Regardless of a glossy design, high-quality video processing and really low enter lag, the Samsung UE49NU8000 is handicapped by suboptimal movement and HDR efficiency.
Professionals
- Correct colors
- Good sharpness
- Very low enter lag
Cons
- 60Hz panel on 49-inch model
- Ineffective HDR presentation
Key Specs
- Extremely HD decision
- Backside-lit edge LED backlighting
- HDR assist for HDR10, HLG & HDR10+ codecs
What’s the Samsung UE49NU8000?
Samsung’s Quantum-Dot-equipped ‘QLED’ TVs will be wonderful – have a look at the brand new Samsung Q9FN – however they’re additionally costly. For many people trying to purchase a 4K TV, the step-down NU sequence of LED LCD TVs are extra inside attain, such because the UE49NU8000, yours for £1199 within the UK.
4 bigger display sizes are additionally out there: the 55-inch UE55NU8000, the 65-inch UE65NU8000, the 75-inch UE75NU8000, and the large 82-inch UE82NU8000.
You may count on good sharpness and color, however inevitably for an LCD TV, there are compromises on darkish efficiency. The sizes 55 inches and above are the perfect variations of this TV: the 49-inch model makes use of a 60Hz panel, which has some movement points, therefore the 7/10 rating. The larger sizes don’t have that downside and would rating 8/10.
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Samsung UE49NU8000 – Design and options
Its construct high quality can really feel just a little ropey in locations, however the Samsung UE49NU8000 cuts a good-looking profile. The skinny black bezel transitions to darkish silver alongside the underside edge. The central open stand creates that sought-after “floating” look. The stand’s plastic end is well-disguised by the brushed metallic alongside the entrance T-bar.
The bezel and the chassis are thicker than these discovered on Samsung’s edge LED TVs from final yr. That is presumably as a result of the ports are actually situated on the TV itself, quite than farmed out to an exterior field.
There are two USB sockets and 4 HDMI inputs, all of that are appropriate with HDMI 2.0b (to assist 4K HDR at the next body fee, chroma or bit depth) and the HDCP 2.2 copy safety protocol. Cables will be routed via the pedestal stem on the rear of the tv for a tidier look.
Two distant controls are provided with the Samsung 49NU8000. One is a conventional distant with far too many rubbery buttons crammed onto a small wand. The opposite is a sublime Sensible distant with minimal buttons and built-in microphone for Bixby-assisted voice instructions.
The sensible TV interface is pretty intuitive, on our evaluate unit it was barely laggier than earlier efforts from Samsung. Additionally, on the time of evaluate, the pre-installed Amazon Prime Video app didn’t assist UHD HDR (though Netflix and YouTube did), whereas the most important UK catch-up TV apps – BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub and others – weren’t out there to obtain from the app retailer. Samsung tells us it will change with a future replace.
Supported HDR codecs embody the usual HDR10, the broadcast-friendly HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) and the brand new HDR10+. These final two aren’t significantly thrilling in the intervening time because of a scarcity of content material, however contemplate them to be a form of futureproofing.
Samsung UE49NU8000 – Efficiency
The Samsung NU8000 is a combined bag, however we’ll begin with the great.
Whereas not as explosively vibrant as its QLED brethren, the Samsung UE49NU8000’s color rendition seems to be very pure. It infuses an immersive sense of realism to pores and skin tones, foliage and different reminiscence colors.
Readability and definition are nice too, actually taking advantage of the Extremely HD decision. The TV additionally upscales standard- and high-definition materials very nicely to suit on its UHD display, incurring little or no fizziness whereas retaining element in a relatively sharp method. That’s a giant deal contemplating the overwhelming majority of content material out there may be nonetheless not in 4K. We’d say that Samsung’s up-conversion algorithm is arguably essentially the most forgiving available on the market, offering pleasing outcomes.
Samsung UE49NU8000 excels at gaming responsiveness: we measured enter lag at a record-low 14ms in Recreation mode, no matter whether or not the incoming video sign was 1080p SDR or 2160p HDR. This can make reflex-based video games akin to arcades and racers a pleasure to play on the tv.
