Samsung - 49" Class - LED - NU8000 Series - 2160p - Smart - 4K UHD TV with HDR

This is going to be focused on User Interaction standpoint. DISPLAY & DESIGN - Really good. The picture quality looks relatively good right out of the box. The physical design is excellent with thin body and bezel, and also with sturdy stand. Here is why this particular model might not be the best option: The lower end of 2018 UHD model can be differentiated by existence of Samsung's voice assistant, Bixby. If you are talking about higher-end TV, you are most likely going to differentiate them by the picture quality and its rightful price points. But, in the lower end models, the price point differential is justified by either having a voice assistant or not. I get that NU6900(without Bixby) is UHD and NU8000(with Bixby) is Premium UHD, but I don't know if a lot of people will notice the difference in picture quality. I don't think it will be so obvious that someone will likely to pay around $300 more just for that. If you are an expert at TVs, then I probably recommend spending just over $100 more (than NU8000 currently) to get the QLED model, because you'll see a bigger difference there. BIXBY is the critical reason for their price structure for lower end models, but it is not justified because how bad BIXBY actually is. 1. BIXBY ( I have had an experience with LG TV with Google Assistance, so I'm going to compare) Samsung focused on utilizing TV with other Samsung brand home products, rather than expanding the AI technology for a general use. a) It cannot recognize a lot of the words you are saying. I have to say it really slow, to the point where I'm wondering if it would be better to just use buttons for that command. b) It does not auto-correct with word relevance. If I say "Cincinnati Bengals," it will register the word "bangles" and will not correct it. c) Limited search options and specified commands. I found that Bixby will accept certain sentence structure. This makes users think that they have to learn new things or consider themselves to use the buttons instead. d) Not smart enough. If I am changing the channel (The cable-box is connected) to 1010, for example, I have to say "One thousand and ten." It is not smart enough to know that "Ten-ten" means the same thing. It will search for something instead. This is one of the things that tells me how behind Bixby really is in AI technology. ---- Compared to Google e) Compared to Google AI on TV, Bixby is far inferior. Google AI will recognize so many different sentence structures - picking out the right key words. f) Google AI can utilize basically all the command from any type of application you are using or watching. 2. Remote is so bad - This is where people notices how critical BIXBY is to Samsung developing and marketing team. a). With so much more interactive functionalities in Smart TV, Samsung actually took all the functionalities off the remote. Now you have to press a generic button and a specific function. b) NO SETTINGS BUTTON!!! You literally have to press a few arrow keys multiple times to just to get to the settings menu! I cannot believe that the settings button is not recognized to be as important as other few buttons left on the remote control. c). Number Key - Totally Unusable!!! - If you want to press "19" Good luck, since you have to literally click more than 10 buttons to do that. Why not utilize the wheel design to create a dial interface or something??? And, also I've found that there is just a slight lag that throws you off in clicking that many buttons in a sequence. ---- Look. LG with an EXCELLENT GOOGLE VOICE ASSISTANT, still kept all the functional buttons on their MAGIC REMOTE. Looks ugly, but I prefer that over this useless remote. I mean a remote control is the only controlling device of the TV, and they made it such a struggle to use it. SAMSUNG with a TERRIBLE VOICE ASSISTANT, decided that it was so important to market and support BIXBY, that they got rid of the majority of the buttons. SAMSUNG wanted us to experience the TV features in the way THEY DESIGNED IT, which is terrible. If BIXBY was great, I'd have no complaints. If they kept the functional buttons on the remote, I'd be okay with it. Since, they cannot do both, I cannot recommend this device over a cheaper model UN**NU6900. ENDNOTE: I've bought this particular model, because it had a voice assistant. Now after personally experiencing what it is, I am sure that this was not the right choice. Rather, I should've spent around $300 less to buy the lower-end model without BIXBY, (because I'm not using BIXBY anyway). If you are thinking about NU6900 vs NU8000, don't buy NU8000! Either spend more money to get QLED, a realistic picture quality upgrade, or save your money and buy NU6900. IF you really like AI on your Smart TV, which you won't like BIXBY ( I guarantee), I'd look for TVs like SONY or LG with Google Assistant ( The picture quality of the three brands are all excellent).

