Samsung UE46C8000 Review

The 3D TV market isn’t exactly packed at the moment, but unlike their current competitor, Samsung has a comparatively wide selection of 3D HDTV models on offer — although they do sit at the higher end of their product catalogue. Today, we’re reviewing the Samsung UE46C8000, which, as part of the C8000 series, is just one rung below the priciest C9000 TVs.

The Samsung UE46C8000 features a 1920x1080p LCD panel (no surprises there), which is illuminated by LEDs placed above and below the screen. This placement (as opposed to situating a light source behind the panel) allows for the incredibly thin chassis design that Samsung has been pushing lately. Of course, the Samsung UE46C8000 is also 3D capable, and is the first 3D LCD-based display we’ve reviewed here at HDTVTest. Let’s see if this sleek display can look great when it’s switched on as well as off!

Note: The specific model we tested was the Samsung UE46C8000XKXXU, denoting the United Kingdom version. However, high street stores like John Lewis and Comet, and online retailers such as Amazon and Dixons may sell this 3D TV as the Samsung UE46C8000, Samsung UE46C8000XK or Samsung UE46C8000XKXXU. All these terms refer to the same 3DTV. Although we did not review the 40-inch Samsung UE40C8000 or the 55-inch Samsung UE55C8000, there shouldn’t be any drastic difference in picture performance.

Design

Make no mistake, the Samsung UE46C8000 is one stunningly designed HDTV. The screen is surrounded by a thin border which has a silver “brushed titanium” appearance, which is in turn surrounded by an even thinner transparent acrylic border, the bottom of which has touch-sensitive zones. The display itself is unfathomably thin, measuring about 2cm at its deepest point. This is, of course, achieved by situating the light sources (LEDs) around the edges of the panel, and scattering this light across the entire screen with light guide plates.

Samsung UE46C8000

Silver TVs haven’t really been “in” since around 2005, and we’re sure there enough buyers who will be happy to see this styling return. With that said, after so many years of seeing only black, we did find the bezel mildly distracting at first. To stop the display falling over, it is supplied with a large “four-legged” silver stand.

The remote, too, has undergone a transformation to match the TV design. Like the TV, it’s styled in brushed titanium with a glossy silver trim. All of the “buttons” are hidden below the face, so although they do provide a little bit of feedback when you press them, operating takes a little bit of getting used to because you can no longer run your finger over the remote’s surface to find your way around (at least, not to the same degree as before – the remote does include some raised lines and a tactile dot for this purpose). We did appreciate that, like some of Samsung’s other remotes, the UE46C8000’s remote control features backlighting which can be enabled by pressing the dedicated button at the top-right.

Samsung SSG-2100AB 3D Glasses

Samsung supplied the UE46C8000 with a pair of their 3D active shutter glasses (model number SSG-2100AB), which came in a nifty triangular-shaped box. Unlike Panasonic, who supplied their glasses in a rigid-looking (but durable) plastic case, Samsung have taken a more fashionable approach and package them with a soft pouch — not unlike sunglasses. These glasses are definitely more comfortable to wear than Panasonic’s, which put pressure on the top of my nose. Samsung’s 3D glasses seem to transfer most of the weight to around the ears, which is considerably more comfortable, especially over long periods of time.

Critically, unlike the recently reviewed Panasonic TX-P50VT20, Samsung does not ship their display with 3D glasses (whereas Panasonic gave away 2 pairs with their 3D TV). This seems pretty stingy, given that the Samsung UE46C8000 is generally selling for at least as much as Panasonic’s display. Samsung is doing a deal though where you’d get two pairs of SSG-2100AB 3D glasses and a Monsters Vs Aliens 3D Blu-ray disc free if you buy the UE46C8000 together with the Samsung BD-C6900 3D Blu-ray player.

Connections

Whilst HDMI cables can be plugged directly into one of the Samsung UE46C8000’s 4 inputs, this LED LCD TV is so thin that most other connectors — especially the comedy-sized SCART cables which were cutting edge back in the 1980s — must be plugged into breakout adapter cables, which then plug into the TV. This is also the case for the RF aerial input. This isn’t terribly inconvenient, but it is a little unsightly. Of course, you’re never going to look at the back of the TV (or the sides either!)

With these supplied breakout cables, the Samsung UE46C8000 effectively has 2 SCART connections, a Component video input, a Composite video and stereo audio input, a PC “VGA” input, an Ethernet jack, and an Optical audio output. Since the physical inputs aren’t located on the TV itself, we wonder if Samsung would be able to let users customise the connectivity options of their ultra-thin TVs in the future. For example, the option to swap the SCART connectors out for extra sets of Component video connections would be a more useful feature, especially for gamers.

Rear connections on Samsung UE46C8000
Rear: 4x HDMI, breakouts for aerial, SCART, Composite, Component, VGA, LAN, Optical out

Operation

The Samsung UE46C8000 LED 3D TV uses the company’s familiar user interface, which looks and feels good. All of the details are stored per-input, just like the previously reviewed LE40C650 LCD TV. As with that display, we wish that Samsung included a “Copy to all” function so we could copy Greyscale and Colour settings to all inputs, then make minor adjustments as needed, rather than having to write down all our settings and re-enter them manually.

[Picture] menu [Advanced Settings] menu
[Picture] menu [Advanced Settings] menu

Like all of the higher end Samsung displays, the UE46C8000 3D TV features Greyscale controls, a fully-fledged 3D CMS (Colour Management System), and a basic Gamma control — in other words, almost everything we need to fine-tune the display and get the best possible picture from it. New for 2010, there is also a 10-point Greyscale adjustment — called [10p White Balance] — which is a more precise method of controlling Greyscale. If the Samsung UE46C8000’s Greyscale linearity is not good by default, we should hopefully be able to use this control to achieve a near-perfect result. (The [10p White Balance] feature is disabled when the Samsung UE46C8000 LED-lit LCD TV is in 3D mode or Game mode).

There are some other useful controls tucked away inside these menus, however, some of which we haven’t encountered before. The first of these is [LED Motion Plus], which has three different settings (as well as a fourth “Off” switch). This control houses options for backlight scanning and black frame insertion, which should increase the perceived motion clarity by countering the traditional sample-and-hold effects of LCD panels. The “Normal” setting claims to improve motion clarity across the whole screen, whereas “Cinema” and “Ticker” are said to improve motion in the middle (for use with Letterboxed 2.35:1 ratio movies), and the top and bottom of the screen, respectively. The difference between the different modes was difficult to discern, so we stuck with “Normal”.

There’s also the [Motion Plus] menu. This is Samsung’s 200hz system, and it’s our favourite out of all manufacturer’s attempts to improve LCD motion clarity. The reason for this is simple: [Motion Plus] allows you to set the De-blur and De-judder controls independently, which means that you can improve motion clarity without giving films the dreaded “soap-opera effect”. In other words, motion is clearer (albeit not at the same level as a Plasma TV), but the intended look of the film is not lost. This makes [Motion Plus] equally suited to film and video content, and we are baffled as to why more manufacturers don’t implement their 100hz/200hz systems in this way. We’ll discuss the effects of this control in more detail in the Motion Resolution section of the review.

Finally, [Smart LED] combines a variety of processing features in an effort to improve contrast.

3D Settings on Panasonic TX-P50VT20
Above: 3D Settings on Samsung UE46C8000

The controls for the 3D mode are housed in the main [Picture] menu, and are easy enough to get to. [3D Mode] has various settings, including the “2D > 3D” conversion mode (which we’ll take a good look at later), Side-Side, Top-Bottom, Line-by-Line, Vertical Stripe, CheckerBoard, and Frequency, the correct choice depending on how the 3D content is stored. All of these different modes are indicated by icons.

[3D > 2D] does exactly what it says, and flattens 3D content into 2D, by displaying the Left eye image only — useful for when you run out of glasses for everyone. [3D View Point] adjusts the overall depth of the 3D images, moving objects backwards or forwards on the Z-axis. [Depth], on the other hand, adjusts the intensity of the 2D-to-3D conversion.

[Picture Correction] swaps the left and right eye images around, for use with content mastered out-of-phase (we’re unsure if any of this exists, but Samsung are not the only manufacturer to include the option, just in case). [3D Auto View], if engaged, will automatically enable the 3D mode when the Samsung UE46C8000 detects 3D content (it requires metadata inside the HDMI signal in order to work). Lastly, there is a [3D Optimisation] control, the effects of which were difficult to spot. Samsung’s manual and on-screen text do a predictably poor job of describing these settings, which is a shame — the controls on 2D TVs already mystify users enough.

2D Calibration

Note: Our Samsung UE46C8000 review sample was calibrated using Calman Professional, the industry-leading video calibration software.

2D Mode Greyscale

After unboxing the Samsung UE46C8000, we took it out of it’s blazingly bright “Normal” picture mode and instead selected the “Movie” preset. We then set as many picture parameters as we could without the help of a measuring device. We were able to set [Brightness], [Contrast], [Sharpness], [Colour], and [Tint] in this way. Normally, it is not possible to set [Colour] and [Tint] without a measuring device, but we were able to in this case thanks to Samsung’s inclusion of Red/Green/Blue only options.

Pre-calibration CCT
Pre-calibration CCT in [Movie] mode
Pre-calibration RGB Tracking
Pre-calibration RGB tracking and delta errors (dEs)

As delivered, the Samsung UE46C8000’s Greyscale tracking was not especially linear, nor accurate. The image was somewhat red-biased, except at 10% stimulus, where it was visibly pushed toward blue. Furthermore, the greyscale characteristics shifted visibly when the Samsung UE46C8000 was viewed from the sides, making the “Greyscale Logs” test pattern look somewhat pastel-coloured.

To start with, we used the LED TV’s [White Balance] menu to have a first pass at cleaning up Greyscale tracking. This produced an improvement, but our initial attempt produced a large spike of green at 10% stimulus, making shadows visibly sickly-looking. We used a different calibration strategy (calibrating at 10% and 90%, rather than at 20% and 80%) and managed to shift the inaccuracies to a place where they would be less noticeable (tints in brighter areas are harder to detect than those in shadows).

After this, we began using the [10p White Balance] controls, which add to the changes made in the basic [White Balance] screen. Our original attempt at calibration in this screen actually made Greyscale tracking considerably worse. On the CCFL-backlit Samsung LE40C650 LCD TV, we simply worked our way through each point and fine-tuned tracking as much as we could. Unfortunately, on the Samsung UE46C8000, this strategy would correct the point we were trying to tune up, at the expense of adding even worse, new problems elsewhere.

In the end, we managed to get great results with the 10-point control, but we had to use it very gently. We first attacked the middle of Greyscale tracking spikes and worked our way outwards, gently balancing the values as we went, being sure not to push the controls too far for fear of creating new problems elsewhere. The end result produced excellent Greyscale tracking (a miniscule bump at 60 IRE can still be seen):

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

Likewise, Gamma was surprisingly accurate on the Samsung UE46C8000. We had to adjust the LED LCD TV’s [Gamma] control to -2 to achieve this result.

Gamma curve in [Movie] mode Gamma tracking in [Movie] mode
Gamma curve in [Movie] mode Corresponding gamma tracking

2D Mode Colour

There were few surprises with colour on the Samsung UE46C8000 HDTV. Samsung’s colour management system is highly effective and allowed us to fine-tune the saturation, hue and luminance of each colour to a high degree of accuracy. As with other Samsung TVs, we occasionally ran out of range in which to adjust the controls: in some cases, it would have been beneficial to take some of the settings below zero, but this was not possible.

Post-calibration CIE chart in [Movie] mode
Post-calibration CIE chart with reference to HD Rec.709
Post-calibration Luminance levels in [Movie] mode
Post-calibration colour luminance (coloured bars = targets; black bars = measured values)

However, the calibrated colour accuracy is still very good. We managed to correct the minor hue errors that existed with green, red, cyan and yellow, but were unable to fully saturate red or blue. We did manage to saturate red more during our tests, but this brought its luminance level up to an unacceptably high level. Naturally, we calibrated to achieve the lowest overall error possible. As is typical with Samsung’s newer HDTVs, colour decoding errors were effectively non-existent after calibration, meaning that no colour was over-represented on screen.

3D Calibration

The uncharted waters of 3D calibration are a scary place, since just like the industry itself, we are learning as we go. Of course, no relevant standard for home 3D content exists at the time of writing, but because content is developed using existing 2D equipment, we are currently calibrating the Samsung UE46C8000 3D TV to the same standards.

In order to get a better idea of the accuracy of this process, we enabled the Samsung UE46C8000’s 3D mode and measured it “bare”, to get an idea of how the panel’s Greyscale and Gamma tracking would hold up. The characteristics were slightly different, but the Samsung UE46C8000’s tracking was more linear and similar to the 2D mode than that of Panasonic’s VT20 Plasma when we measured it “bare”. Armed with this knowledge, we attached (OK, OK… sticky-taped) the Samsung SSG-2100AB 3D glasses to our Klein Instruments K-10 colorimeter and began measuring.

Only the “Standard” and “Movie” picture modes are accessible when the Samsung UE46C8000 is in 3D mode. Changing the “Movie” mode settings which we had already calibrated for 2D content was not a path we wanted to take, so instead we chose the “Standard” mode, matched the settings of “Movie”, and then calibrated from there. We also increased the Backlight setting to its full value of 20 to compensate for the brightness loss stemming from the 3D glasses.

3D Mode Greyscale

3D Pre-calibration CCT
3D Pre-calibration CCT in [Movie] mode
3D Pre-calibration RGB Tracking
3D Pre-calibration RGB tracking and delta errors (dEs)

The final greyscale tracking in 3D mode was not as impressive as that of 2D mode. Part of this was because the [10p White Balance] control is not active in 3D, but we imagine that the glasses themselves are also partly guilty. Additionally, the fact that the 3D glasses keep shutting off (depending on their location relative to the TV) means that it is much more time consuming to calibrate in 3D — perhaps if we had a way of forcing the glasses to stay on, we could have spent more time improving the result. Regardless, the 3D greyscale measurements from the Samsung UE46C8000 3D LCD TV were more accurate than that on the Panasonic VT20 Plasma 3D TV.

The results of this were mirrored with the 3DTVs’ real-world performance. The Samsung UE46C8000’s 3D images did indeed have a slightly more natural look (albeit with other downsides, which we’ll discuss later). We are unsure how much of this is related to the fact that the LED LCD TV can pump out more light than a Plasma (to compensate for the brightness loss of the glasses). Loss of light has a tremendous effect on our perception of colour, which could also help explain the differences.

