Samsung UN55KS8000 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV (2016 Model)

Product Specifications

• The Premium Flat 4K SUHD Picture with Quantum Dot Color Drive. Fires off a billion more colors than HD TVs for a lifelike picture(unlike anything else
• More than just pitch black, get the best shades of black with Triple Black Technology. Never miss a detail in the dark.
• HDR 1000 mirrors the high contrast and vividness the way movie makers intended
• Get richer colors and deeper contrast with UHD Dimming

• Smart 2016 - Use one universal remote to switch from Live TV to streaming seamlessly. Easily access everything you want to watch.

  Product Description

Size:55-Inch  |  Style:TV Product Description The Samsung 4K SUHD TV completely redefines the viewing experience with the revolutionary Quantum Dot nano-crystal technology. The KS8000 features innovations that produce a remarkable High Dynamic Range picture experience, regardless of room-light interference. Access your favorite streaming content services easier and faster with our premium design Smart Remote Controller.

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Product Reviews

Great up scaling. Great color. Vibrant picture.

This review is dedicated to all those who ruminate for weeks to months on making a purchase decision.I’m 50 years old; this is my primary television in the house. It serves my wife and family, and must be easy to use by those who do not understand electronics.I finally bought this 4k TV ¹¹⁄₂₀₁₆ after about 6 months of looking, and an end of year price drop on several of the models I had narrowed my selection down to. It took a while for me to figure out the decent sets offered by each manufacturer. I wanted to stay at $1500 or less for a 65” current year model. I was not willing to pay for a top of the line model, but wanted something a few notches down that still had most of the high end features, especially picture quality with up scaling. I stayed away from 2015 models as the 2016 set I picked outperformed the 2015 top of the line model. I was not willing to pay for OLED, and glad I didn’t as the black levels on this set are not a compromise; and I think unless you have a matching OLED set directly next to this model, I really think you are not going to notice much difference.I replaced an old 1080 Sharp 52” that was very high end at the time when Sharp was a bigger player in TV’s. The picture was great for a 1080, and it is being transferred to the basement for ongoing use. Even after my 4k purchase, and prior to it’s arrive and use I felt guilty about replacing the 1080 set. Nothing was wrong with it, but looking at the quality of 4K’s picture with just an up scaled picture, and the larger size - I wanted to move forward. I put all this personal information in so in making your own decision, the reasons for my direction are clearer. Anyone who has the money or wants to take out a loan can buy the top of the line model you are welcome to go to it, but you have to ask is it really worth it? Are you throwing money away? Value was of importance to me, given I’m sure in 10 years I will be replacing the set again.Back to buying, I had narrowed my choices down to the Sony 850 after a great price drop, the Samsung 70” in the 6300 model line, toyed with the idea of LG’s super UHD because the pictures look great in the store and even the Visio M series. I eliminated the Visio based on price to value and quirky streaming reviews with the android based remote. I eliminated the LG based on price at the time of purchase, and reliability concerns. I eliminated the 6300 Samsung after a Best Buy side by side comparison display in the store for the exact purpose of comparing there UHD vs SUHD. Samsung’s SUHD just blew the 6300 away and the tech specs of the model I purchased were so much better. I liked the Sony because of the name, solid reviews, and even at 100 less expensive than the Samsung 8000 series, but I liked the picture quality of the SUHD Samsung better. I looked at no less than 10 online review sights including consumer reports. I read 100’s of peoples personal reviews. I narrowed down the purchase as coming from Sam’s Club (or Costco), Best Buy, Amazon and B&H Photo. I wanted at least a 4 year warranty and the price of that warranty was also a factor in where I purchased, as was availability. No one had the 65” 8000 Samsung in Milwaukee, it had to be shipped. After narrowing my purchase down to a basic price point, I picked the set I liked the most, not caring about 100-300 dollars in cost one way or another.Having the set only a several days I have no complaints. Out of the box her are my impressions:1. I love the picture. Namely the sharpness, contrast, color and most importantly the UP SCALED picture quality. I don’t expect to watch much in true 4k, so up scaling performance was a factor for me. With just up-scaling, the colors are fantastic compared to the prior set. I believe this thing has a 10 bit processor and a billion color possibilities. I don’t know what that means but the colors are mesmerizing. Shortly after setup, we found ourselves watching the (original) Star Wars series broadcast on cable. It was like seeing the movies for the first time. The picture was fine if not amazing right out of the box. People who are complaining about out of the box settings just don’t make sense to me, except for turning off motion optimizer and such. I have a wide family room. Side viewing angle is good quality.2. I like the Smart Hub: The only wires going to the back of the set are the power cable, the Cat-5 network cable (I don’t believe in relying on Wi-Fi for streaming) and the smart hub cable. The digital optical cable (the only way to connect to your sound system unless you have a Bluetooth speaker system) and 3 HDMI’s and 2 USB inputs are on the hub. This leaves my TV setup very clutter free compared to the prior set. The height of the set on the stand allows me to put my center channel speaker behind the TV. Nice clean setup. I zip tied the power cable, network cable and Smart Hub cable to the legs of the stands and the cables are now almost invisible. On a side note, the component in and RCA out is gone with this set, so if you have older equipment to attach, you will need to upgrade your surround. However, I very much like the digital optical out from the smart hub, that transmits audio from all inputs, through the TV and to ONE INPUT on my surround sound system. No switching from device to another device anymore on the surround sound system.3. I like the smart remote. It is small and well thought out. It took a few hours to get down how to work it (without reading the directions) but the more I use it the more I like it. I am very glad I did not buy the android based Visio after working with the Smart Remote. The cable company’s remotes are fine to use with this set as well, so everyone gets a remote now.4. I like the Settings Menu. I found exploring the settings and various options to be straight forward. I have not had to read the owners manual on this set.5. I like the almost invisible benzyl around the set. The screen frame is largest along the bottom and the feet are also chrome in appearance but this is not in any was distracting from viewing, other than the feet are ?ugly. Samsung did put a lighted SAMSUNG in the center of the bottom benzyl which is on when the set is on. I found it annoying at first but it disappears when you get used to the set. This can be turned off if you like.So after great concern over buying the wrong set, the decision has been made. The picture is phenomenal, the features appear worth it. You can buy a lot of 65 inch sets now for 900 to 2200; I think the value to quality of this set is acceptable at the price point. I will not be returning this set thinking I will get more or better elsewhere.Best of luck.