First, the reason I chose this particular size TV is that a number of years ago I made a custom entertainment center out of mahogany and this 49 inch size is the maximum that will fit it. So, I've had Samsung TV's for years. They are well built, last a very long time (my last one was still doing a great job at 9 years of age), great picture quality etc. I did look at other makers but went with Samsung. The picture on this TV is astounding. Even when the source is not 4K this TV sharpens and brightens the picture. And content that is 4K on this Samsung is just mind blowing in clarity, color, detail etc. Lots of apps already loaded, and you can add more, although the selection does need improvement. But you do have all of the popular ones. I've had this for about a month and a half and still finding out things about it. Which brings me to this. No detailed manual. Yes, there is an e-manual built into the TV, however it's impossible to read instructions while performing a particular task or finding out why something is not working. Come on guys, printing a manual is the cost of doing business. I mean it would be maybe be a buck and a half in cost if it was that much. And yes, you can find a full manual on line, but again, do you really want to sit in front of your new TV with your phone or tablet or laptop and have to scroll through directions rather than have a printed manual. The other related aspect I found annoying is the remote. The remote is woefully inadequate. Yes, you can talk to the remote, but it's not a universal remoted as it's touted to be. It will not turn on your receiver (unless your receiver is a smart receiver), nor will it control the volume or other functions of your receiver if you're running all a/v (TV, Blu-ray, etc) through it. And again, no manual. In the beginning you get these "tips" about the remote that pop up on the screen. But there's no freezing the tip so you can actually digest what it says, nor can you really go anywhere with the TV to find out the operations of the remote except to the e-manual in the TV itself or on line. Again, why not a printed manual??? There are a good number of connections on the back of the TV, 4 HDMI, a couple of digital optical connections, 2 USB's, a LAN and an antenna. Each of the HDMI connections can be programed to turn on what ever equipment is connected to them, which is nice. Speakers on the TV are actually quite good if you don't have other sources for sound. One nice surprise is that the back of the TV has channels that allow you to run connecting cables from HDMI, digital optical etc down the back of pedestal base, which has a cover on the backside, allowing you to hide all of the mess rather than being able to see everything dangling from the bottom edge of the TV. This is a super nice TV and the lack of a printed manual and a less than adquate remote is not enough to dissuade anyone from purchasing this beauty.

Bought 2 other TV’s & returned them. An LG & the 7100 Series Samsung model. I HATE the legs on all of 2018 models, very inconvenient & looks terrible. Center stands work & look the best! I tried to save a little money but buying one and because of the 2 legs it didn’t fit the area! But this tv there is no comparison to! It is just a beautifully made & feature rich set! Very easy to put together. I am a 55 yr young woman who had it out of the box and running inside of 30 minutes including putting the stand on which is awesome and so secure btw! The packaging wasn’t like anything else I’ve not seen for other Samsung’s with padded screen protection around the frame of the screen, neat & securely packed. Very impressive! The Bixby assistant needs no training just speak & go & works perfectly. The picture quality out the box is phenomenal with a bright crisp & clear picture I would compare to the QLED sets! Not skipping or jumping in the frames and no hesitation or blurts in action or moving scenes. Very smooth & effortless in high action shots! The sound is great for a flat screen much better then I’ve heard with an ability of 3 sound levels one being “amplify” which brings it to a whole other level of awesome! BUY IT! You won’t regret it. I am Unbelievably happy & satified with my purchase & definitely recommend this set for ALL of your tv needs. Thanks Samsung for such an awesome experience with this tv!!!

I picked up this TV earlier today. I originally bought one of the 50 inch 4K LG TVs. But come to find out it was a low end 4K tv and it showed. The picture was not very good so I did more research and narrowed it down to this one and the LG SK8000. They were both the same price and according to reviews it really just depended on what you prefer. I did notice all reviews said the Samsung had a better black level rating compared to the LG so that’s why I ultimately picked the Samsung. So far this is the best picture quality I have owned. I have watched Hulu, Avengers Infinity War and a few 4K shows on Netflix and was blown away by all of them. Especially for the price of this TV at $599. The only downfall is the speakers which can be fixed with a sound bar and the smart TV interface is not user friendly compared to the LG. I have it hooked up to an Xbox so I won’t be using the Samsung apps a lot but it took me a while just to find the settings to adjust the picture and HDR settings. Ultimately, it is a very good TV. The only things I would change is the interface and it only having a 60HZ panel as compared to the 55 inch of this model that has a 120HZ. I can still see lag during big action scenes but I don’t think the 120HZ was worth the extra $300+. Would definitely buy again!