3D Post-calibration CCT in [Movie] mode
3D Post-calibration CCT in [Movie] mode
3D Post-calibration RGB Tracking in [Movie] mode
3D Post-calibration RGB tracking and dEs in [Movie] mode
3D Gamma curve in [Movie] mode 3D Gamma tracking in [Movie] mode
3D Gamma curve in [Movie] mode 3D Corresponding gamma tracking

3D Mode Colour

Irritatingly, Samsung’s colour management settings are stored per-input — not per viewing mode, like Panasonic’s implementation. This means that calibrating 3D mode on the same HDMI input would have affected 2D colour performance. Since 3D content makes up a minority of viewing right now, and since we didn’t think anyone would want to dedicate a second input and a second player just for 3D content, we simply set the [Colour Space] to “Auto”, which resulted in decent colour. We originally tried “Native”, but through the glasses, this resulted in some colours appearing undersaturated.

Samsung are aware of our request for separate 2D and 3D Colour Management memories.

3D Post-calibration CIE chart in [Movie] mode
3D Post-calibration CIE chart with reference to HD Rec.709
3D Post-calibration Luminance levels in [Movie] mode
3D Post-calibration colour luminance (coloured bars = targets; black bars = measured values)

Benchmark Test Results

Dead pixels One dead pixel in top middle
Screen uniformity Negligible clouding face-on when calibrated
Overscanning on HDMI 0% with [Aspect Ratio] set to “Screen Fit”
Blacker than black Passed
Calibrated black level 0 cd/m2 due to Dimming, 0.06 cd/m2 with APL test pattern
Black level retention Unstable, light output fluctuates
Primary chromaticity Very good after calibration in [Movie] mode
Scaling Very good in 2D, below average in 3D
Video mode deinterlacing Very effective jaggies reduction
Film mode deinterlacing Passed 2:2 PAL and almost all NTSC cadences!
Viewing angle Average, characteristics shift from sides, clouding appears
Motion resolution 1080 with [Motion Plus] and [LED Motion Plus]
Digital noise reduction Effective 3D NR; forthcoming firmware update eradicates subtle undefeatable NR
Sharpness Defeatable edge enhancement
Luma/Chroma bandwidth Full Luma, slightly blurred Chroma except in [Game] mode
1080p/24 capability Subtle judder (see notes*)
Input lag 32ms in “Game Mode” compared to lag-free CRT
Full 4:4:4 reproduction No, 4:4:4 input subsampled

* Notes on judder: see the “High Definition” section below for more info on this TV’s 24p playback performance.

Power Consumption

Default [Standard] mode (2D) 107 watts
Default [Standard] mode (3D) 120 watts
Calibrated [Movie] mode (2D) 82 watts
Calibrated [Standard] mode (3D) 111 watts
Standby 1 watt

* Measurements taken with full 50% grey screen.

Picture Performance

Black Level

The most obvious thing to mention regarding the Samsung UE46C8000’s black level is the fact that this HD TV, like Samsung’s previous LED LCDs, has quite aggressive auto-dimming, meaning that the intensity of the LEDs is varied according to the average picture level of the programme content. This is a little distracting, and basically means that the picture visibly dims and brightens at times.

This auto-dimming does mean that the Samsung UE46C8000’s black level can be as deep as 0 cd/m2, because the light output from the television can be turned off entirely. Of course, the only thing that would be good for would be watching a black screen! To measure the Samsung UE46C8000’s useful black level, we used an Average Picture Level pattern which let us better assess the black level quality that will be seen with actual video material. Blacks here measured at 0.06 cd/m2, which is a good result.

Of course, you might be thinking, “Does it really matter how the black level is achieved if the television can manage deep enough blacks?” — and the answer to that is yes, because black level is only one part of contrast performance. The TV’s peak white output is also important. Deep black levels are highly sought after in display devices because they allow for a very high, sastisfying contrast ratio (the measurement of the deepest blacks to the whitest whites). On an LCD / LED LCD TV which lowers its lighting during dark programme content, the entire picture is dulled, meaning that the quality of the whites is decreased in order to gain deeper blacks. This means that material such as, for example, a mainly black sci-fi scene with small white stars, would lose much of its impact. In fact, the Samsung UE46C8000 doesn’t just lower its LEDs, it sometimes turns them off completely, so during a prolonged fade to black, you may get a brief glimpse of what absolute black looks like, followed by the picture rapidly brightening again.

Viewing Angle

The viewing angle of Samsung UE46C8000 appears to be slightly poorer than that of cheaper Samsung CCFL-backlit LCD TVs, such as the recently reviewed LE40C650. Like all VA panels, off-axis viewing results in slightly lightened black level, and selectively shifted gamma characteristics. The effect seems a little more extreme here, but the off-axis image is by no means unwatchable. Unfortunately, the lightened black level also results in more clouding (un-uniformity) being visible when the Samsung UE46C8000 LED TV is viewed from the sides. It would appear that slightly poorer off-axis picture quality is one of the compromises of such a remarkably thin flat-screen HDTV.

Motion Resolution

Samsung’s Motion Plus system is without a doubt our favourite attempt at fixing the age-old problem of LCD motion blur. Its “Blur Reduction” and “Judder Reduction” controls can be indepently adjusted, meaning that users can reduce LCD blur (in exchange for some much less frequent errors and overall cleaner motion) without having to rely on a motion interpolation feature. Motion interpolation is what gives films and film-derived content (like high-budget US shows and of course, films) the cheesy “soap opera” look, so it is fantastic that we can avoid it on the Samsung UE46C8000.

We ran our very challenging motion resolution test patterns using the Motion Plus feature, and confirmed that there was no motion interpolation going on in the “Clear” mode. Instead of LCD blur, though, we noticed digital processing artefacts during the very challenging portions. We never noticed them during actual viewing, though, so we left the system enabled to reap its many other benefits. Using the FPD Benchmark Software test disc, we confirmed a motion resolution of no less than 1080 lines (albeit with a few digital processing glitches visible). Regardless, this is a shockingly high number (least of all from an LCD screen), which puts the Samsung UE46C8000 on the same numerical level as Panasonic’s top-end Plasma, the TX-P50VT20. Of course, this is not the whole story, because the sample-and-hold nature of LCD still produces a little bit more perceived motion blur during actual content.

We have one other important to point to make regarding [Motion Plus] and 3D content. For some reason, if you enable the “Smooth” or “Custom” Motion Plus modes, the Samsung UE46C8000 will enable overscan, causing the edges of the picture to be lost. Normally we can use the remote control’s P.SIZE button to select the “Screen Fit” mode for a clear 1:1 picture, but the aspect ratio control is locked out when the TV is in 3D mode. This significantly decreases picture quality, because the quality of the Samsung UE46C8000’s scaling is considerably worse (in fact, pixellated) in 3D mode. Therefore, users must be absolutely sure that they have the [Motion Plus] option either disabled or set to “Clear” to get the best 3D picture quality. Fortunately, this was no real loss, because the “Clear” Motion Plus mode arguably the most useful, anyway. However, we imagine that there are many Samsung UE46C8000s intalled out there that are operating at much less than their full potential, so we must stress this point to our readers.

3D Material

After we got to the bottom of why the Samsung UE46C8000 was initially producing blurry 3D video and managed to bypass its scaling process (noted above), we slipped on Samsung’s comfortable SSG-2100AB 3D glasses, and had a look at the small amount of 3D content that we currently have access to.

We started with the best first — 3D Full HD Blu-ray discs (both of them). First up, Monsters Versus Aliens (I can tell I’m going to get sick of re-watching this film VERY quickly!). We could immediately see that there was indeed more crosstalk visible than on the last 3D TV we reviewed, which was based on Plasma display technology. Crosstalk is when images intended to reach one eye leak into the other, producing a ghosted double-image around objects in the picture. LCDs have never been known for their motion clarity, but in the 2D world, panel response time issues only meant that remnants of previous frames stayed on screen longer than they should, causing smearing. In 3D, motion blur has a much worse effect, since the Left and Right eye images effectively get smeared into one another. What was once a temporal-only limitation now affects still pictures, too. Crosstalk was especially noticeable during the dark opening scenes in the bedroom at the start of this film, producing strange off-white ghost images around facial features.

However, with all of this said, the crosstalk situation is nothing like as bad as we were expecting, and it’s not a clear case of 3D LCD being inferior to PDP, because Samsung’s 3D implementation does have a few advantages over Panasonic’s. The first is overall light output, which is better on this display. LCD and LED LCD televisions have always been able to pump out nauseatingly high amounts of light, a trait which has only previously been useful in situations where the TV must compete with other ambient light in order to produce a sufficiently bright picture. However, the light loss caused by 3D shutter glasses means that we have a newfound use for this high light output.

The second is Greyscale linearity. Although it’s not perfect, the Greyscale tracking (in 3D mode, calibrated through the active glasses) is superior on the Samsung to the Panasonic. In a nutshell, this results in more natural looking images which do not have as strong a blue tint to them. (Natural, that is, if you discount the crosstalk artefacts, which can be slightly irritating at times).

One downside that has been noted of Samsung’s 3D TV design is that the viewer must be sitting upright in order to see the 3D image. If you tilt your head to the sides, you’ll notice that the image will become darker, to the point of being almost fully black if you’re lying with your head to the side. This is the result of the polarizers in the LCD shutter glasses clashing with the polarizing filter in the LCD screen itself. Frankly, we don’t feel this is a significant performance limitation.

One other notable characteristic is the slightly “stippled” look that the entire screen has when the Samsung UE46C8000’s 3D mode is enabled. We understand that this is due to the new drive mechanism that Samsung has implemented in their 3D-capable LCD panels in order to increase response time. On the other hand, the Panasonic TX-P50VT20’s Plasma panel produced more PWM noise (dithering) in the picture when showing 3D content, but overall this is less noticeable and less frequent than the Samsung’s “stippled” look. Neither of these characteristics are especially troubling, and are mentioned for completeness only.

Another downside of Samsung’s 3DTV display is scaling, which we briefly mentioned above. The Samsung UE46C8000’s scaling performance in 3D mode is below average. With the 3D test pattern we made, fine pixel-thin text became eroded when the Samsung UE46C8000 was scaling the side-by-side images to the full width of the screen. This is a major consideration for anyone who investing in a 3D TV to use with Sky 3D satellite service (or equivalent services across the world). This limitation did not exist on the Panasonic VT20 3D TV, which did a much better job of side-by-side 3D material. Samsung are investigating this issue as we speak.

Ideal 3D scaling
Ideal scaling performance on Side-by-Side 3D resolution test chart
Samsung UE46C8000 3D scaling
Flawed scaling in 3D mode on Samsung UE46C8000

2D > 3D Conversion Mode

One potential ace up Samsung’s sleeve is their 2D-to-3D conversion mode. If this works, it’ll be a fantastic way to address the current dearth of 3D content. Before we discuss the results, readers are probably wondering how on earth Z-axis (depth) information can come out of nowhere — especially in real time, in the back of a semi-affordable TV set!

During 2D-3D conversion, Samsung’s processing first analyses the frequency range and motion characteristics of the incoming 2D image. Next, the video processor chip separates images into low frequency, middle frequency, and high frequency components. In photography, the goal is to have the subject focused (resulting in high frequency content) with the background being more blurred (low frequency). Therefore, some information about depth can be obtained via this frequency analysis. Theoretically, it is HD content transferred from Film that will benefit the most from this process, since this content has an inherently wide frequency range.

So, how did it look? Frankly, much of the “feel” came from the novelty of wearing the glasses and observing the different look that the active shutters gave the on-screen image. The effect is not entirely convincing, and to be honest, we think that many people will become disinterested quite quickly. With this said, Samsung’s approach of deriving depth information from frequency analysis is a great idea, and we hope that the technology will mature to the point of being more useful.

One other point to note regarding this which is of special interest to us here in Europe (and also any other readers in 50hz areas such as Australia and New Zealand): the 3D modes of this display operate around a 60hz-centric design. Any 50hz content (European DVDs and Digital TV broadcasts) will no longer be displayed at a multiple of 50 when the 2D-to-3D mode is enabled, so there will be visible motion judder in this case. Unfortunately, this also affects HD content, since Europe made the poorly judged decision to drag the now-inferior 50hz refresh rate into the HD era.

Standard Definition

Ah, standard definition 2D TV. Anyone remember that? Of course, all joking aside, this still makes up an (unfortunately) high proportion of viewing. Fortunately, Samsung’s recent displays have been doing a fantastic job here, and the UE46C8000 LED TV is no different.

Samsung’s scaling doesn’t produce quite as crisp a picture as Panasonic’s (who, coincidentally, probably have the best in-TV scaling around right now), but that’s not to say it’s necessarily worse. In fact, it is very slightly more suited to overcompressed digital TV content because it does not put as much emphasis on high frequencies (which results in mosquito noise being less visible).

In terms of deinterlacing, the Samsung UE46C8000 also did a great job. It retrieved full resolution from 2:2 PAL Film material (even when the pulldown pattern was out of phase, as is the case on some old analogue telecine material from the 1970s and 1980s – something we almost never see a TV do). For the American-centric NTSC standard, the 2:2, 2:2:2:4 DVCAM, 2:2:2:4 DVCAM, 3:2:3:2:2 Varispeed, 5:5 Animation, 6:4 Animation, 8:7 Anime, and 3:2 Film cadences all passed, which is an outstanding result (the only one which failed was clean for the most part but produced jaggies occasionally). It was also equally adept at smoothing jagged edges in the video mode deinterlacing tests, meaning that jaggies will essentially never appear in SD material.

The Samsung UE46C8000’s performance here is outstanding, making the most of the SD situation.

High Definition

Unfortunately, one of the first things I noticed on the Samsung UE46C8000 was the fact that the finest high-frequency grain and noise textures were not being cleanly reproduced. This is a characteristic that the Samsung UE46C8000 shares with the LE40C650 which we reviewed recently, and we really wish that the company would allow the user to turn off all forms of noise reduction should they wish. (These TVs do feature a Noise Filter setting which does have an “Off” option, only setting it “Off” does not stop this subtle blurring from taking place).

We have reported this issue to Samsung, who had their engineers in Korea work around the clock to get us a new firmware revision with the undefeatable smoothing disabled. This worked wonderfully, and we are assured that a firmware update for all users is forthcoming. We also hope that Samsung will apply this change across the rest of their product range.

District 9

The Samsung UE46C8000’s auto-dimming was also apparent. One of the most obvious manifestations came during a candle-lit dinner scene in the Region A Blu-ray Disc release of Weeds: Season 5, where one of the actors moves their head down out of the frame. When the actor’s face is absent, the scene has less bright picture content, so the UE46C8000 LED LCD TV immediately dims its light output. This is really pretty distracting, and it would be good if more control was given to the user.

These quirks are not to say that HD material on the Samsung UE46C8000 can’t look good, though. If the viewer is sitting face-on and can tolerate the dimming (or is watching bright content that will not reveal it) then the picture quality has most of the strengths we commonly associate with Samsung’s LCD TVs: namely accurate Greyscale, clean motion, great colour, and contrast performance that is great by LCD standards.

