Samsung UN55B8000 55-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LED HDTV
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- In Stock One Day FREE Shipping I bought the 55" 8000 series samsung for a new familyroom / den I built in the basement. I generally agonize over electronic purchases, doing hours of research. This one was no exception. After reading hundreds of reviews, consumer publications and store visits, i narrowed the search as follows:
LCD v. Plasma:
I chose LCD technology due to the eye-poping picture, reduced energy consumption, and no picture burn-in. Early LCDs had jitter problems, but those days are gone. Please note that this TV *is* an LCD TV! They call it "LED" because most LCD TVs are back-lit using floresencent bulbs around the edges, but this one is back-lit using a grid of little LED lights across the back. This grid allows the backligting to be turned off in areas of the screen where a black picture is shown. This supposedly makes the black darker than florescent lit LCDs, but i only noticed it when viewing from an angle.
Brand:
I narrowed the brand selection to Sony or Samsung. based upon reviews, including consumer mags, and store visits. I must say the Sony offering has fastastic picture crispness, color, etc, too. On the final purchase day, i took my wife with me ($3K is a joint decision). We compared a Sony BR9 52" with the Sansung 8000 55". after more than an hour of back and forth viewing we went with the Samsung. The decision was based on a slightly brigher picture (probably due to the LED vs Floresent back lighting), the extreme thinness (This TV is built to wall-mount, the Sony with a standard mount will protrude 5" into the room, this one with the 'picture hanger' mount from Samsung will protrude 2"), and the extra 3" of screen size.
Outcome:
I am so impressed with the Samsung after 2 weeks of use. Even standard non-HD cable looks good. It looks better in my house than the store feed. The embeded content (scenery, art, games, recipies, relaxing image&sounds) is cool for a demo, but not expected to be used too much. I haven't hooked it to the internet yet as i need either a 50' lan cable or the $79 wireless adapter. I will order the cable today. No bluray yet, but i watched HD-on-demand last night and it was sooo impresive. No buyer remorse here. Go get yours.