One of the best 4K TVs with a great picture.

The Samsung KS8000 is probably one of the best 4K TVs with a good picture that’s still affordable. The best 4K LED would be the Sony Z9D, with the X940D (X930D) with a close second and OLED naturally being the best overall.The Samsung KS8000 has a lot of high end features, with a great picture and a sleek high end design to back it up. There is only two flaws I’ve seen with this TV, and I’ll go into detail with that later.For now, I’ll start on the picture quality, and it’s excellent. Even in a dark rooms the KS8000 is able to produce dark scenes richly detailed that blow a lot of LEDs out of the water. Colorful scenes like cartoons for an example, pop off the screen and this is due to the KS8000 being a Quantum Dot display which comes with a Wide Color Gamut. Samsung, LG and Sony higher end models have this display, they just call it differently because Quantum Dot Display doesn’t sound sexy like Samsung’s Nano Crystal Display or LG’s Color Prime Super UHD TV.This display is really what makes HDR content impressive and really stick out over standard content. So for those who can’t wait to get their hands on 4K HDR gaming, this TV is a must have if you really want to see a difference.The KS8000 also has amazing contrast and black levels, this helps tremendously with HDR and dark scenes in movies as it gives you a more realistic picture and accurate color display.Now for negative number one, it’s local dimming needs improvement. I thought Samsung was going to do more with Full Array Local Dimming as their last year highest end model had that and I assumed either they would repeat that or trickle down on some of the other models. Unfortunately they seem bent on sticking with Edge Lit local dimming, which don’t get me wrong they’ve improved on that over the years but still doesn’t come close as full array dimming and for that I have to call them out on it. However, having any local dimming is better than not having it at all so we should be thankful nonetheless.Negative number two is a thing all Samsung’s have and that’s limited viewing angles, and this is also why their TVs can give us such a good contrast and black levels and that’s because they aren’t using an IPS display. IPS displays sacrifices contrast and black levels to give a wider viewing area without the picture deteriorating the more off angle you are like the Samsung’s. Each have their own positives and negatives, it’s up the manufacturer to improve on these faults and Samsung is slowly but surly working on this as with LG and their IPS panels. However, LG could fix there issue by going full array local dimming but they are as hell bent as Samsung with Edge lit TVs. Edge Lit TVs are cheaper, and they can make the TVs really thin where as full array would cost more and make the TV a little more bulky. I personally don’t care how thin my TV is, because the true bragging rights come from having the best picture not the thinnest TV. This is where I fault many TV manufacturers for using this back light system.There is another thing that needs to be said as well, and this is a feature that no one ever seems to look at when buying a TV and that’s Judder-Free 24p support. Movies play a certain frame rates, Blu Rays and DVD’s play at 24fps, streaming movies like from Netflix play at 60p and movies from cable are 60i. This has been a thing that has always been over looked with most people, and that is does that TV support these frame rates. Samsung’s 2016 models K6250 all the way through KU7500 doesn’t support ANY of these frame rates. This means that regardless of what’s playing, there will be a slight judder. It’s mostly noticeable with slow panning shots, and to be honest most people don’t notice it all. This is one of the reasons why Motion Interpolation which Samsung calls it “Clear Motion Rate” or now “Motion Rate” is included with LED’s and that’s because with that Soap Opera Effect on, it hides the judder you could see, so they could cut corners with some internal