* Notes on judder: when I first used my favourite test sequence (chapter 12 of Wall-e) to look for 24fps motion judder, I was surprised to see that the Samsung UE46C8000 was not rendering the gentle pans across outer space smoothly, even in 2D mode. I later discovered that [Motion Plus] set to either “Off” or “Clear” produced mild judder, whereas selecting “Custom” with the settings Blur Reduction: 10 and Judder Reduction: 0 cured the judder, but instead produced mild motion interpolation (yes, even with both controls set to 0) — something we haven’t noticed on previous Samsung displays. Both of these small flaws are mild, however.

District 9 screenshot 2

We then tested all of the main 3D modes (2D to 3D conversion, 3D Side by Side, and Blu-ray 3D frame-packed video) to look for judder. 3D had subtle (tolerable) judder at all times, regardless of the mode. Interestingly, with 3D, the [Motion Plus] settings often made no difference to the picture, but they could still be selected.

Console Gaming

Gaming was a decent experience on the Samsung UE46C8000. In its normal mode, there is enough input lag to make games completely unplayable, but thankfully, “Game mode” shaves this figure down to a much better 32ms. This is not an amazing figure, but it’s pretty standard for an LCD display and should please most users.

Since a good number of upcoming 3D games are likely to use the “Side by Side” method, we also tested the input lag in this mode. Input lag here measured at 41ms.

Note that both of these figures were measured sending 1080p/60 to the display. Input lag measurements for 720p were higher. Please ensure that your console’s video output is set to 1080p (in the case of the Xbox 360, this means that scaling will take place in the game console).

Conclusion

As a 2D TV, the Samsung UE46C8000 is potentially decent. Despite featuring excellent post-calibration greyscale performance and standard-def video processing, the package comes with a few other caveats: namely auto-dimming, non-uniformity, undefeatable noise reduction, poor scaling in 3D mode, and viewing angle issues. Some of these points seem to be specific to Samsung’s ultra-slim LED LCDs, making these displays something of a compromise between style and performance. Videophiles are unlikely to tolerate these deficiencies all for the sake of reducing the size of the chassis by a few centimetres, but style-conscious viewers would likely have a different view.

Unfortunately, this is at odds with the fact that the Samsung UE46C8000 is on the 3D cutting edge. It’s one of a handful of 3D displays available at the moment, meaning that early adopters (who probably have a serious interest in the highest quality video) will be keeping a close, discerning eye on it.

As for 3D LCD vs 3D Plasma: both Samsung and Panasonic’s 3D TVs have advantages and disadvantages. We think that most consumers will find the additional crosstalk on the Samsung UE46C8000 more objectionable than the less linear Greyscale tracking (which results in a less natural-looking image) on the Panasonic TX-P50VT20. Viewers who are buying a 3D TV with Sky’s 3D satellite content in mind should be wary of the Samsung UE46C8000, due to the poor picture quality it presented in Side-By-Side 3D mode. Round one, overall, goes to Panasonic, who managed to produce an outstanding 2D display with a good first attempt at 3D with their TX-P50VT20. However, the gap is not as close as we were expecting, so we will be very interested to see how traditional “bulky” (term used ironically) CCFL-backlit Samsung LCDs (the C750 series) do 3D. Viewers who are willing to sacrifice overall picture quality to gain an incredibly thin chassis, and gain access to the world of 3D, will likely find a lot to like with the Samsung UE46C8000 — but the price of entry is high given the overall performance.

Qualified Recommendation

Note: Since Samsung is producing ongoing firmware updates for the UE46C8000 to tackle the issues we reported, we are likely to re-visit this review at a later date to keep track of any improvements, and amend the rating accordingly.

256 comments

  1. Hello, excellent thorough review as always! How do the speakers compare with the panasonic 3DTV? I can only imagine they aren’t very good due to the thin chassis.

  2. David Mackenzie

    They are a little bit of the puny side. In fact they sometimes even caused distortion during speech, but that wasn’t often. Normally we don’t discuss how a TV’s own speakers sound, since the answer will almost always be “average”.

  3. Can you post you settings after the set was calibrated? So other people can make use of them?

  4. David Mackenzie

    I will dig them out, yes.

  5. Excellent and informative review. However i think at some points you were way too harsh on the TV’s performance. You said “In its normal mode, there is enough input lag to make games completely unplayable”… I honestly do not think any TV Manufacturer would allow a HDTV to be released that can render games unplayable. I have seen the C8000 Myself and there is no problem with the games in my opinion. Perhaps you should change the wording in some parts of your review because you may mislead people to completely miss out on this HDTV due to the fact you stated games are not playable on standard settings which i can assure is completely untrue.

    Best regards, Kishan Purohit

  6. David Mackenzie

    Hi Kishan, thanks for the comments.
    If you find games playable without enabling Game Mode, then I can only surmise that what you’re playing doesn’t require fast reflexes. First person shooters like Halo 3 were utterly painful until Game Mode was turned on. If not “unplayable”, then I think losing all the time due to ~100ms of input is “unenjoyable”, if we’re being especially polite.

    In any case, I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t buy the TV because of it? People who want to play games on the TV are going to enable Game Mode for the best experience.

    Settings to come…

  7. Which would u say was the better 3D TV this or the Panasonic VT20?

  8. David Mackenzie

    The Panasonic.

  9. Thanks for the review. Considering buying the tv.
    I think its unfair to compare it to Plasma. Well. Impossible, as it is to different techs.
    But I assume, that the reason for doing it, is because LCD has come far and are getting closer to the picture quality of Plasma. Which means that it is an improvement for the lcd. So from that point of view, the review is a bit harsh.
    I am looking to buy the tv, but input lag worries me as it would be used for gaming.
    How would it compare to Samsung C750? The ccfl lcd.

  10. Is it possible to disable auto-dimming? It’s really annoying, for me this feature looks so, ummm.. stupid, I can’t believe they insist on it.

  11. “…so we will be very interested to see how traditional “bulky” (term used ironically) CCFL-backlit Samsung LCDs (the C750 series) do 3D.”

    Very interesting! When can we expect a review of a C750? ;)

  12. David Mackenzie

    @Sune: interesting, why do you think it’s unfair to compare to PDP? They’re both HD televisions that retail for around the same price.

    ~30ms of input lag shouldn’t worry you too much unless you’re a hardcore gamer and/or have a lag-free reference. The best TVs right now for gaming are the Panasonic Plasmas.

    @SL: no, it’s not.

  13. Thanks for your reply David.

    I think it is two different technologies which cannot be compared equally. I mean, it is appriciated that you hold up the difference between them, but I dont think the conclusion should be a race between them. At this point, it is difficult to compare it to any other lcd tv as there arent really any, but philips should have the 8605 just around the corner, which I think would be a better comparison, same price range and i think that it might be a really close competition between those two.
    I was considering the Panny, but i set a limit on the budget which compares to the 40 inch C8000 and we will most likely have to buy a new tv next year, due to Improved 3d quality.

  14. David, great review! 2 questions:
    What is the best AMP setting according to you? Clear or custom with blur 10 and judder 0?
    Which one had the best 2D PQ? The C650 or the C8000?

  15. Do you have a timeframe for when you will put up the settings? I am looking foreward seing them:)

  16. also, do you suggest using the film mode auto1 or auto2 mode?

  17. Hi, nice review, thanks!

    Im looking to buy a new tv as im moving home but want to see all of them first, do you have any idea when would you review the LG 55LX9900 or the samsung PS63C7000?

    Do you think that the samsung plasma tv would be near the panasonic in 3D quality? As they almost have the same price and the samsung is 63″ while the panasonic is just 50″.

    Thanks

  18. Mike: Film mode settings Auto1 and Auto2 works the same way on every Samsung TV. Auto1 is for “pure” film, where all frames are progressive. Auto2 is for film with overlayed (interlaced) video graphics – like some TV documents. Film mode detection takes some time and autoswitching on/off creates some artefacts. So I set it off by default and use it only when watching film broadcasted in TV.

  19. Great review as allways in fact the best on the net.
    This thin “edge leds” are really nice to look at but im holding on for more of them backlight led to land on the market.
    Must be alot better to be able to dim sections of led on the screen for great blacks, the one thing “edge leds” missing.

  20. Thanks for the great review i have had my 46″ c8000 now for 2 weeks and im loving it, Could you please post the full settings you used to get the best picture, Like 10p white balance and colour space etc.

    Thank You.

  21. Dear David
    Please give me on e-mail all parameters the professional calibration UE46C8000
    Thank you

  22. Did you think that most of the issues the Samsung was having were inherent to the LCD technology? I ask this because Samsung had also already introduced 3D Plasma TV’s, and the price difference is very huge with Panasonic (50vt20 going for 2000 euro if you can get a good deal, and the ps50C7700 already as low as 1300 euro at some retailers).
    So I am very curious if you think the Samsung plasma 3DTV’s will hold up against the Panasonic.
    Speaking of which, is the site also going to review the Samsung plasma 3DTV’s?

  23. Still not time estimate when you wil put uo you celibrated settings for this 8000 series? Could really use them:)

  24. Top review as always David,
    Don’t suppose you tried the 2D – 3D conversion while doing a bit of gaming?
    Just curious about whether it would look any good,

    Cheers.

  25. David Mackenzie

    @Sune: given how superior the better PDPs are for most uses, it’d be easy to say “let’s stop comparing LCDs to PDPs”. But the better LCDs put up a damn good fight at times, so I don’t think it’d be fair to sideline them, personally.

    @Mike: I didn’t see any issues (with real world content) from using 10 for Blur Reduction and 0 for Judder Reduction. Any AMP-related issues, that is.

    For everyone asking for settings: unfortunately this is going to take a little longer. Samsung have been sending us new firmware updates to fix issues so I don’t have any right now. I will make sure to post them before the TV goes back, though.

    @David: review requests noted. If you sign up to the HDTVtest VIP list, you can actually vote on what gets reviewed next: http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/VIP/

    I can only guess what Samsung’s 3D PDP is going to be like. I really want to test one, though.

    @Harm: the crosstalk issue is basically LCD-related.

    @Neil: I did in fact, and it made very little difference, since games do not have a wide frequency range (everything in the picture is in focus, so there’s not a lot for the TV to judge depth from).

  26. Hi David! I’ll be very pleased if you could post the setting after calibration… Thank you so much

  27. From what ive read so far about the Samsung PDP 3D HDTVs they are inferior to the Pansonics in 2D picture accuracy and there black level isnt as good.

    However they have alot less crosstalk than there more exspensive LED LCD counterparts.

    I think and hope that 3D will bring back the love for plasma technology to the general public .

    Please note i am not in anyway saying the above notes as facts its just what ive gathered elsewhere.

  28. Hello David,
    think you very much for this excellent review !!
    I have the 46C8700 (Europe ref of the TV) since one week and i’m pretty convinced.
    Calibration for 2D is complicated and for once i use the “standard” mode (and sometimes i switch on normal mode ;)).
    I would be very interested (seems i’m not the only one) by your settings :)

  29. David Mackenzie

    Hi Lazer,
    Use the “Movie” mode for now. I will post settings once the firmware situation is ironed out – promise!

  30. Hey David.
    Any chance you can test the edge enhancement feature with some chroma tests? A review on av forums of a samsung plasma found that edge enhancement actually effected chroma, rather some kind sharpness option.

  31. David Mackenzie

    Hi Dave – I actually wrote that review. That was the case for last year’s models – I believe from briefly checking out the control on the 2010 versions, it has a very small effect on Luminance too now. But yes, it is primarily a chroma sharpening option.

  32. Thanks for another great review David!

    Would you please publish the calibration settings you used?
    What kind of panel did the review sample use?

    Thanks!

  33. Nice Review!

    I am planning to buy the Samsung 46″ LED 3DTV soon.

    I want to double check if I will have any problems supporting the devices I already own.

    I have 4 devices that will need HDMI connection, 1 component connection and 1 connecction for my PC (D-Sub or DVI)

    Will the TV be able to support all the devices without a problem?

  34. Eric Kerckhoffs

    Hello David,

    First of all, again a great review!

    I’m thinking of buying the 32″ model because the other sizes are to big for my viewing situation. Are there going to be big differences compared to the bigger models. I know the small version does not have 3d so will there be a different panel type, image processor etc.

    Hope to here from you.

    With kind regards,
    Eric Kerckhoffs

  35. Still no settings for the TV??

  36. I have recently viewed this tv and the panasonic v20 to me picture quality on the panasonic is much better and the 3d performance is slightly better.I found that with the samsung in 3d there was a lot of noticeable flickering with fast moving motion and a haloing effect around objects. This was still present on the panasonic but to a lesser extent.

  37. David Mackenzie

    @Morten: still none. Please hang tight – we’re waiting on a clarification of the firmware update from Samsung. Just a little bit longer and picture quality should be improved for everyone :)

  38. On the Samsung internet site there is a firmware upgrade available:
    FM/201005/20100531151335500/T-VALDEUC_1013.2.exe

    Can’t wait to the addepted review

  39. Hi,

    Is it possible to post the setting you used for the review please.

    I’ve just taken delivery and am really struggling to stop the juddering / flickering on BluRays.

    Also, coming from year of Panny’s, I’m not used to the Samsung interface and am struggling working my way around it.

    Your help would be very much appreciated.

    Thanks,

    Andrew

  40. Also, and without coming across thick…if I use ‘movie’ setting in HDMI port 4 (as an example), will i need to set up another setting for 3D films (e.g. ‘Dynamic / Normal, etc).

    I notice that if you set the setting in ‘movie’ for HDMI port 4 it doesn’t reconginse it when you watch normal TV for example. So I am right in saying that you need to set the settings for each input – HDMI 1, HDMI 2, TV, Component, etc, etc?

    Thanks.

    Andrew

  41. David Mackenzie

    @Eric: this one doesn’t fix the issues yet – we’re still waiting. Samsung are working hard on it.

    Regarding the interface, what are you looking for?

    Your second question: Samsung’s settings are per-input. They are different for each video input.

  42. @ David: Thanks for the info, I will be hanging on, bought my 40″ today.

  43. The Samsung 46C750 received the same firmware update as the C8000s and -to my eyes at least- it doesn’t appear to have made any difference to the picture. Hopefully they’ll sort things out soon.

  44. Thanks for letting me know re: settings per input.

    Do I also have to change the settings for 2D and 3D.

    e.g. If I am in HDMI 1 and watching a 2D BluRay in ‘Movie” and then want to watch a 3D, can I change the settings for ‘Movie’ but without losing the config for 2D?

    Hope that makes sense.

    In short, do I need to have ‘movie’ for 2D and ‘standard’ for 3D if both signals are coming from the same BluRay player?

    Thanks a lot.

    Andrew

  45. David Mackenzie

    @Andrew: no, you can’t. I briefly touched on this in the review, unfortunately changing “Movie” settings in 3D mode will affect the mode in 2D, too. That’s why I switched to “Normal” as a next best thing.

