanied by some tearing/ combing. We observed these artefacts too while watching live football, e.g. when the camera cut from a close-up of the manager’s face back to the field.

It’s as if the change in on-screen motion speed was confusing Samsung’s onboard video processor which then applied one single frame of unnecessary interpolation even when [Motion Plus] was clearly set to “Off“, resulting in the described stutter/ tearing. Blu-rays were affected too, though to a much lesser extent, manifesting as a slight hesitation after resuming playback from pausing, or when the end credits started rolling. The only sure-fire method to kill the motion hiccups is by engaging [Game] mode which is not without its own shortcomings (no 10p WB; no BFI; no native 24p support).

We also briefly tried out the HU8500′s [Football Mode] in our attempt to eradicate the motion hiccups, but its overblown contrast, garish colours and hyper-sharpened lines – all locked and non-adjustable by the way – are the direct antithesis of video accuracy, so we spared our eyes the anguish after 5 seconds.

SD & HD Video Processing

The UE55HU8500 reinforced our opinion that Samsung owns the best in-TV scaling solution on the market. It couldn’t work miracles with ropey standard-definition broadcasts, but those who have bought a 4K UHD television would probably do a vast majority of their viewing in HD anyway. High-definition content was upconverted beautifully to the 3840×2160 screen, presenting the details crisply and cleanly without introducing undue ringing and noise.

Video- and film-based deinterlacing was top-notch, in both SD and HD. With [Film Mode] engaged, the Samsung HU8500 correctly detected and processed 3:2 cadence over 480i and 1080i; and 2:2 over 576i. The higher “Auto1” setting was required to pass 2:2 over 1080i, but it caused combing in standard-def mixed edits (e.g. scrolling video text overlaid upon film material). The bottom line? [Film Mode] “Auto2” for SD; “Auto1” for HD.

4K

The UE-55HU8500′s One Connect box is compliant with HDMI 2.0 standard which supports 4K resolution at higher frame rates, and using DVDO’s excellent AVLab TPG 4K test pattern generator, we confirmed that the UHD TV accepts and displays 3840×2160 video signals at 24Hz, 30Hz, 50Hz and 60Hz, fully resolving both horizontal and vertical single-pixel lines. Such inputs greyed out the [Picture Size] option, and locked the panel into 1:1 pixel mapping (yay!).

When the television was fed with 4096×2160 (or Digital Cinema true 4K) resolution signal at 24Hz, two [Picture Size] options became available: “16:9” and “Screen Fit“. The former cropped away the extra pixels outside a 3840×2160 frame (so you’ll still get 1:1 pixel mapping but lose some information along the borders); whereas the latter downscales the image be fitted on the UHD panel.

Featuring built-in HEVC decoding and an updated Netflix client, the Samsung UE55HU8500 is the first TV we’ve reviewed that allows us to watch Netflix 4K streaming. With native UHD content still thin on the ground, Netflix’s delivery of House of Cards Season 2 in Ultra HD marks a watershed moment, making 4K so much more accessible to the masses.

Bright scenes looked highly detailed, providing an immersive yet natural sense of sharpness. Faraway objects in long shots were rendered with pinpoint resolution, injecting more depth to the image than what could be attributed to the screen’s curvature. Within the Netflix app, the Samsung HU8500 preserved our calibrated settings in [Movie] mode, adding authenticity to the already pristine picture.

The dialogue-driven (rather than action-packed) nature of House of Cards lent itself perfectly to being streamed over the internet even at ultra high-def resolution. All things considered, Netflix had done a good job, keeping compression artefacts to a minimum. We saw the odd posterization here and there, but they were few and far between, and never detracted from the sumptuous presentation.

3D

The active shutter glasses (ASG) 3D system on the Samsung HU8500 successfully resolved full HD 3D (and possibly even higher resolution, but we didn’t have the necessary patterns to verify, since our own custom 3D-res test pattern maxed out at 1080p), providing bags of detail and depth. We witnessed some crosstalk, but the ghost images were of the dark variety, and so were easier to tune out.

After calibration, peak luminance in the third dimension stood at 50 cd/m² as measured through the 3D specs’ shuttering lens, which is brighter than what 3-D plasma TVs can muster. And as was the case last year, the active-shutter glasses that came with the television (you get two pairs) didn’t introduce much flicker, making tri-dimensional content actually watchable during daytime.

Like every single Samsung 3D LED TV we’ve tested to date, the UE55HU8500 didn’t support native 1080p/24 playback, meaning that slow-medium panning shots in Blu-ray movies would display with subtle telecine judder. The only way to completely remove the judder was by setting [Motion Plus] to “Standard” or “Smooth“, however doing so would introduce the dreaded soap opera effect into film-based material, subverting the cinematic quality of 24fps movies. On balance, we’d rather put up with the odd judder which only manifests during panning sequences than to sit through an entire film that looks like cheaply shot video, though of course we wished that Samsung had provided proper 24p support in the first place – it continues to confound us how they can get this feature right on their plasmas but not on their LED LCDs.

Things got even more confusing when it came to 3D 50hz content: the 55″ HU8500 applied forced motion interpolation to such video signals despite [Motion Plus] being set to “Off“, causing Sky 3D movies to look overly smooth and video-like. Fortunately there is a way to defeat it, and that’s by engaging [Game] mode, although you’ll need to adjust a bunch of parameters to obtain an accurate image (it’s possible).

Console/ PC Gaming

If you’re a competitive twitch gamer who demands the most responsive display for playing first-person shooters (FPS) or arcade games, the Samsung UE55HU8500 is not for you – it appears that the intensive onboard video processing has taken its toll on input lag. The lowest input lag we managed to squeeze from the UHDTV was a less-than-impressive 73ms with our Leo Bodnar device connected to the HDMI2 port which was then renamed to [DVI PC]. Input lag in [Game] mode was 76ms; and in [Movie] mode was a painful 152ms.

Conclusion

The UE-55HU8500 improves upon Samsung’s first-generation UHDTV, the F9000 series, in several key aspects. It features all the requisite next-gen specifications including HDMI 2.0, HEVC decoding and HDCP 2.2, ensuring compatibility with future Ultra HD content and most importantly Netflix 4K streaming which is now live and operational. The HU8500 also produces some of the sharpest motion we’ve seen from an LED LCD display, owing to its superior black frame insertion (BFI) technology that’s so usable we actually incorporated it into our calibration workflow for critical viewing.

On the subject of the curved screen, our stance is neutral. At this size, we do not think the curvature adds much to the depth of the image (contrast and resolution contribute more), but it’s not so flagrant that we’d dismiss it straight away. Should curved TVs become a hit among consumers, it will be because of the novelty factor, rather than for picture quality reasons.

We’re slightly disappointed by the high input lag and continual presence of motion hiccups, but won’t hold them against the UHD television in light of its list price. At £2699, the Samsung UE55HU8500 is significantly less expensive that last year’s UE55F9000 which went for £3999 at launch – we certainly won’t say no to a better-specified TV that costs less.