When it comes to TVs, Samsung is best known for its high-end QLED models, so-called because of their use of quantum dot technology. They’re generally sleek, stylish panels that offer impressive color performance, but they’re also quite pricey. Samsung also offers budget-friendly TVs in the form of its Crystal UHD lineup. These models don’t use color-widening quantum dots, but they’re much less expensive, and can be compelling alternatives for budget-minded shoppers. The TU8000 is a solid, economical entry in the Crystal UHD line, with the 55-inch UN55TU8000FXZA model we tested available for just $549.99. It won’t wow you with contrast or color, especially next to comparable Hisense and TCL models, but it’s packed with useful features and offers modest but consistent performance for a reasonable price.
A Minimal Design
The design of the TU8000 can best be described as minimalist. The sides and top of the screen have nearly nonexistent bezels, just the edges of the glossy black plastic sides of the TV itself, while the bottom edge features a thin, half-inch brushed black plastic bezel. The picture isn’t quite as edge-to-edge as Samsung’s higher-end TVs are, though; a fraction of an inch of black glass frames the sides and top of the active part of the screen in lieu of bezels. The TV is otherwise distinguished only by a small Samsung logo in the center of the bottom bezel.
Two V-shaped black plastic legs click into the bottom of the TV and hold it steady on any flat surface wide enough. You can also mount it on the wall.
Aside from the power cable connector, which sits just to the left of the center of the back of the TU8000, all connections can be found on the right side of the back of the TV. Two HDMI ports, two USB ports, and an antenna connector face right, while a third HDMI port, an Ethernet port, RCA composite inputs, and an optical audio output face back. Three HDMI ports is pretty scant for a modern TV; even most budget models have four.
The included remote is a simple rectangular black plastic wand that curves forward slightly to better fit in the hand. A circular navigation pad sits near the top, with a pinhole microphone and Power, Microphone, Number, and Ambient Mode buttons above the pad. Menu navigation buttons, volume and channel rockers, and dedicated service buttons for Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and Samsung TV Plus sit below the pad.
Lots of Features
Samsung continues to use its own smart TV platform rather than a third-party system like Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, or Roku TV. The company’s Tizen-powered Smart TV interface features a number of popular streaming apps like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Sling TV, and YouTube. Twitch is missing, however, and while there are some interesting additional apps like Steam Link for playing games streamed from your PC, the app selection is otherwise a bit lacking compared with the aforementioned smart TV platforms.
Fortunately, what the TU8000 lacks in app numbers, it makes up for in features. The platform supports voice assistants through the remote’s microphone, letting you choose between Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or Samsung’s own Bixby. It can also mirror your computer or mobile device’s screen through Windows 8.1/10 wireless display support, Apple AirPlay, and Samsung’s SmartThings app. The TV even supports remote access to PCs, Samsung’s DeX docking system, and cloud access to Office 365, and includes a web browser.
If you like to keep something on your TV when you aren’t actively watching it, the TU8000 offers an Ambient Mode that cuts down the backlight and displays various artwork, nature backgrounds, and music visualizations.
A Modest Performer
The Samsung TU8000 is a 4K TV. It supports high dynamic range (HDR) content in HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision.
We test TVs using a Klein K-80 colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman software using methodology based on Imaging Science foundation’s calibration techniques.
How We Test TVsHow We Test TVs
Neither contrast nor color will particularly impress users of the TU8000, though it doesn’t perform poorly in any category. After setting the Black Level to Low in the TV’s External Device Manager menu (under General, not Picture, settings) and testing with an SDR signal in Movie mode, the TU8000 showed a peak brightness of 244.015cd/m2 with a full white field and 242.827cd/m2 with an 18% white field. This indicates that the TV’s backlight system uses edge lighting, or otherwise doesn’t engage in any zone-based dimming or boosting.
Black level was low in testing, averaging 0.034 cd/m^2 for an effective contrast ratio of 7,177:1. Using an HDR signal doesn’t change those numbers appreciably, so don’t expect a brighter picture if you’re watching HDR content.
Those numbers aren’t too bad for a budget TV, beating out the Vizio M-Series Quantum with far lower black levels for a higher contrast on a similarly bright panel (the M-Series Quantum shows an average black level of 0.156cd/m2, resulting in a 1,416:1 contrast ratio). However, both the Hisense H8G and the TCL 6-Series offer far brighter panels (respectively 1,114.897cd/m^2 and 673.254cd/m^2) and much lower black levels (respectively 0.015cd/m^2 and 0.012cd/m^2), for significantly higher contrast ratios.
The above charts show an SDR signal compared with Rec.709 broadcast standard color levels to the left, and an HDR signal compared with DCI-P3 digital cinema standard color levels to the right. Here’s where the TU8000 lags behind the Vizio M-Series Quantum, because it lacks the quantum dot technology found in both Vizio’s and Samsung’s higher-end TVs. This limits the color range, which isn’t much of a problem for SDR content, but severely tamps down on the vividness and variety of greens in HDR content.
BBC’s Planet Earth II looks nice on the TU8000, but the relatively dim panel and low color range prevent it from feeling really impressive. The greens of plants appear natural, if slightly muted, and that general sense of undersaturation can be seen to a lesser extent in the blues of the sky and water, and the oranges and yellows of canyons. The colors are all balanced well, but they don’t pop like they do on the Hisense H8G, the TCL 6-Series, or the Vizio M-Series Quantum.
While greens aren’t nearly as vibrant as they are on other TVs, reds are nicely saturated on the TU8000. This can be seen in Deadpool, where the titular character’s costume in the opening scenes appears appropriately crimson and not dull in the overcast lighting. The flaming lab scene shows off the TU8000’s solid contrast, with shadow details discernible against the flickering flames, rather than disappearing or looking muddy.
The TU8000’s modest but capable contrast also comes through in the party scenes in The Great Gatsby. While whites don’t stand out quite as much as they do on brighter TVs, the contours and textures of black suits and dark hair can be easily seen in the same frame. Skin tones also look generally natural in these scenes.
Low Input Lag
Input lag is the amount of time between when a TV receives a signal and the screen updates, and the TU8000 can show impressively low lag with a little tweaking. Using an HDFury Diva HDMI matrix to test, the TV has a rather high input lag of 82.5 milliseconds in normal viewing modes with Game mode turned off. Turning Game mode on cuts that down to 19.4ms, which puts the TU8000 under the threshold to be considered one of the best TVs for gaming.
It can do even better, though, if you go into the External Device Manager menu, select Game mode, and disable the Game Motion Plus motion smoothing feature. This drops the input lag down to just 3.2ms, which puts it in gaming monitor territory.
Affordable and Feature-Rich
The Samsung TU8000 series doesn’t offer the most impressive picture, but its contrast and color accuracy are adequate for the price. The Samsung Smart TV platform packs several useful features to help make up for its relatively sparse app selection, and the TU8000’s input lag performance is fantastic for gamers. It edges out the Vizio M-Series with its superior black level and voice assistant support, but ultimately the Hisense H8G is the best choice in this price range. It’s much brighter, has far better color performance, and its Android TV interface offers a wide selection of apps, along with Google Cast. If you can spend a bit more, meanwhile, the Hisense H9G and TCL 6-Series both offer even better, brighter pictures.