  46. Hi David, great review, most of which (as a novice to all this) seems very complex. I received the ue46c8000 on Sunday and have struggled to get what I think is a reasonable picture since. Some of the comments you have made above make me think there are changes I can make to improve things, so would appreciate a look at the settings you used when they come available.

    I have to say that it is a great piece of kit overall though.

    Many thanks,

    Phil

  47. Thank you for an exellent review. Concerning your conclusion, that Panasonic TX-P50VT20 wins “round 1” of the 3D battle, I would like to know if you plan to review the Samsung C7000 or C8000 plasma version? It would be interesting to see how the Samsung 3D plasma performs against the Panasonic 3D plasma.

    Thanks,
    Gorm

  48. Hi,

    I purchased the 40″ version of the C8000 series last week, and am having problems when playing my xbox. As you had mentioned, it is not really very playable when you don’t have it in gaming mode, so when I put it in gaming mode the picture is fine, however the sound seems to be really poor in gaming mode, the bass seems to be non-existent when playing a game compared to when I am watching a TV program. Unfortunately in gaming mode you are unable to manually adjust the sound settings using the equalizer like you can usually in normal mode. I spoke to samsung about this and they say this is a feature of the TV, that you are unable to adjust the sound settings when the TV is in gaming mode. This seems to be very bad to me, I used to have a 40″ sony W series and never had any problems with the gaming, didn’t even have to adjust any settings or put it into any special modes.

  49. I too would be very interested in the calibrated settings, if you could post them?

    Or perhaps some kind of walkthrough for novice users, what to look for when adjusting the settings.

  50. An exemplary and honest review. It’s good you guys got in early as this is a benchmark review for future 3D televisions. The feedback to the vendors is also doing all consumers a great service. Many thanks. 11/10 !!

  51. David Mackenzie

    Everyone asking for settings: don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten! I promise to hook the C8000 up and get some for you this week.

    Andrew: thanks very much!

    @Gorm: we’d like to review those, yes. We’ll see what we can do.

  52. I just ordered mine today and I will be eager to compare your calibration settings to the C7000 settings posted on the lcdtvbuyingguide website.

  53. Any word if Samsung going to solve the crosstalking-problem via firmware update? Movies like MvA and games like Super Stardust HD and Pain do look great, but while playing Wipeout HD, Motorstorm demo and watching a few side by side demos from the Internet it becomes too much of a problem.

    Also, what exactly does the 3d Optimize do?

    Oh, and I’d like to see your settings too, looking forward to it!

  54. High I’ve just bought this tv. Could you post the picture settings please. Mine is great during day but cloudy in dark.

  55. Settings?

  56. Eric Kerckhoffs

    Hello David,

    Any news from Samsung on the new firmware?

    Hope to hear from you.

  57. Hi David. You are doing a really brilliant job on the in depth reviewing. I have a question tho. I thought it would make sense for manufacturers like samsung to invest in FULL LED LCD. It’s so obviously better than RGB Dynamic Edge lit backlights especially with that aweful auto dimming. Eww. Does anyone care to challenge my comment as far as FULL LED LCD vs LED Edge-lit LCD. I know the standard artificial ccfl backlights of some newer LCD’s can still perform but i reckon that Full LED LCD is the best thing since sliced bread apart from plasma. But I still have a hatred for effliciency aspects in all areas with plasma! CCFL LCD or FULL LED LCD still surpasses in areas where it really matter I think.

  58. For one. CCFL LCD or FULL LED LCD still uses lot less energy. Are generally safer & not as hot. Have a longer lifespan mtbf. I think generally better than plasma for daytime & night time viewing while the best CCFL LCD can still retaining blacks as well as plasmas. They don’t have the undesirable burn in effect either. Also modern CCFL LCD or LED LCD’s can handly motion very well as well as plasma. I see plasma as more costly really.

  59. My last experience was in currys watching the same source content. I was surprised to see how bad the plasma models coped with detail or motion hardly as well as the LCD of equivalent size besides it. I actually enjoyed the experience from the LCD a lot more.

  60. Hi David & everyone else.

    I am sorry & please correct me if I am wrong with the points I made of the plasma comparation to LED or LCD. I don’t hate plasma. I like everyone else just hate some aspects of the older plasma tech’s. I also hate some aspects of LCD also. I apologise & if some people have taken an offense – to you – I don’t mean to target, or to rant on or to be BIASED or to be cause any complaint. The pure reason behind my opinion is placed firmly on my factual experience or knowledge regarding the older plasma tech’s. I say FULl LED LCD the way to go…until I experience a new plasma for myself, but it would have to be economical on energy aswell aswell as handling light in flourescent or incandescent lighting aswell as darkness aswell. I hope I have made clear my reasons & opinions. Cheers

    Much Thanks for comments

    Jamie

    Thanks

  61. Good review. However you say
    “One other point to note regarding this which is of special interest to us here in Europe (and also any other readers in 50hz areas such as Australia and New Zealand): the 3D modes of this display operate around a 60hz-centric design. Any 50hz content (European DVDs and Digital TV broadcasts) will no longer be displayed at a multiple of 50 when the 2D-to-3D mode is enabled, so there will be visible motion judder in this case. Unfortunately, this also affects HD content, since Europe made the poorly judged decision to drag the now-inferior 50hz refresh rate into the HD era.”

    The reason that 50Hz was retained by Broadcasters was due to flicker from mains lighting, both in studios and at home. Sadly, Samsung’s decisions to operate the sets’ video at 60Hz gives exactly this 10Hz flicker – noticeable in retail and also at home when wearing the 3D glasses.
    As incandescent lighting will soon be phased out, this will become an increasing problem unless you also adjust your room lighting to LED. This is one to watch.

  62. David Mackenzie

    @Paul Gray: thanks for the reminder there, I forgot about the flickering lights issue.
    The reason I’d heard for broadcasters holding on to 50hz was due to their back catalogue of 50hz SD material which would need rate-converted. I didn’t think that was a great reason, given that everything needs scaled anyway – although in a broadcast environment I’m coming to understand their point of view.

    Everyone asking for settings: I will do a final calibration and post some in a few hours.

    @Eric: still waiting for news regarding firmware updates/fixes.

    @Jamie: thank you! I agree totally, it’s a real shame that manufacturers aren’t making more FULL LED LCD TVs. It really is a case of superficiality (slim chassis) over performance which is a real shame.

    I agree also about some of your points regarding Plasma’s down-sides. The energy consumption issue isn’t as bad as some have made out, but it’s true that PDPs use more power.

    However, I think you’re wrong on a few other points. Firstly, no LCD display can match the best Plasmas’ blacks, although as you say, some of the better ones can come surprisingly close. Second, I’ve never heard of any safety issues with a PDP (or LCD!) TV. Third, all modern TVs will likely last longer than you will want to watch them for (20+ years), so lifespan isn’t really an issue. Fourth, burn-in appears to be a thing of the past with Plasma, although temporary image retention can still occur. Also, no CCFL or LED based LCD TV can handle motion as well as most Plasmas. Whilst the UE46C8000 can resolve 1080 lines of resolution in a test chart (an amazing achievement for an LCD based TV), the effect is still blurrier than on a Plasma due to the screen drawing method.

    One other thing – never judge a TV based on how it looks in Currys – they are horribly set up!

    Also – no offense taken, all polite comments are valued :)

  63. I have this tv UE46C8000 , just to comment on the questions to do with the lag whilst playing games , saying in normaol mode was almost unplayable is very harsh . I play games such as call of duty mw2 probably the quickest reaction FPS out there and havnt had a problem at all even with frame intoplation turn to 10 judder and 10 blur (maximum).

  64. David Mackenzie

    Settings for you. Usual disclaimer applies.

    MOVIE
    Backlight – according to your room
    Contrast 85
    Brightness – 46
    Sharpness 0
    Colour 46
    Tint – neutral

    Advanced:
    Black Tone OFF
    Dynamic Cont OFF
    Gamma -1
    Colour Space Custom
    10p White Balance – Off – this will be too specific for each TV
    Flesh Tone default
    Edge Enhance Off
    xvYCC Off
    LED Motion Plus Normal

    WHITE BALANCE:
    From top to bottom
    26 24 21 13 26 33

    COLOUR SPACE
    Red: 65 8 0
    Green 22 18 11
    Blue 0 18 50
    Yellow 55 38 8
    Cyan 10 34 52
    Mag 56 23 52

    PICTURE OPTIONS
    Colour TOne: Warm2
    Size: Screen Fit where applicable
    DN Filter: OFF
    MPEG Noise Filter: OFF
    Motion Plus Custom (10 / 0)
    Smart LED: Off

  65. Dear David,

    Thank you very much for the settings.

    On which firmware version are the settings based?

    Are the settings for the 55C8000 also for gaming and 3d?

    I read that ISF is now also giving courses for 3d calbration.

    I agree with “Cold” that I have no issues for now with gaming.

    Are you still going to do a new calibration when the Samsung deploys a new firmware which hopely resolves the problems you mentioned?

    Keep on doing the good work!!!

    And sorry for al the questions.

    Yours sincerely,

    Hugo (The Netherlands)

  66. David Mackenzie

    Those settings are from Samsung’s specially prepared firmware, but it doesn’t really matter because they most likely won’t be right for other units anyway.

  67. Anyone know of a way to disable the auto dimming on this set?
    It’s driving me nuts ;)

  68. Thank you very much for your time and effort in sorting out the settings and they look fab! Also do you have the settings for game mode as im a heavy gamer ?

    And how do we get this Samsung’s specially prepared firmware as i can’t see any new updates on the tv or their website/

    Thank You again.

  69. David Mackenzie

    Samsung’s specially prepared firmware isn’t available to the public yet. They’re still working on fixes to the issues we identified; hopefully new firmware will be available soon.

    For Game mode, use the same settings.

    @Sieffer: no way to disable auto dimming that I know of. But, enabling Game Mode will change (but not eradicate) the dimming.

  70. Hello!

    I have applied the settings and I must say: GREAT!

    I played Motorstorm 3d without Game Mode and it looks very good. I have no ghosting any more.

    I still want to put Game Mode on but when I do this al my settings for this input are gone.

    So is it true that you first must activate Game Mode and than apply your settings?

    Thanks again.

  71. Hi David,

    I just looked on the Dutch Samsung website and there is an new firmware released:

    ver.T-VALDEUC-1014.3
    FM/201006/20100628192709671/T-VALDEUC.exe

    Is this the version you tested?

    For gaming: are your settings enough are must also activate Game Mode in the menu?

    I hope to hear from you!

  72. Hey David!

    Your settings are perfect except the color tone: warm2 setting..
    Especially in football matches (World Cup), the field look like its grey, I changed it to cold and and it looked a lot better to me..

  73. By the way my tv is Samsung 46C8790

  74. Hi David,

    I have the UA55C8000 here in Australia & this is by far the best review I have read so far. I have used the settings as above & I have set them for Blu-Ray & they are great but should I be using the same settings for normal free to air TV & also Cable TV? Also have you had a chance at having the best settings for 3D mode in any input – TV, Blu-Ray & Cable TV?

    Cheers.

  75. David,
    Thanks for good review, have noticed all the problems you mentioned.

    That auto dimming is really bad desing error on otherwise fine TV. Specially that occurs when you have a dark scene on the screen and when the subtitles appears the contrast pumps up till titles are gone.
    I really hopes the firmware will issue this problem because as you said, there is no possible to enable it using maintenance codes.

  76. Can anyone tell me what the new firmware T-VALDEUC-1014.3 does

    Thanks

  77. “…we are likely to re-visit this review at a later date to keep track of any improvements, and amend the rating accordingly.”
    When? There is a new firmware released!

    Thanks
    Nicola

  78. Hey David. I value your comments too. Thanks

    Still any chance of reviewing a Phillips 46PFL9704?

    Please. I just think it’s strange that noone has voted to review it. It seems like such a great T.V & I want to know whether it’s really worth it.

    I’d like it to be my next T.V since it loks the part & has all the technical details to impress geeks such as myself.

    Though there would be have to be a demand. It may def be my next T.V upgrade from my Sony KDL40W4000. I am really looking for the BEST T.V & would also like to know which is your favourite David?

  79. I’m looking at replacing my existing 46B7020 with a 46C8000, as I’ve caught the 3D bug. I know many will push you towards plasma for this, but my main TV is a Pioneer 5090 plasma – I tried out the VT20 already as a potential replacement, but found it paled in comparison to the Kuro, thanks in no small part to regular posterisation, a very yellow THX mode, noticeably fluctuating blacks and worse SD processing. Needless to say, it went back.

    Back OT, has anybody attempted applying the US firmware update for the C8000 to their UK/EU sets? It’s just that they appear to be much further ahead than us (1022.1 as opposed to 1013.4). If so, any problems doing so?

  80. samsung ln46c630

    That auto dimming is really bad design error on otherwise fine TV. Specially that occurs when you have a dark scene on the screen and when the subtitles appears the contrast pumps up till titles are gone.

  81. Update for subtitle/auto dimming-problem:
    Maintenance replaced power unit of the TV and now the problem is almost gone. Occurs only when watching low quality recorded programs from DVR, bitrate issue?.
    I’m using NORMAL-mode instead of STANDARD or MOVIE for normal TV broadcast to get all digital or automatic adjustments off which also helps.

  82. Timo,

    What do you mean ” maintenance replaced power unit of the tv “, did you get Samsung to do this?

    Cheers

    Josh

  83. Yes, I had some serious problem with that dimming issue so called Samsung maintenance. It took some 10 minutes to remove back cover, to replace power unit (a circuit board) and put parts together.
    There is still some dimming issue left which I hope the next firmware will fix

  84. Hey Timo,

    Thanks for that.

    Was your TV Behaving abnormally & that’s why you had to ring Samsung or did you just ring them because the precision dimming is quite annoying & they came out & fixed it with the solution above?

    It is quite annoying & at first that is why i bought the TV thinking it would be better than the C7000 but it is very frustrating.

    Cheers.

  85. Josh,
    The reason was VERY high changing rate of dimming despite of the source (BD, TV, DVR). As mentioned there was some fault on the power unit.
    Try NORMAL-mode with all digital “improvements” off, if after that the dimming is still an issue I recommend you to call Samsung maintenance.
    There is a new firmware launched yesterday, T-VALDEUC_1015.1. Does anyone knows what’s inside?

  86. David Mackenzie

    I’ll grab the new firmware and investigate.

  87. Good stuff – keep us posted, matey! :)

  88. Argh auto-dimming is doing my head in: I can’t even disable this in game mode. That’s a big minus compared to last year’s sets :(

  89. I want to buy this TV but the auto-dimming issue scares me,,The C7000 sounds as a better choise but the C8000 so much more “handsome” Waiting with intrest if the new firmware makes any difference…..

  90. Eric Kerckhoffs

    Again there is a firmware update available, Upgrade File(USB type) (ver.T-VALDEUC-1016.0).