Bought the tv 11/16/2018 and for the first few days everything was great! Great picture sound was ok for a tv and loved the overall look of the tv. Now for the the bad.... On 11/18/2018 i was watching a movie on VUDU using the built in app and the TV just randomly shut off, didn't think to much of it at the time. Everything was fine the next day how ever on 11/20/2018 was playing a game on my PS4 pro and again the TV just shuts off. It goes on like this for the next few days one day it will be fine then on the next 11/21/2018 it shuts off twice in just a few hours. And now we come to today 11/23/2018 TV shuts off again. This time i leave the TV off an unplug my PS4 Pro just to make sure its doesn't have something to do with it then i go to turn the TV back on and i just get a black screen i can hear sound just no picture. So i shut the TV of unplugged it and plugged it back in and was able to get picture back but at this point i have to believe something is wrong with the TV. So i have submitted a return request and will ship it back Monday for a refund. At this point i may spend a bit more and get a Sony.

I had an 8 series curved television for a year (from another retailer). The Screen malfunctioned, and the other retailer was no help. Had a extended warranty as well. It was a nightmare to deal with them. So, I decided to do what I should have done in. The first place and purchase my TV at Best Buy. The 8 Series is a great 4K television. HDR Pro has great HDR ranges. The processor is quick making navigating through setting and Smart Hub effortless and fast. This can be your smart TV if you have no extra devices you use to watch Netflix, Hulu, etc. Samsung seems to be really keeping up with updates for bug fixes as I have seen several updates for this TV since it came out, so support is good. The 8 series comes with the “One Remote” which can be useful if you want your remote to handle all of your connected devices. There are 4 HDMI ports which is great if you several devices like I do. And each can be configured to support UHD Color Optimization for your 4K devices. The TV can easily handle Chroma 4:2:2 if your devices support that sampling. This TV can also handle Bluetooth devices. I even connected an Amazon Echo to just to try it out. It was a bit tricky but it worked. I’m happy with the 8 series and would recommend this TV to anyone looking to buy a 4K television for their main source of 4K entertainment.

I bought this TV for my aunt. I set it up and found it be an excellent 4K TV for the money. The colors are great and almost as good as what is on the Samsung QLED sets. I was a little concerned that maybe motion blur would be an issue (as on the 7000 series), but I found this TV to be excellent, I watched some sport programs, and no motion blur was evident. Also, this is one of the few TVs were the sound (base) is good enough without a sound bar. The build quality is good, and it has a nice stand. Just be careful of how Samsung packaged the screws for the base, and for the base to the TV. They are packaged just opposite of what you would think. The up-scaling of 480 programs and 1080 programs is great. The off viewing angle is slightly better than what I've seen, but I would figure in the width of good viewing to be just slightly greater than the distance to the set. I up-streamed 4K content, and it was in par with higher end Samsung TVs. If you want a great starting point 4K LED TV, this is it.

Bought this unit after seeing it in the store. This is the 2018 model, and it looked nice enough on display. I figured it had to have some stellar upgrades over my 2014 Samsung Curved television, plus it was on sale, so I pulled the trigger. Big mistake. As soon as I had it set up and turned on, I was disappointed. The 4K picture was nice, as expected, but it looked glossy and fake. Watching the hockey game that night on the Apple 4K stream was a nightmare. I could not find a setting where the picture looked crisp and clean. In fact, I ended up going back downstairs to watch on the old 2014 model. I am not sure what happened here, but I saw no improvement whatsoever in this 2018 model. I am sure there are some redeeming qualities somewhere, but with Best Buy's quick 15 day return policy, I was not willing to wait around and find out. Instead, I exchanged it the very next day for the Sony Bravia X900E at the same exact price. Wow. What a difference! The Sony blows it away.