One other bonus is which you could play to your coronary heart’s content material for so long as you need with out worry of inflicting everlasting screenburn. The jury continues to be out on the problem of screenburn, however the consensus is that OLED TVs usually tend to endure from it. When you’re the sort to go away a static picture in your TV for hours at a time, Samsung has you coated.
You additionally get deep blacks by LED LCD requirements. That’s as a result of Samsung usually employs VA-type LCD panels, which prioritise distinction over viewing angles. The VA LCD panel is illuminated via a single strip of LED modules alongside the underside of the TV, whose mild is then distributed throughout your entire display by way of mild information plates. This method permits for a slimmer design and decrease manufacturing prices than full-array direct-lit LED televisions.
There are compromises with that method, although. For starters, the highest and backside black bars in wider side ratio movies can by no means be utterly darkened every time mild is required to depict content material on-screen. It’s effective in a lit room, however they’ll look a bit gray in pitch-black rooms, particularly in HDR mode.
There may be additionally noticeable haloing, which works all the best way from the highest to the underside of the display when vibrant objects overlay a black background. Deploying a small dose of ambient lighting within the room can masks these points, though the lighting points are amplified by HDR.
First, since backlight needs to be cranked as much as most to fulfill HDR’s excessive peak brightness calls for, low-light sequences can tackle a misty, greyish look, plus black uniformity points akin to clouding turn into extra evident. Additionally, vibrant objects in opposition to a black backdrop can exhibit important blooming that spans the entire peak of the display. Shadow element also can look vague on the UE49NU8000 as a result of Samsung’s tone-mapping philosophy favours retaining all specular spotlight element over sustaining total brightness or APL (Common Image Degree).
That being stated, vibrant efficiency isn’t a difficulty. Peak brightness reached 800 nits on a ten% window, and 535 nits full-field on our evaluate pattern. It’s wonderful for lighter photos that don’t have to juggle darkish areas, akin to dwell sports activities.
Movement efficiency is underwhelming on the 49-inch NU8000, owing largely to using a 60Hz LCD panel as a substitute of a 120Hz one discovered on bigger display sizes. The onboard body interpolation doesn’t have an effect on 50Hz or 60Hz content material, and so can’t be used to scale back movement blurring in fast-action sports activities. Participating backlight scanning within the type of LED Clear Movement can improve movement decision, nevertheless it ends in duplicate ghost photos.
Additionally, in 50Hz content material – akin to soccer on BBC or Sky Q within the UK – judder discount is compelled to the utmost worth of ’10’ when you allow LED Clear Movement. This introduces seen interpolation artefacts, so we’d quite not activate LED Clear Movement in any respect.
As for sound, the down-firing stereo audio system produce respectable sound (the TV goes moderately loud earlier than distorting, and dialogue is evident) for run-of-the-mill viewing. Nonetheless, as is nearly all the time the case with flat-screen TVs, an exterior soundbar or house theatre system will present a greater audio expertise when you take your motion pictures severely.
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Why purchase the Samsung UE49NU8000?
There are various issues to love concerning the Samsung NU8000. It’s a pointy TV with good colors, with wonderful video processing and a gamer-friendly super-low enter lag. It’s nonetheless an edge-lit LCD mannequin, and if lighting uniformity and distinction is vital to you, you’ll need to take a look at the Sony XF90.
Then there’s the movement challenge with the 49-inch model of the NU8000: it’s let down by its native 60Hz LCD panel, which severely handicaps the tv’s movement efficiency in a few key areas. When you’d nonetheless prefer to plump for a Samsung NU8000, then go together with the 55-inch on the very least. It and larger fashions will at the very least have a local 120Hz panel for increased movement readability and smoother 24fps playback.
Verdict
Regardless of a glossy design, high-quality video processing and really low enter lag, the Samsung UE49NU8000 is handicapped by suboptimal movement and HDR efficiency.
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We take a look at each TV we evaluate totally over an prolonged time period. We use trade normal exams to match options correctly. We’ll all the time inform you what we discover. We by no means, ever, settle for cash to evaluate a product.
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Used as the principle TV for the evaluate interval
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