    Does anyone knows what’s inside?

  91. This text was shown after firmware was released but only “couple minutes”:
    T-VALDEUC-1016.0
    . To add requirement of Ziggo certification(Netherlands)
    . PVR working at TF1 widget(channel bound service on) channel (France)
    . Some HEAAC 5.1ch sound discontinuous in headphone mode

    Still don’t know what was inside T-VALDEUC_1015.1.
    Anyhow I feel that after loading this 1016.0 (didn’t load 1015.1) the dimming problem is almost gone!? Any similar observations?

  92. I’m not sure, up until now I never updated my LED with a new firmware (Still on version 1011.1). I’m a little affraid that al my personal settings will be erased.

    Can anybody say something regarding my update “fear”….

    If my expactation is not correct I will use the new firmware and take a look at the dimming problem!

  93. Eric,
    At least that 1016.0 didn’t erased the settings. (Noticed yesterday with SD-material recording from DVR that problem still exists.)

  94. Just want to say i have just purchased samsung ue40c8000 led 3d tv and sony 3d blu-ray and i am astounded by the quality of the picture .Just watching 2d blu ray dvds, the difference between this tv and my 12 month old samsung hd lcd tv is amazing .The actors appear as if they are live in my front room – I am not in any way a tv technician as i see most of you appear to be on here so maybe you are looking for better quality but i am so pleased that i have ventured into buying this product and when you put the glasses on and watch in 3d itis as good even better i would say than when i watched alice in wonderland recently at the odeon in leicester square
    I don’t mind wearing the glasses either
    I did read a lot of reviews and news on which tv to buy before i purchased but quite honestly if I had read this review david I might have not bought samsung although I am not interested in gaming .It was a very informative and indepth review on the product but it might have swayed me towards panasonic

  95. I updated my 40″ with the latest firmware (1016.1) yesterday.

    The good news is that all my settings where still in place (favorite channel list, picture settings and so on). One thing I notest was while playing an mkv file from my NAS the stream kept on playing after pressing pause. The previous version dropped the stream and I had to start from the beginning.

    The bad news is the local dimming issue still exists.

    Hopefully Samsung will fix this in any upcoming firmware.

    @Timo, tanks for the info on the firmware upgrade.

  96. I would certainly be interested in the settings you used too for both 3D and 2D.

    “Can you post you settings after the set was calibrated? So other people can make use of them?”

    BTW just bought a C750

  97. Hi AlbaJoeReturn,

    if you scroll upwards to the posts on 25 of June you will find the settings of David.

    I used these settings and for me the settings are great!

    For Game Mode you can’t choose “Warm2” by Picture Options,
    Colour Tone: because this is set to “Standard” by default ing Game Mode.

    I hope you enjoy the settings like I do.

  98. Anyone else notice, vertical collumns ( darker areas about 4″ across) running down the screen. most apparent when watching cricket or football in HD when the cammera pans fast, left to right and vice verser.

    This can be really distracting and for a £2000 tv is not good

  99. bad reviews

    As has happened for Samsung B8000
    once again you have managed to ruin an extraordinary HDTV
    like the Samsung c8000, fortunately there are other reviewers
    who tell the truth about this wonderful HDTV
    an HDTV exceptional in all respects !!!!!!!!

    Clearly, your willingness to HDTV makes you blind !!!

  100. Clearly, your willingness to plasma HDTV makes you blind !!!

  101. Televisioninfo

    score Samsung C8000: 724 point
    Panasonic VT20: 670 point

    LOL David MC !!!

  102. Why LOL at David? Why not LOL at televisioninfo? Their review is hardly as scientific and their weighting of points is subjective. Is audio quality 10 times as important as input ports? Who decides that? Not to me, my 8000 will always be set to mute. Some might agree with their weighting and some might absolutely disagree. Fantastic review David, and thanks for the settings, what a difference! Hopefully Samsung heed your advice.

  103. x David Mackenzie

    We all understand that you are a plasmista
    It is shameful to see a reference level Panasonic VT20

    when a Samsung C8000 has an electronic system and
    processing much higher, you have to stop penzalizzare
    with your bad reviews some Samsung HDTVs level
    Samsung’s C8000, you are not credible nor reliable !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Read reviews of other reviewers, such that
    of televisioninfo, final score

    Samcung C8000 724 points
    Panasonic VT20 870 points

    Samsung C8000 is a superb HDTV Mackenzie dear!!

    It is time to stop penalizing these HDTV
    and raise plasma HDTV, deinterlacer and scaler
    Panasonic VT20 score: 6
    Samsung C8000 Scores: 9

    Panasonic black level ANSI VT20 board 0:03 CD/m2 !!!!!

    Samsung C8000 Black Level 00:03 cd/m2 (FULLHD.gr)

    by

  104. Correzione sorry !!!

    Panasonic black level ANSI VT20 board 0.03 CD/m2 !!!!!

    Samsung C8000 Black Level 0.03 cd/m2 (FULLHD.gr)

  105. I want to buy the 32″ version of the C8000 but can’t find anywhere that actually has it on display. Any chance of a review of that one? I assume it wouldn’t be identical to the bigger models as it’s only 100hz and doesn’t have 3D. If anyone can recommend a better 32″ for picture I’d appreciate it.

  106. I don’t believe there is a 32″ C8000. Just 46″ and 55″. 32″ is too small to appreciate the quality the C8000 is capable of producing anyway.

    For anyone apprehensive about updating to the latest firmware for the C8000, you have nothing to worry about. It contains new 3D settings that can be manipulated to eliminate the majority of the previous ghosting seen straight out of the box. Some ghosting still remains, but it’s a serious improvement.

    My calibration settings were not erased by the firmware update either, so that’s another thing you need not worry about.

  107. x mackenzie

    Televisioninfo.co

    Score rating

    Samsung C8000 poiint 724
    Panasonocic VT20 point 670

    Samsung C8000 Hiper Reference Level

    system scaler deinterlace Samsung C8000 EXCELLENT

    Panasonic VT20 is BAD

    Floating Black, real black level Pana VT20 0.03 CD/m2
    NO 0.009 CD/m2 LOL mackenzie LOLOLOLOL LOL

  108. x Jeremy

    Televisioninfo
    FULL HD.gr
    Hometheatremag
    AV Forum and other review

    Samsung C8000 superb HDTV IN SD and HD

    fantastic System, Panasonic VT20 average level system !!!!

    rela black level Panasonic VT20 is 0.03 CD/m2

    LOL mackenzie

  109. mackenzie review C8000

    BAD BAD review and other review

    LOL mackenzie LOL e ri LOL

  110. Samsung C8000 AWARD EISA 2010-2011 HDTV 3D

    superb HDTV !!!!!!!

  111. Thanks for reviews/comments. I have the Samsung UEC8000 40″ HD/3D. One thing I have noticed is motion blur on HD football – the white ball almost disappears sometimes at speed when travelling laterally across the screen at high speed. Have tried various settings, but no change. Any suggestions?

    Also, how to update the firmware (what is firmware? Sorry, I’m not into the jargon!)

    Thanks.

  112. Hi Alias:

    from what I can decipher from your posts, you disagree with the outcome of the review. The data is all there so you can come to your own conclusion. Can I ask, are you the owner of a C8000 LED LCD TV?

    We are not TelevisionInfo, FullHD.gr, Hometheatremag or AV Forum (AVForums?). Those sites may have scored the C8000 higher than we did.

    An EISA award does not necessarily guarantee outstanding value or performance. Without knowing how EISA gives awards, I would suspect that this was based on the engineering required to produce such a slim 3D display.

    @Old Bill:
    This sounds like a Motion Plus issue. Motion artefacts can appear when any LCD’s 100/200hz system is engaged. Unfortunately with sport, the only clear answer I can think of (short of trying different “Custom” settings) is to turn off Motion Plus entirely. This would give you motion blur instead of things like disappearing objects, etc.

    Firmware updates involve downloading a file from Samsung’s Support page. You then plug a USB stick into the computer and the download writes the new firmware to this stick. Then, you plug the USB stick into the TV and the update process can begin.

  113. are the settings posted on june 25 for 2D viewing?
    what are those for 3D viewing?

  114. x Mackenzie

    Dear Mackenzie are a technician HDTV , specializing in colorimetry
    and photometry, your review is a bad review, just compare
    with that of C8000 on AV Forums, you’ve won an expensive Mackenzie reference
    level to the VT20 Panasonic, HDTV has a bad deinterlacer, scaler is NOT to
    level of a C8000, Panasonic is NOT BLACK 0009 CD/m2 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    but approximately between 00:02 and 12:03 CD/m2 CD/m2 HDTV calibrated !!!!!!!!!!

    C8000 implements the best processing system
    currently the world market, offers a superb video performance in HD and SD!

    It is widely understood that you’re a fanboy of HDTV Plasma …..

    But you are not credible Meckenzie dear, you are not objective and people like you
    Should NOT review HDTV as the C8000, are a disaster for users that you
    read, you’re a bad reviewer !!!!!!!!!!

  115. Correzione dati black level

    Panasonic VT20 black level 0.02/3 CD/m2

    NO 0.009 CD(m2 ad HDTV calibrato !!!!

  116. X Mackenzie

    Dear Mackenzie read a review of an excellent
    excellent Reviewer: Stephen Withers

    http://www.avforums.com/review/Samsung-C8000-UE46C8000-46C8000-8000-3DTV-HDTV-Review.html

    C8000 realized in the final voting 10 EXCELLENT !!!!!

    Black level is measured with calibrated HDTV luminanzometre 0.02 CD/m2

    then BLACK EXCELLENT !!!!!!

    11 EXCELLENT, final mark: EXCELLENT, and how electronic
    C8000 is far superior to the low Panasonic VT20

    televisioninfo 724 points for C8000
    670 points for Panasonic VT20!

    and this is the reality

  117. Dalla review AV Forum C8000:

    Colorimetria

    I was able to calibrate the greyscale and the results were
    excellent with a DeltaE of less than one for all IRE levels which
    is imperceptible to the human eye. All three primaries are now
    smoothly tracking around 100% with the Colour Temperature
    now spot on D65 and whilst the gamma is still tracking slightly
    high, this is overall an excellent performance.

    According to Samsung the gamma measures very close to
    2.2 if you use a full raster insteadof a window to take the
    measurements and this proved to be true.

    DELTA E

    After calibration Green and Blue and all three
    secondaries were measuring very accurately with a
    DeltaE (error) of less than 2 which is excellent !!!!!

    ELOGIO al CMS del Samsung C8000:

    Whilst they weren’t always that intuitive to use, Samsung
    are to be congratulated for including a ten point greyscale
    calibration and a proper 3D CMS with control over all six colours,
    other manufacturers please take note !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  118. Video Processing

    Samsung display C8000
    the video processing was excellent !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Overall this is an excellent set of results and means
    that the UE46C8000‘s video processor should be able
    to handle whatever standard or high definition signal you throw at it.

    Video processing HD et SD: EXCELLENT !!!

    Picture Quality

    In calibrated settings the UE46C8000’s highly accurate greyscale
    and very good colour gamut coupled with excellent deinterlacing
    and scaling resulted in a very good picture when watching actual
    viewing material. Standard definition Freeview broadcasts were
    quite watchable and any problems tended to stem from the
    broadcasts themselves rather than the display and DVDs looked
    very good, regardless of whether they were PAL or NTSC discs.

    TEST BLU RAY

    In addition Blu-rays looked fantastic and the
    UE46C8000 displayed the full 1080p24 images perfectly !!!!!

    I have read in other reviews reports of judder when the
    UE46C8000 handled 1080p24 content but all the test material
    and Blu-rays I watched were judder free !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  119. Test 3D in sistesi:

    Overall I found the 3D experience to be quite impressive with
    material conveying a real sense of depth that was genuinely immersive.

    The images were clear, had good colour and detail and were still bright
    (in Standard Mode). There was a perceivable drop in brightness when you
    turned the glasses on but it was still brighter than any 3D movie you will have
    seen at the cinema. 3D material in full 1080p24 looked especially good
    with excellent colour, detail and a lack of noise that really impressed !!!!

    Conclusioni in sintesi:

    Ultimately this is a very capable display with excellent
    greyscale and colour performance and superb processing !!!!

  120. XXL-TEST: Samsung 3D-LED-LCD UE46C8790

    AREA DVD, tecnici di ottimo livello !!!

    http://www.areadvd.de/hardware/2010/samsung_8790.shtml

    Giudizi finali in sintesi:

    + Ottimo livello del nero
    + Superiore nelle immagini 2-D con elevata nitidezza e dettaglio
    + Excellent scaler e de-interlacer
    + Standard Set caratteristiche multimediali con Video Recording
    + Mint satellitare integrato e sintonizzatore
    + adatto per i giochi
    + Molto buono movimento di trasformazione
    + telecomando
    + Buon audio

    VOTO FINALE: UBERRAGEND !!!!!!

    Traduzione di Uberragend:

    Superiore, Superlativo, Superbo, Straordinario ecc ecc ecc

  121. @Bert:
    I’ll post some 3D settings when I get a chance to do a re-calibration (test firmware updates are still ongoing).

    @Teko HDTV:
    Well, this is quite a read! Really, one post (and one exclamation mark per sentence) would have been sufficient. Unfortunately, it appears that you’re using a machine translator which is perhaps why my explanations aren’t getting through the language barrier.

    There is really not much more for me to say, but it would appear that you have a vested interest in validating your own purchase of a C8000. The reasons for the final scoring are included in the review and you are free to agree or disagree with them. (One point I’ll touch on specifically: the idea that the Panasonic VT20’s calibrated black level is as high as 12cd/m2 is ridiculous, and I again have to question where your measurements are coming from).

    I’m unsure why you are copying and pasting parts of other reviews. The only difference seems to be that they have come to a different overall conclusion, and have not mentioned the undefeatable temporal averaging which was once present, nor the poor quality scaling in the 3D Side by Side mode. In other words, these reviewers have different priorities and expectations of how an expensive display should perform. What exactly is your point?

    Your next point regarding Black Level measurements: with LCD based displays, different sites calibrate to different peak luminance levels, and some do not calibrate this aspect of the display at all. For example, AVForums does not explicitly calibrate to ~120cd/m2 peak luminance like HDTVTest does, which is understandable because AVForums do not quote black level readings (I’m unsure where you have got 0.02 cd/m2 from). Therefore, comparing LCD black level measurements across different sites, without any knowledge of their setup procedures or measuring equipment, is pointless because there are bound to be differences.

    I will have to ask for your next post(s) to advance this debate in a more coherent manner. I’ve specifically requested that your comments are not removed because it would be undemocratic to silence your criticisms, however unfounded they may be. With that said, you must provide some reasoned debate. All you have done thus far is suggested that I am less tolerant of this TV’s issues than other reviewers.