features that you wouldn’t know you’re missing. Samsung isn’t the only brand that does this, Sony, LG, Vizio and many more do the same thing, and it’s annoying and a trend that’s slowly starting to change.However, Samsung for the first year their entire KS line up supports all of these frame rates which means that regardless of what you are watching it will play smoothly, and without judder. This is a God send for those who hate the soap opera effect, so you can go into the settings, set it to custom and turn those sliders down and see the movies as they were intended to play. Their Clear Motion Rate now is just extra icing on an already well made cake, so now you can literally have your cake and eat it too.The Samsung KS8000 is the best buy for a TV in this price range if you want to use it for multiple usage. Not a lot of other TVs can compete with its high picture quality, number of features and asking price. The KS8500 is almost identical, just with a curved screen and a little better with the black levels. If you want a curved screen, then it’s still a great buy but other wise there’s no true benefit of upgrading.The KS9000 can get brighter which is good for HDR, but not at the price point that they want for it and it shares the same identical features and picture quality. I don’t see a reason to spend the money for the upgrade.The Sony X930D picture quality isn’t superior but its price is. The Sony X930D share the same picture quality, but X930D has one of the best Edge Lit local dimming I’ve seen to date and really out does Samsung on this one. The Samsung KS8000 offers a similar picture quality both in a very bright or very dark room and at a better price point that sits well with people. So if you have the money, I would go with Sony other wise the KS8000 is a good buy.The LG UH8500 can’t exactly compete with the Samsung KS8000 over picture quality, however the UH8500 does have a wider range of viewing angles and supports both HDR formats as well as Passive 3D which with a 4K display is amazing. So if you have a larger room, and have multiple people watching at all angles then the LG may be a better buy, however if you are always in front of the TV, then the Samsung would be better.

Nice for 4K gaming, but buggy, terribly unreliable software.

First, the good: This TV is one of the best for 4K gaming. You can get 4K HDR with ~22ms of latency.

4k HDR is dull and blurry on 2 different KS8000s

I bought two (2) KS8000s, one 65” and one 55” based on the reviews. After one year, 4k movies will STILL not play correctly. The picture dims, gets cloudy, and dull.

… ¹⁄₂”) than the one on the 55” model - disappointed with “mis-advertisement”

The bezel on the 60” model is substantially wider (about ¹⁄₂”) than the one on the 55” model - disappointed with “mis-advertisement”.

Great Picture, Less Smart

Works well generally though the “smart” TV functions are less stable than older versions. My previous 55” LCD television from Samsung just worked, I never had trouble…

Fantastic

fabulous tv..still working..

much better at reproducing true Black

I have to say I preferred Plasma Technology, much better at reproducing true Black. My 7 year old Plasma was showing it’s age, in 2017 almost all Plasma TV’s have gone the way of…

Display is amazing. Smart TV? Not quite

The display and color are incredible in 4k especially with my PS4 Pro. My k my reason for reviewing this is to warn anyone who things the “smart” part of the tv will be a…

One Star

tv arrived badly damaaged

BEWARE!! Faulty Resistors in DESIGN - IT WILL BURN OUT RIGHT AFTER YOUR WARRANTY ENDS

Dont let the TV FOOL YOU!!! Might look great sure at first.. but try to get more then 2 years out of it! TRY IT!! I DARE YOU! Mines died straight after 10 months .

Love it, hate it.

We have three 8 series Samsungs, two 55” and one 65”. Each TV is connected via HDMI to a FIOS cable box and a Raspberry PI 3 running LibreElec Kodi distribution, and via…

Get it at Amazon

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