Samsung 8000 55in Smart 3D LED TV review

People’s opinions are often divided by motion smoothing; although it can reduce the judder effect that comes with watching a 1080p24 Blu-ray film on a display with a fast refresh rate, it can also eliminate some detail. The ‘standard’ version of Samsung’s Motion Plus smoothing system is enabled by default, but it’s overly sensitive, removing a surprising amount of detail from our Casino Royale test disc. Turning it down to the “clear” setting improved things a great deal, restoring most of the lost detail but maintaining a smooth picture. Unsurprisingly, it still couldn’t cope with extremely fast motion without some blurring, but action scenes were still enjoyable. For casual watching, the downward-firing speakers have a reasonable range and can produce surprisingly loud audio.

It’s super-slim too at just 30mm

As you would expect from a premium-priced TV, the 8000 has a comprehensive specification. You get Freeview HD and Freesat tuners built in, plus a multitude of connectivity options including four HDMI ports, component, DVI, VGA and three USB ports. Free to air HD channels looked crisp and vibrant, as did the higher-quality standard definition channels. BBC1 had reasonable levels of detail and even the lower bit-rate Freeview channels looked acceptable after being stretched across 55 inches.

All the ports you’d expect are present

If you attach an external hard disk to one of its three USB ports, the 8000 can record TV without the need for a separate media recorder. Unfortunately you’ll have to format your disk to Samsung’s proprietary format, but this is still cheaper than buying a separate set-top box. The other two USB ports will play all major video file formats from a connected memory stick, including DivX and MKV. You can also stream audio, video and image files from a compatible media player over LAN or using the built-in Wi-Fi adaptor.