  122. x mackenzie

    Mackenzie NOT do the sly

    certainly use a translator, I’m Italian and I know well
    ‘s English, you know well the’ Italian ….????

    Black level Pana VT20 is an error produced by the translator
    mend now, there are at least five measurements for Panasonic VT20
    measured with a calibrated HDTV 0.03 CD/m2

    and NOT 0.009 CD/m2 questo è falso

    Apart from this, the system processing the Panasonic Vt20is POOR !!!

    give a reference level to the Panasonic VT20
    and humiliate the C8000 as you did with a review scandalous
    NOT the way to do community service world !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I have no interest on Samsung, but simply
    defend the reality, the truth of things, but you’re a fanboy Plasma HDTV!

    mackenzie and poor are a bad reviewer

    Nielo and Stephen Withers are much better than you !!!!

  123. x Mackenzie

    I measured a calibrated HDTV C8000

    Black Level is 0.02 CD/m2

    you lied not only to Panasonic Vt20
    then trying to correct the data, saying that the probe was
    to calibrate, but you have distorted the data on the black level for C8000
    APL designed using the pattern, but who do you think you fool ?????

  124. x mackenzie

    there you are satisfied dear mackenzie

    Now there are errors

    Black level scacchiera ANSI TV calibrated Panasonic VT20 !!

    Flat Panels HD balck level 0.03 CD/m2
    Televisioninfo black level 0.03 CD/m2
    Les Numeriques balck level 0.03/5 CD/m2
    FULL HD.gr black level 0.02 CD/m2
    Supercurro black level 0.02 CD/m2

  125. x mackenzie

    The BLACK Panasonic then is NOT stable
    but variant, enough for 400 hours work values
    higher than 0.03 CD/m2

    POOR deinterlacer, scaler POOR
    POOR SD signal, coming from panasonic owners Vt20
    black level variant
    banding visible
    dithering visible

    Panasonic VT20 without IFC motion resolution 900 lines

    NO 1080 (TEST CNET and AV Forum) review

    mackenzie panasonic VT20: reference level

    LOL mackenzie, LOL e ri-LOL

    You make me laugh

  126. will have to ask for your next post(s) to advance this debate in a more coherent manner. I’ve specifically requested that your comments are not removed because it would be undemocratic to silence your criticisms

    thank mackenzie

    we can now speak with more respect

    but you must admit that the review of C8000
    is not the best, to always use a plasma HDTV
    special assessments for other HDTV LCD superb level as
    C8000 used misjudgment and that is intolerable for HDTVtest !!!!

  127. Well, I’m laughing too, so I’m glad that’s two of us.

    It’s a waste of time continuing this any further given the lack of coherency and that you’ve ignored the other points made.

    The final thing I want to clarify relates to your claim that the measurements are incorrect or somehow manipulated. This is entirely false.

  128. Panasonic TC-P50VT20 3D Plasma HDTV Review – Blacks Level

    By Mark Brezinski, David Kender, and Richard Baguley
    Published on March 12, 2010

    http://www.televisioninfo.com/content/Panasonic-TC-P50VT20-3D-Plasma-HDTV-Review-1615/Blacks-amp;-Whites.htm

    black level 0.03 CD/m2 luminance white 50 CD/m2
    HDTV calibrated luminance white 100 CD/m2

    contrast ratio 1714:1

    100:1714= 0.058 CD/m2

  129. Lost in translation, manners included.

  130. I had a Samsung LED UE40C7000. I couldn’t work out what the difference was between that and the C8000 model other than the metallic surround and the £200/£300 price difference. I had decided to go for an LED TV as it would use less energy and have a brighter picture, be lighter to transport and install.

    While at first I consider it a great TV, in daylight it’s a great, contrast great. I turned colour down so skin tones looked normal, colour was tamed and not irradiated so to speak.

    However when I was watching it in the evening with ambient lighting and no lighting at all the LED backlight in the bottom corners got so irritating that I decided to return the TV after a week for a full refund.

    I did mention this the day after purchase at Richer Sounds and was told to let it settle in, which is fair enough. So I gave it the full week, I watched ITV-1 HD, BBC HD and Channel Four HD and all channels looked great providing there was no large areas of shadow or dark while watching it with ambient or no lights on in the room.

    I decided to watch the Matrix on DVD and the backlighting issue, greying, clouding and bottom corner flashlight effect showed badly. I watched some Channel Four HD films last weekend ‘In Bruges’ and ‘Stand By Me’ on August 28th, then ‘The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising’ on Sunday 29th, I guess I put my set through a critical viewing. I used movie mode, I even turned the backlight down and could not get rid of those bottom corner flashlight problems. Now this bottom flashlight problem is hardly easy to ignore when you’ve got the black bars top and bottom on a film or when you’re watching a film with lots of night time scenes or pictures with lots of shadows in it.

    To my critical eye the torch light effect in the two bottom corners was not easy or possible to ignore and was infuriating, plus some obvious clouding (ie areas of grey in all blacked out areas) top middle, the greying became incredibly annoying.

    Then there is the dimming. I noticed this most obviously while watching end credits, which meant text ended up not being white but a light grey. Now if it had local dimming then the bottom left/right flashlight problem would -I imagine- be solved as those two areas would be effectively switched completely to black, ie LED backlight off there.

    However I think for a TV costing £1500 (or £1800 a month or two earlier) which is a premium price that frankly watching it in a darkened room or even with ambient lighting was unacceptable to me. Having a remote control with backlight shows that Samsung assume it’s normal to watch their TVs in ambient or blacked out rooms.

  131. Kai, I’m personally in agreement over this. I think my review of the C8000 is the most critical on the web (as people have, er, pointed out). Sure it gets some things right, but it’s a real shame that the most remarkable thing about it is its thinness. The depth of the chassis was the *last* thing wrong with flat panel displays. If they can manufacture thin displays without sacrificing picture quality, fantastic – but right now it seems that this isn’t possible.

  132. A reviewer has resposability to be objective, true and fair
    with all HDTV, then the forum will create incorrect tam tam
    telling untruths, samsung c8000 has a processing system
    excellent and it performs well with all sources, including gaming, just
    LMP and deactivate the tag down to about 30ms, it’s a superb HDTV HD
    and excellent in SD, has a deep black and a CMS with WBC in 10 steps
    in a colorimetric calibration provides accurate, is not a justification to say that is fine, because other hdtv is thin, see for example the new sony or LEX8 NX810 LG coming out at the IFA 2010 !!!!!!!!!!! !

  133. “sacrificing picture quality”

    my response

    This is false, untrue

    Samsung C8000 offers a superb video performance
    HD and SD, SD is higher than many HDTV 2010!

    If properly calibrated HD reaches very high levels!

  134. Mackenzie not to lose credibility
    do a new review for Samsung C8000

    remove the current HDTV on C8000

  135. I have an old CRT television I want to buy new the 46″ LCD TV so I’ve read a lot of forums and manufacturer pages to find TV which meet my demands. They are:
    – excellent SD processing
    – 2D is important, 3D not
    – picture quality (sports, films, no gaming)
    – wired internet connection
    – usb (PVR, audio, video–MPEG4, mp3, mkv, …)
    – access to PCs on LAN where i keep pictures, films and audio files

    After I did a lot of reading on internet, I still can not decide which one to buy. Samsung is the one who met all my demands and I ‘am going to buy one from it. ue46c8000 was my favorite but after all this negative critics don’t know what to do. Is there any suggestion (or experience), which TV from Samsung or other manufacturer should I try. I know that final decision is mine but really need your opinion. Thank you for your time in advanced. Suggestions from all forum readers are expected also.

  136. x Meto

    Samsung C8000 has a superb processing system
    better much better than Panasonic Vt20, C8000 has an excellent
    BLACK HDTV calibrated colorimetry very accurate !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    C8000
    was compared to other HDTV 2010 and without doubt
    One of the best HDTV of 2010, exceeding even the Panasonic VT20

    by

  137. Hello Techo Geko,
    do you have this TV? I mostly watch broadcast SD programes, also HD (few channels) over IPTV . As I mentioned, have a lot film and music contents on PCs (home LAN). I have no intention to buy plasma, just looking for the best LCD for me. So you think, that this TV is currently the best choice?
    By

  138. Hello Meto

    C8000 excellent SD and HD
    best processing system 2010 !

  139. Hi Meto,

    I have a 46C8000 and i’m very happy with it. I’d recommend it but with the caveat that Samsung need to update the firmware to allow the dynamic backlighting to be switched off. It’s distracting at times and this could potentially ruin the escape of a movie. The HD picture is absolutely brilliant and the settings David’s listed above make such a difference to movies. The SD broadcast picture, as on all LCD HDTV’s i’ve seen, isn’t remarkable because of the upscaling, but that’s the nature of the beast and HD will be mainstream soon enough.

  140. C8000 in SD is EXCELLENT

    scaler e deinterlacer is excellent !!!

  141. @Meto:
    Samsung displays will probably be the best at meeting your multimedia/LAN requirements, although this isn’t something I’ve tested extensively myself. Perhaps look into the LE40C650, which we reviewed on this site.

  142. About upgrading firmware, I don’t think there is a problem I supose. I saw on Samsung support page that the last firmware is T-VALDEUC-1016.0. Do this firmware allow the dynamic backlighting to be switched off?

    And there is another thing I want to ask about upgrading. If I’ve this TV connected to ethernet (internet), is upgrading automatic or only upgrade from USB is to be performed?

    by

  143. And yet another question. I saw, that Samsung manufacture different model numbers for ue46c8000 (for Germany ..8790). Are there any HW difference between models and are they all produced in the same factory (Slovakia) – the same quality?
    by

  144. “…we are likely to re-visit this review at a later date to keep track of any improvements, and amend the rating accordingly.”
    When? There are a lot of new firmware releases!

    Thanks
    Nicola

  145. @Nicola:
    we’ve been reviewing firmware updates as they come in (sometimes before they’re available to the public). So far, none have addressed the poor scaling quality in the “3D Side by SIde” mode, so we’ve been holding out in hope…

  146. @Meto:
    Unfortunately I’ve not seen that model, so wouldn’t like to say. However, in the past, Samsung have produced quite a few different models with only cosmetic differences, so there’s a good chance that the panel is of the same quality.

  147. David – I’ve read all above but still not clear – I have to decide tomorrow whether to buy a 46″ Panasonic TX-P46VT20B or a Samsung UE46C8000X. V briefly, which one should I buy? Really appreciate your qualified view. Thankyou.

  148. MG x

    If your usage is versatile, the C8000 is better Panasonic VT20!

    C8000 has a processing system than SD et HD
    allows an accurate colorimetry WBC 10 STEP
    and has a very good CMS, the measured C8000 BLACK
    has a range between 0.02 CD/m2 a 0.04 CD/m2 !!!!!!!!!!!!!

    C8000 is a superb HDTV
    Gaming also need to disable LED Motion Plus
    and ‘LAG input drops to about 30 ms !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    As overall performance C8000 is better!!

  149. 3D C8000

    Also in 3D C8000

    with a proper calibration and firmware update, the C8000 is very good !!!

    Panasonic VT20 3D is slightly higher !

  150. C8000 has the best processing system
    currently on the world market !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Panasonic VT20 has a processing system POOR !!!!

  151. Is model ue46c8000 for UK market made in Slovakia?

  152. Arus,

    Do you currently own either the C8000 or VT20? I currently own the C8000,

  153. Anybody test the latest firmware. Are problem “auto-dimming” still exists?

  154. I have a samsung 3d tv series 7 46 inch which I have dloaded the latest firmware for I am having an issue with the HDMI inputs I am running 1 sony reciever 7.2ch to the tv the signal pickup is intermittent. By this I mean I have to unplug and replug the hdmi back into the slot the majority of times when I turn it on to fix the issue. Is this a problem with the TV because I also plugged a standalone devise xbox 360 into HDMI 3 it will not show picture just says to check connection again I turn the tv on and unplug and replug the HDMI cable and yes the 360 works as normal. Samsung said they are going to send me a firmware update but I am afraid this may be the same one as the one currently installed on my TV.

    Can someone please help me with my problem? Or does anyone know how to fix this?

  155. I have this tv since about 2 days now and I’m very happy with it, apart from the auto dimming problem (so weird you can’t turn it off!!). I still have one problem though: whenever I watch a blu ray/dvd, it seems the audio is just a little out of sync, like half a second or so. Anyone else have this problem??
    I play movies on my PS3 and connected it via hdmi 1.4. Audio comes out of my Bose speakers via and optical cable.
    Any help would be GREATLY appreciated:-)

  156. Bart x
    Yes, i have also problem with audio delay on c8000. I ‘ve connected IPTV SetOP box via SCART . Also connected my stereo using “cinch” Audio output. Sound from TV and my stereo device is out of sync for all tv programs- very irritating. For now I’ve disconnected my stereo device until solution is found. I need to check User Manual first to see if need to change setup.

    Firmware loaded on my c8000 dated on June 2010. I saw that the latest Firmware came in September, it might be a solution, if this is a problem and NOT the false setup.
    Have you already loaded the latest Firmware ?

  157. @Bert: thanks for the heads up – I’ll give that new firmware a spin when I have a clear desk and see if it’s made any improvements.

    @MG: My vote goes to the Panasonic TX-P46VT20B for the superior *real* black level (not auto-dimmed), superior viewing angle, generally superior motion quality, and if you’re a gamer, lower input lag. For 3D, it has almost no crosstalk. The Samsung C8000 would be better if you’re installing the TV in a light-filled environment (sunny conservatory etc.).

    @Robert: I’ve had some issues getting the C8000 to pick up on my Xbox 360 input as well. I’ll see if the new firmware update fixes it.

    @Bart: this is because of input lag, as Meto says. You need to add a delay on the sound system of about 100ms, if it allows you to. If the sound system doesn’t allow you to do this, you’re largely out of luck. You could enable “Game Mode” on the Samsung TV but this introduces issues of its own, but it will clean lip sync up.

  158. About Audio delay,
    i read that problem is because audio delay for internal speakers is set to 100 ms, for some reason, the same delay NOT set for external output. At this moment I ‘am not at home so I’ ill try to find in Setup if this delay could be set.

  159. Hi,

    I also bought the C8000 (or c7700 in Germany) yesterday and today watching some sports I have seen some flickering in the bottom and also ghost effects around the result box at a soccer game.

    I haven’t updated it to the newest fw, but does anybody know if the obvious problems are solved with the new fw?

    I am seriously considering to bring it back What would be good option (in 55) to think about?

    Thanks.

  160. Anybody having some comments on the new firmware?

    I think that it is better now, but have some problems with motion blur (hope this is the correct term) at SD signals, especially football.

    I have put the motion flow to clear and think it improved the picture, at least it seems so. What do you think?

    Can we expect an update review or settings update for the new fw?

    Ciz

  161. @Ciz: I will test in the next few days and report back here. If any faults have been fixed, I’ll update the review.

  162. A new firmware released today!

    Version T-VALDEUC-2002.0

    I’m going to install it this evening.

  163. Unfortunately our review sample TV wouldn’t upgrade to the new version. I think the “beta” firmware we were sent made the TV non-upgradable.

  164. What does Samsung support said about non-upgradable issue David? I am looking forward about your review on latest firmware.
    meto

  165. great review!

    is it designed for UK only?

    does it support pan-euro certifications (TNT HD / Boxer / DGTVi … etc)

  166. When an audio amplifier is connected to the AUDIO OUT jacks /no DIGITAL AUDIO OUT-OPTICAL/ and when Speaker Select is set to TV Speaker /TV Speaker:on,External Speaker:on/ the sound from TV Speaker is later than the sound from External Speaker.
    This problem prevent to use both type speakers at the same time.

  167. Hi Guys, I’m Paolo and I have a samsung 55c8000 tv…It’s fantastic but i have a little problem to calibrate this tv.

    Is it possible to have your good calibration with SKY HD , BD ?

    Thank you in advance

    Paolo

  168. Hi David, I have just downloaded the latest firmware update. I have had my C8000 40 inch for a couple of weeks does it matter if ive missed all the other updates? I have read there has been 10 in total and that the Eco sensor being off now stops the auto dimming and that was in one of the updates.

  169. Hello everyone!

    I’m Alex, I’m from Greece, I’m impressed with both the review (congratulations, ?? seems as if you are doing a very good and thorough job) and the posts and finally I’m NOT (egocentric :-P ) sufficiently informed on the issue “television and new technologies”, at least not until recently. So I started reading, searching and a week ago I started my quest for a new TV set, as I intend to buy one for my parents&younger sister. They mainly watch the news, some TV series and a dvd movie every now and then,but they also want to start experiencing 3D technology. No games,no internet connections, etc. They are just interested in enjoying great quality picture and the ability to watch 3D movies at home. In fact I would say that in general we are a bit unfamiliar with these things you discuss here in Greece, at least the vast majority of people-imagine that only the last 4-5 months do some small regions of Greece have digital signal…(no need to say I have no idea what these services that I read about or that you refer to, are or what they do…)Ok we have discovered cable tv a long ago! Yet still…
    So, as I said before, I’m searching. And I would like some help. The special press here in Greece finds the Samsung UE46C8000 outstanding, the absolute best 3D TV! In fact from the site of the magazine HITECH http://www.4pi.gr/hitech/swf/indexloader.html I found and give you the file with the test results and ranking http://www.4pi.gr/hitech/data/xls/T162_TV_3D_Internet.html (hope you understand some of them. I will translate them for you tomorrow, so as to check the test methodology). Reading your reviews, I find some differences. Ok, my parents won’t have any complaint if the picture is not absolutely perfect according to your tests-nothing is or will be after all-nor will they understand the slight differences in the quality between all the new and finest TV sets. The reason why I want to buy a model such as Samsung UE46C8000 or Panasonic TX-P50VT20 is because I want to know that they will enjoy more than decent 3D movies even in 3 or 4 years from now and that they won’t have to change the TV set again… My belief is that the better the TV now, the more it will “hold” and keep up with the new services and technologies through time. From all the above I believe it is needless to say that all the things you say about new – latest firmware and the changing of the settings is something rather difficult for my family… And it is not only that my family has the problem. Yesterday afternoon I asked 5 selling points about these stuff and no one understood what I told them… Of course I intend to call and ask the official Samsung dealer and service too,but I don’t feel they will know whether the model I will buy will have the latest firmware, nor will they be able to help me load it… Maybe I seem confused or anxious about something simple (?) because I didn’t know until 3 days ago that one can refresh his TV’s firmware and solve problems (!) , but this is my truth. So for me, when it comes to buying a new TV FOR MY PARENTS who have no idea what the words “special settings” mean, special weight should be given to the issue “you don’t have to do a a lot after you have plugged the device”.
    Thus I ask thy, which is, in your opinion, the best choice for these needs that my parents have. Please excuse me for any mistakes (point them if you wish, so as to not to make them again) and for not being brief…

    Be well and thank you in advance!

  170. Hello,

    A new firmware released yesterday, version T-VALDEUC-2003.0!

    I’m going to install it this evening.

    Does anyone know what has changed?

  171. Many thanks for publishing those settings, just got this TV on the 9th was have been really disappointed with the picture – I just couldn’t work out why every movie I put on looked like it had been filmed by a 6th form student in my living room!

    I have now put in the picture settings and everything is good in the world once more, movies look like movies!

    The thing I’m most freaked out about is how many of the special auto features I had to turn off to make it look right – what was the point of having them in the first place?

    Once agin many thanks.

  172. samsung is the only tv that you can download movies into a usb and convert it right away to 3d and adjust the dept so there will be more 3d affects.

  173. Hi guys,

    Can you please write down the best settings for my 3D TV UE55C8000.

    When I bought this TV in the store i have seen same TV (not mine) with 3D glasses and i was impressed and decided to buy. Now I can’t enjoy and see any 3D film because I don’t know what do I need to set up…:)

    Waiting for your response,

    ABI

  174. Great reviews as always, but one thing I find with LCD’s vs Plasma is how MUCH better they are in a bright lit room. Nost just because they are brighter, but because the screen is much darker. I know the new plasmas are suppoose to have similar screen filters, but they’re nowhere near as good as an LCD. So for many people that have some lights in their room, the LCD will look to have much deeper blacks than a plasma, not vice versa.
    Also I find some artifacts in plasmas to be much more noticeable than the motion artifacts noted here in this review, most noticable is the flickering of bright areas of plasmas(both the samsung and panasonic). It´s VERY obvious and annoying. Also how when there is a very bright image(all white or yellow etc.) it will look grey on a plasma, also very noticable.

  175. Im looking to buy a new tv. Allready Ive Philips 47PFL7603. Ive got choice of 3. Samsung UE46C8000, Philips 47PFL9664H/12 or Philips
    47PFL9664H/12. Which one should I get??? Im using my tv most for HD movies,sport and xbox.

  176. Birgir on 18 October 2010 11:20 pm

    Great reviews

    LOL !!!! Smile !!!

  177. i have had a c8000 for a month know and am on my second set the first one had a problem with glasses that flashed every few seconds or so (the glasses were fine when viewed in the shop on their model) Even with a new set I still got flashes in 2 out of 3 glasses. I was given two new sets of glasses and now no flashes.
    However I now have relly bad crosstalk on 3d (in fact last night the Newcastle number 6 seemed to have two number 6,s on his back!) I gave up watching in the end it was so bad.
    I have told the shop today that I want to return it and get a Panasonic I am doing right as I do feel that the picture is really good in 2d. Does anyone know if a firm ware will come out to eliminate crosstalk

    Thanks
    Brian

  178. Apologies for the bad grammar in the above typing was never one of my better points. At the end the last sentence should have read “Am I doing right”

    brian

  179. I’ve had one of these televisions for about 5 weeks now. The picture straight out of the box was horrible. I’ve spent some time setting all the controls to my satisfaction and now have excellent displays on all inputs including Sky 3D.
    There is a little ghosting on 3D pictures but it depends a lot on picture content.
    I’ve downloaded the very latest firmware but does anybody know what each version is supposed to change on the picture or settings?
    I got a third set of free glasses from Samsung within two days when I registered the set online.

    Thanks for a great site- Cheers Jack….

  180. HI all, has anyone got any ideal callabration settings for 3D?
    In fact the standard movie setting that isnt recomended in the review seems to give a better picture for 3D than the recommended settings above, ive shown friends and they agree.
    For all other formats the settings are excellent.
    The settings above seem to cause a 3D picture to stipple it doesnt seem as solid, certainly not the same ‘Wow factor’ i had friends compare and they agree.
    One of the firmware updates has enabled you to have settings for each format now which was one of the issues in the original review. so finding the right 3D setting would be great.

    If anyone has any input i would appreciate it,

    thanks Christian

  181. Hello,

    I have updated my tv just now and the upgrade to T-VALDEUC_-3001_1 erased all my TV settings.

    So be ware of this!

  182. Hi,

    Nice review David certainly picked out all the valid points on this tv.

    Received my 46″ set last week after owning an excellent Pioneer for the last 3 years and to be honest was disappointed at first with the picture quality.

    I made the required changes as described above to the settings and this made a huge difference, I was really pleased with the 2D picture via standerd def & Blueray and PS3 gaming which looked awesome.

    That was until nightfall where I noticed what looked like lights shining through the screen on the edges and a white glow in 3 places across the top of the screen.

    I believe this issue is called clouding so I am sending mine back as it ruins the viewing experience.

    Does anyone else have this issue or is this just a faulty set???

    I’m hooked on the LED experience now so considering a Sony 713 or the new Toshiba WL768, anyone know if either are any good and suffer the same issues??

    Thanks

  183. hi,
    which one you think is better, sony 3d or samsung 3d?

    thanks

  184. Hi Waller.
    I have clouding and some mild flashlighting on my C8000 too, especially when the set gets nice and warm. Initially I complained at the shop, and I borrowed two different sets from him to compare. The two sets I borrowed were even worse, so I decided to keep mine. Like the guy at the store said, it’s impossible not to have some clouding on these sets, and I believe him. I decided to live with it.

    Btw. Firmware version T-VALDEUC_-3000_6 is out, published on samsungs website 02 Nov, 2010 (Norway).

  185. Thanks Tom, hearing that I’m really not sure I’m gonna keep the tv which is a shame as I liked it apart from these issues, suprised this has not been mentioned more in the reviews I’ve seen online???, may now see if anyone will ever get a Sony 903 instock.

    Thanks again :)

  186. Yes, the 903 is really nice.. I was thinking about it, but it will be very pricey here and I got a good deal on the samsung. It’s too late for me to go back now anyway. In most of the reviews I have read online this issue has been mentioned, but spending some time adjusting the settings and upgrading to an expensive hdmi 1.4 cable helped improve the picture quality on my tv.

  187. Well I upgraded to firmware revision 3001.1 at the weekend and now my 3D optimize function just sends the TV into standby while playing 3D content and resets itself and turns back on.
    The 3D optimize is broken in firmware 3001.1 and the new firmware released 2/11/10 version 3000.6 will not even install as the numbers are lower so the TV thinks its an older revision of firmware.

    So now I have a new TV that as lost its 3D optimize setting

  188. Too late Tom tv has been returned and money is being refunded, as before I was really happy with picture after calibration just couldn’t handle the light bleed, wish I never got rid of my pioneer now, any way looking to order a 903 this weekend just wish HDTVtest would do a review on it.

    Any chances David????

  189. @Karl

    Any chance of resetting the tv to factory standard, and install the 3000.6?
    The reason they pulled back the 3001.1 was because it was faulty, and created more bad than good. I was fortunate to read about this before I installed it.

    @Waller

    Good luck, mate. I hope you will be happy with whatever set you choose :)

  190. @Karl

    If you don’t know how to do it, here’s how:

    From Standby, press Info-Menu-Mute-Power On

    This will open up a new “hidden” menu, and you can choose factory settings.

  191. As mentioned in previous post I have not been happy with my Samsung c 8000 It has now gone back and I have received a Panny tx 46 far better 3d even though the pic is darker no sign of any crosstalk makes this a greet 3d set

  192. Anyone able to post calibration settings on standard or natural mode?
    I tried the settings on movie mode that was posted away up above, but I prefer the other modes except for dynamic and movie.

  193. Dear All,

    I am looking at this stage, to make an upgrade to my entire entertainment system: both Led TV, a blu-ray player (with hard-disc) and a 7.2 A/V amplifier (all of them with latest 3D technologies, 1.4HDMI inputs/outputs, wireless connections to work with a Mac network, etc, etc).

    After some reviews that I’ve read on the web during the last few weeks, I taught that the best option for a 46″ 3D Led TV was samsung 46C8000 or even the 46C7000 – after a careful reading of your reviews, I am again in the “starting point”.

  194. @Ryan: calibration in this case means calibrating the TV to match industry mastering standards. So if you don’t like what the TV looks like after that, that means you don’t like what the film/show you’re watching is intended to look like. If you’d rather just set the TV up the way you want, it doesn’t much matter how it’s done, since it won’t be showing things “in-spec” anyway. In other words, if you’re not going to go for accuracy, you might as well just experiment.

  195. HI David,

    Thanks for this excellent review, im currently looking at purchasing a tv and want to future proof it (if you can with TV’s) to an extent so I was looking at 3D tv’s. I am torn between the Samsung 8000 series and a Panasonic Plasma TV that also does upscaling. Now i hear the next generation of 3D tv’s will be coming out early next year is it worth waiting for these machines to hit the shelves or to plump down for one of the current models?

    Thanks allot for any help you can provide

  196. When you say TVs that do upscaling, remember that ALL LCD and Plasma TVs do this.

    As for 3D, the Panasonics are the best current 3D TVs that I’ve seen because of their lack of crosstalk. But, they do have faults with 3D too. The longer you can wait for 3D, the better.

  197. Be aware of the latest firmware upgrade, version T-VALDEUC_3003.exe. All your settings will be lost. I wonder why Samsung offer unverified firmware releases which cause unpredictable damage. Loosing points on important service for TV users an potential buyers.

  198. I just bought the UN55C8000

    Did I make a mistake? Should I return it?

    and…

    what effect does the firmware have on the TV?

  199. I totally agree with ‘meto’ above- I loaded the latest sofware version 3003.exe and the set reverted to it’s “out of the box” settings including loss of all tuned stations. SO BEWARE!
    Luckily I’d noted down most of the settings but it took a lot of time to get the set back to where I got decent pictures. I have noticed that the 3D pictures seem to have less crosstalk with this latest version. It’s still there but seems to have faded a little. Maybe it’s wishful thinking. Anybody else noticed an improvement
    in 3D quality?

    Cheers- Jack

  200. Quick question. Does the VGA port have any post processing on it? I’m looking at this to try and find a way to seriously reduce the input delay for gaming. I play fighting games seriously and the 32ms in game mode is way too much.

    Now I didn’t buy this TV for strictly fighting games. I knew there would be a risk with the input delay and I have other solutions. This would just be a nice bonus as I know most VGA ports on TV’s remove post processing and significantly increase input delay. Thanks in advance.

  201. “This would just be a nice bonus as I know most VGA ports on TV’s remove post processing and significantly increase input delay”

    Whoops, should read “significantly decrease input delay”.

  202. hi there
    I have the new samsung 80003d and up graded my dennon amp to the new 3311 3d amp and it will not work with this tv have had dennon check the amp and samsung are going to replace the tv this week do you know why they do not work (the dennon23113d amp workes fine)
    many thanks
    Phillip perth australia

  203. I was just wondering if you ever were able to get the best settings for the 3D on here. Plus all these upgrades that I am hearing about and firmware updates….you need the wireless USB to make these changes right?

  204. Design Perfetc, TV Good, 3D with movies in 3D very good, the rest terrible, internet very hard to navigate, great advertisiment from skype and it dont have a simple microfone, you must have to buy the expensive camera. The all share don’t work with mac, that is terrible, I tryed some software but they are slow and navigation is unfriendly, you must have an HDD for timeshift, it dosen’t work with normal HD, and the timeshift sould be called timedelay, because you can’t schedule what you want to record. Converstion 2D->3D, dont waste you time. Only one glass, do they sell that only for single people?

  205. Can you send me the optimicer configuration of this les tv c8000

  206. Just wanted to write and say thank you very much for such a detailed, unbiased review. I have been reading many of your reviews over the last few weeks and it is because of them I have made up my mind on what to buy, and indeed I have ordered my television today. Thanks again and I will look forward to read some of your other reviews in the future.

  207. Took delivery of my 40inch 8000series two weeks ago (Despite or because of all the above, I am not sure which)and for what my wife and I want it for it is fantastic. Its looks are also second to none.
    I was an electronics engineer before I retired this year and found my knowledge got in the way of me enjoying both my audio and video experiences. I was always looking at or listening to the equipment not the program content.
    I do have one problem I would like to ask about, my set seems very sensitive to static and RFI.
    I am a radio amateur and have found that with only 5 watts of rf into my aerials I can cause the set to turn ON and to set the volume flat out. No other equipment I have ever used or currently have in use has ever been affected by my transmissions. I know my transmissions are are clean when examined on a spectrum analyser.
    I have started to fit ferrite cores onto the mains lead and all other connections to the set and these do improve matters, but I have never had to do this before.
    The set is not grounded, and nor are any of the sources, they are all doubled insulated and hence only use two core mains lead.
    My next test is going to be a direct earth connection to one of the 8MM mounting bolts on the back of the set.
    Has any one experienced any problems like these?

  208. Bought the Samsung UE46C8000 about a month ago and to be honest i love the tv but then yesterday it started to display a band of colour, blue mainly (different depending on the background it is against! ) about 2.5 inches wide from top to bottom just off the centre of the screen. I can reduce it by dropping the contrast etc but its still there. Thats my xmas viewing knackered, no Avatar 3 for me, no Flying with Dinosaurs 3d, no Gran Turismo 3D not to mention the ruined HD films and normal tv. Samsung i could scream! I called their help desk and someone is calling me in 2 days time to just arrange coming round so no chance this will be fixed or replaced in a week especially inlcuding the weather…what a nightmare. £2000 well spent, now they have my cash, the fixing can take as long as possible…nice! I am not knocking the tv in anyway, i’ve searched the net and this doesnt seem to be a common problem and i do love the tv but this will test my resolve to stay with Samsung in the future…u never know i may be surprised! Hmmmm.

  209. hello.can someone help me,i bought samsung UE 55 C 8000 and put all inputs on movie mode after turning off of some time he change on dinamik mode and gos too auto visualation.did anybody have a some problem??

  210. Malina,

    My first 8000 did a similar thing, it would go black for 2 seconds every 30 minutes then put its self into Dynamic mode and turn the Contrast to 100%.
    The shop replaced the set with no problem as it was under 28 days old.
    The new one is quite stable apart from the RFI problems I mentioned in my previous comment.

    Mike

  211. hallo

    Next week I plan to buy a new tv. For a long time I think about UE55C8000
    but after reading your opinion now do not know if it’s worth or not?
    So I asked to summarize: whether, despite the shortcomings of this tv worth buying or not buying it absolutely?

  212. David, Thanks loads for the picture settings. The picture was rubbish out of the box. It was line watching the old 80s soap opera’s. Cheers mate.

  213. hi guys , i have owned a ue55c8000 led 3dtv for 6 weeks now,
    firstly im pretty anal wen it comes to tech and i have loads of gadgets
    i ran a side by side comparison with the panasonic, the samsung won, other than a bit of crosstalk which at some point will be fixed with a software update,, the samsung stole the show for me, both tv`s have their pro`s and cons but my big gripe with the pansonic is how dark the picture is well and the fact its a plasma , i have lots of 3d games and film but to be honest i dont watch enough 3d for a bit off crosstalk to be an issue and i have to say its only a bit, my picture has only got better the more i watch it (bedding in).new tech has always had teething issues and the only fault ive had with my tv is the first one i had i couldnt get it to sit on the t.v stand properly,
    i would totally reccomend this t.v as i fingd it tatally stunning , welll done to samsung also if i want to uprade in year or 2 time you wont lose much of your outlay as samsungs quality t.v`s have always held their value , i love my bright crisp picture on my wafer thin t.v, :)

  214. Hi guys ive just recently brought a Samsung UE 558000C and was wondering if anyone was able to tell me how to turn on the backlight for the TV itself. For the edge of the TV where the glass surrounds te TV..

  215. @john didnt know you could?what makes you think the surround lights up?

  216. Does no else find that movie mode creates a beige tint on everything making it look washed out?

  217. I too am having connection problems with the hdmi ports on xbox 360 ue46c7000,anyone else having this problem?could this ever be fixed with updated firmware?

  218. great review and follow up info – thanks David. Does anyone know if the auto-dimming issue has been resolved yet and if the latest software version – T-VALDEUC-3005.1 has any adverse effects

  219. Does anyone know from when a new model for year 2011 – that is UE55D8000 will be sold in Europe?

  220. Also wondering if the new firmware is any good and if it’s now possible to turn off the auto dimming…

    Also, is there any differences between the 32 inch and 40-46 inch except that the 32 inch doesn’t have 3D support? Are the panels and 2D picture quality the same?

    Cheers
    Audun

  221. The firmware has been updated for a lng while now, i got this tv back at the end of the summer and its fantastic quality!!! I still get anoyed with the ghosting on 3D but its pretty good, just sit as far back as you can, the football in 3D is stunning!

  222. does anyone have 3D settings i can use?

  223. How can I switch off the Samsung logo on the bottom of my 55″C8000?

  224. I have just bought the 55″ C8000, do the setting set up mentioned a lot earlier still apply or should they be different now?

    thanks

  225. Hi there is a firmware update on the samsung website, its version 3006.2. I think this might resolve some of the issues mentioned above. Is there any chance that you can check this please David? would be grateful if you could look into this.

    Cheers mate

  226. Few questions:

    1. What is input lag in PC mode ? Is it faster than Game Mode ?

    2. Just wonder why Game Mode is not available in PC mode ?
    (according to manual)
    Some people are still using PC as gaming platform and want as little lag as possible.

    3. Is there any way to connect PC (vga, dvi, hdmi) and still have option to enable game mode ?

    4.Anyone tried AMD Radeon HD6000 series or Nvidia GTX500 series to play 3D Blu Ray movies and games on UE46C8000 ?

    Thank you for answer.

    Simon

  227. John Boyle to answer your question

    Within the TV’s menu, under the Setup sub-menu, you will see the option “General”. Enter this option and you should see the “Light Effect” adjustment that will allow you to turn off the front LED light.

  228. Simon, I would try connecting the pc via HDMI to ports 2, 3 or 4 to avoid “pc mode”.

    Cheers,
    Audun

  229. hi yes i use the settings as above on my 55inch 8000 series and they are good settings…..still waithing for 3d setting though anyone?

  230. I downloaded the lastest firmware today. Version 3007.1.exe. Unlike other earlier versions it doesn’t reset everything to out of the box settings.
    I’ve not noticed any changes so far in picture quality and there is still some crosstalk on 3D programmes but it does depend on content.
    Does anybody know what the “3D Optimisation”settings do? I can’t see any changes in picture quality on 3D in any of the three settings of this control.
    Has anybody come up with a good set of 3D settings for both Sky and Blu-ray??

    Thanks for the site-

    All the best- Jack…

  231. Hi, I bought the 46′ set last week and auto-dimming is a real pain! Really no way to inactvate this?
    I am really considering a refund at the moment since wiewing alien or blade runner on this set is absolutely awful. This and poor vision angles. What a shame at this price.

  232. Red
    If you are refering to it auto dimming to your room lite. Yes, you can turn this off.
    Menu->Picture->Eco Solution. With in this option, you will want to adjust the Eco Sensor to off.

  233. so many posts on this forum but still no one sharing 3d settings that reduce crosstalk. Has anyone played killzone 3 in 3d, there is a free demo available on the ps3 store. The game looks amazing in 3d but the crosstalk is ruining the experience. Could anyone please post 3d setting, anything would be better than what i have now….

  234. Mohsin, I turned down the 3D in the demo to 80 and the 3D setting to +3 and I couldn’t notice any ghosting at all !. Ive got the samsung LCD le40c750. I use my ps3 for blu-ray and 3D. I haven’t really noticed ghosting in the films I have…Alice and crimbo carol and I do have coraline in 3D and I haven’t had time to watch it yet. Is it possible for ghosting to ever be fixed ???

  235. Hello new to this posting was interested in this set but in 40″ but you tested 46″ and there’s a lot of reference to the panny. I personally am not a fan of the panny but if your buying a 46″ then you should really look at the Sony 46hx903 as it’s better than the sammy

  236. Don’t bother with this model. I bought a 40″ samsung c8000 less than three months ago and suddenly all the colours mangeled. There is a Strong green and purpule in all screen. Samsung engineer confirm that TV is in a state of repair. I will try to demand for replacement as this TV has a stunning picture.

  237. Hello, David.

    Thank you very much for these settings, the image shows a very big improvement, at least I was close to return the set to the shop, and now is fine (2D) but for a visible clouding sometimes at the lower left corner. I will keep an eye on this page just in case someone publish 3D settings.

    Thank you again.

    Pepe from Spain.

  238. Andre van Eeden

    Dear all (owners) & David,

    HELP!, I am about to purchase a new TV, as my ‘old’ Philips Plasma Ambilight has finally had it…it went with a ‘bang!’, literally :)

    SO: My question, do I purchase the C750 or the C8000? Price difference is not the issue, but I am worried about the auto dimming issue of the C8000

    I have read many many reviews, and I have visited a lot of local stores to compare the 2x screens, and from all of them, the C8000 always seemed to be brighter, and the ‘whites’ whiter (less grey). The finishing looked better. (Probably because stores always have a huge amount of florescent lighting, that the LED seems to display better)

    I am NOT really interested in 3D, majority of viewing is 1080 BluRay 2D content (for now). My room has windows, but not direct sunlight, and most of my viewing is later afternoon and night time in any case. So do I really need the C8000’s brighter LED backlit?

    Any feedback most welcome…good or bad :)

    C750 or C8000?

    Andre, South Africa

  239. P.S. looking between: xx46C750 or xx46C8000

  240. I went and got the LA46C750 (same as LE46C750, depend on country). I am extremely satisfied with this unit, and it turns out that it has more than enough backlight to cater for my needs. The display units in the shops are obviously never calibrated….hence it looked a bit darker than the C8000. BUT I am very very pleased with my purchase. Especially after some tweaks, the 2D is absolutely awesome! (Have not even bothered with 3D as yet, as mentioned, 3D is not really my attention at present)

    Keep up the good work, I based my final purchase on 90%+ of the information I got on your reviews David, Excellent job with all your reviews…..Another very satisfied customer :)

  241. My Samsung 46″ is great but it turns itself off briefly – or the picture goes black/off briefly – it doesn’t lose power as the tune doesn’t play and is not ‘off’ that long and if i rewind and play on Sky+ it shows that ‘moment’ without the black-out.

    The engineers tell me it is a common problem – Anybody have any ideas if this is related to the auto dimming, memory or an in-tv power problem? I have the latest software installed (engineer did it as i read in the instructiopns that Samsung take no responsibilty for upgrades and you could invalidate the guarantee if you do it yourself- great!)

    This has been going after we had the TV for about 2 months. driving me crazy as although i can tolerate the brief black-outs it suggests something else is wrong ??

    Any help would be appreciated as we are on engineer visit no 3 on Monday 18th April …..

  242. I’ve had the Samsung 46″ 8000 series set since last September.
    I’ve also had the very occasional loss of picture (about a second?) but it only seems to happen when I’m watching a Sky+ HD recording and on replay of the same segment there is no blackout.
    I’ve never had it happen on any other source (Blu ray, Humax Freeview box and a Wii.), or when watching DTV. Perhaps it’s a problem with the Sky box. (Mine is the 1terabit version.) and an occasional glitch that the Samsung doesn’t like.
    I’ve just downloaded the latest software 3008_3 and will put in into the set today.
    Lets see what that does.

    Cheers- Jack

  243. What is the best settings for watching 3d movies on Samsung 8-series like 8705 modell. i got some ghost shapes when i play Imax documentary. Please please help with full setting instruction for 3d

  244. I’ve had the same issues with the TV switching itself onto ‘standby’ mode and then back on again until after a month it decided not to switch on at all. TV is 4 months old and haven’t had use of it for one of those four months.

    ‘Repaired’ but problem still there, reported it again and whilst awaiting collection it developed vertical shadows which were worse when viewing green areas – Not good for a football lover!

    I’m having all sorts of problems with retailer and have rejected TV. If anyone has any information regarding whether SAMSUNG are acknowledging the problem with the powering off issue and can help me it’d be greatly appreciated.

  245. i’m also experiencing the fact the tv keeps turning itself off then back on again! is it repairable or not because it is getting very irritating now!

  246. Hi David,

    Can you please share with us the best 3D settings…a lot of people here are very interested to these settings…..

    very complete reviews….

    thank you very much.

  247. I own this set and am reasonably pleased with it. I use it primarily for 3d gaming and it’s ok, but not amazing. For 2d it is good, no real perceptible lag. Crysis 2 is really good, even in 3d after messing with the settings. The speakers in this set are ok if your that way inclined, reasonably good imaging on srs movie compared with earlier samsung models that i’ve owned. I bought my set in dec 2010 and even though I paid over the odds for it, it’s still amazing every time I watch it compared with my old samsung lcd. For me that is when I know it’s money well spent!

  248. Very happy with settings above. But what is the best 3D settings David?

    Thanks!

  249. I had the Samsung 46′ C8000 with the same problem goes black/off briefly.
    it’s a fault with the HDMI .
    It’s a common problem and Samsung know about .
    Samsung replace my tv with a new one .The same fault happen on the new tv.
    Got my money back in the end.

  250. New software online from 9th. Sept. T-VALDEUC-3010.1 exe
    I’ve loaded it to my set and am happy to report that all presets are not affected unlike earlier versions. Am I imagining things but does the 3D crosstalk seem less? Watching tennis from the US Open showed that some cameras were showing almost no crosstalk but others were very bad. This would point to camera alignment (Convergence) and not to any shortcomings in the picture at home.
    Anybody got any thoughts?
    Cheers Jack

  251. Teymur from Baku

    Anyone installed the latest june 2012 T-VALDEUC-3015.1 exe ? Any setbacks ?

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