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  • Tour & Design

  • Performance Features

  • Connectivity & Media

  • Controls, Menu & Remote

  • Conclusion

  • Series Comparison

  • Tour & Design
  • Performance Features
  • Connectivity & Media
  • Controls, Menu & Remote
  • Conclusion
  • Series Comparison

Tour & Design


The Samsung UN55C8000 is mostly screen, as you might expect—a big, 55-inch screen. Samsung has clearly spent a lot of time developing new finishes on their TVs, starting with last year's 'Touch of Color' series. While the jury is still out on whether they actually look good, Samsung is steamrolling ahead with a second-gen aesthetic called 'mystic earth.' The photos seen in this review are not what you should expect on the final model. Samsung representatives informed us that the model on the CES show floor was mock-up. The final model is expected to have a brushed metal finish, which should (we suspect) make it look like a 55-inch iPhone.

Along the bottom, there's a translucent plastic strip. Samsung has told us that, despite changes between the photographed version here and the final version, this strip will remain. Look closer, and you'll notice this is where the on-board controls are located. The strip won't have buttons, but rather touch-sensitive areas for the standard functions: channel, volume, menu, and power.

**

Back**


The back of the Samsung UN55C8000 is definitely not finalized, as was emphasized by the Samsung staff. They did not want us photographing the back. We're not sure why, because it looked pretty much like every other ultra-thin Samsung TV. The version we saw was matte black, but again, we were told the finished model will have a brushed metal finish.

The ports were arranged in an L-shape, and they all ran parallel to the back of the TV. This design is to allow for easy wall-mounting: the cords won't stick out of the TV, pushing the set away from the wall. 

We should note that the power supply appears to be hard-wired into the back, not removable. If you break it, you've bought yourself a very expensive trip to the repair shop.

**

Sides**


The sides on the Samsung UN55C8000 are very thin – not quite as ridiculously thin as the new 0.3-inch Samsung 9000 series, but still quite thin. As such, there are no ports or controls on the sides.

**

Stand/Mount**


The base of the Samsung UN55C8000 is a big departure from standard television design. Rather than a large oval or rectangle of plastic they try to minimize, this TV features a 4-legged, clawfoot design. It's a savvy marketing move on Samsung's part, encouraging you to embrace your TV as part of the living room design.

 

**

Aesthetics**


Samsung is pushing their HDTVs as aethestic components of your home, not something you want to hide in a cabinet. It's not merely the thinness of the TV (which is incredible): Samsung has been experimenting with new finishes and textures, like last year's Touch of Color series. Our own editorial offices were decidedly split on the red Touch of Color TVs, but generally favorable to the rest. Samsung has expanded further into experimenting with a new 'mystic earth' finish, which is meant to harken natural patterns found in leaves and trees. Sound pretentious? Maybe a little. It's hard for us to judge, because we didn't see a finished product at the Samsung booth. The finish on the Samsung UN55C8000 pictured here is not a final production model: as stated above, the final model should have a brushed metal finish.

Performance Features

Display Size & Technology


The Samsung UN55C8000 is a 55-inch 3D television using an LCD display with LED backlighting. In fact, a whole one-third of Samsung's LED TVs for 2010 are 3D, so it's clear that Samsung (along with most of the manufacturers) think you should own one.

The UN55C8000 also includes some intriguing processing technology that allows for realtime 2D to 3D upconversion. Because this technology is so new, you have a right to be skeptical: we certainly are.

Our first question to Samsung was about the difference between upcoverted 3D and native 3D, which was recently standardized for Blu-Ray discs.We were only able to get a vague answer, so we're looking forward to actually getting a production sample into our labs for scientific testing.

We did learn, however, that upconverted 2D-to-3D video can only create a foreground/background difference. Native 3D content offers more 'side-to-side and front-to-back' depth, which is more immersive. At this point, you're probably asking yourself, 'What does that mean?' We're wondering the same thing; we couldn't get a direct side-by-side comparison. The thing is, so much of this technology is new that we're still inventing the terminology to describe it. All we can say is that there is a difference: the native 3D content looks better.

All the Samsung 3D TVs have a 240Hz refresh rate, though you only need 120Hz for active shutter 3D display.

Oh, and in case you're wondering: yes, 3D TVs also function as normal 2D TVs.

**

Formats & Resolution**


The Samsung UN55C8000 displays at 1080p, with a 1920 x 1080 resolution.

**

Brightness, Blacks and Contrast Ratio**


The Samsung UN55C8000 did not have any available data on brightness, black levels, or contrast ratio, because WHO CARES, IT'S THREE-DEEE**!** At least, that's the sense we're getting at this show. All the traditional specs have been thrown out the window.

In our lab testing the past year, Samsung LED-backlit TVs produced an excellent black level and contrast ratio. You can check out the Samsung UN46B8500 review for more details.

**

Color**


Again, Samsung didn't seem to interested in talking about plebeian, 2D performance like color. It was especially difficult to discern anything with our own eyes because the Samsung UN55C8000 was only displaying 3D content.

**

Motion & Refresh Rate**


The Samsung UN55C8000 has a 240Hz refresh rate, as do all the Samsung 3D TVs for 2010. Motion performance could not be determined because they were only showing 3D content on the models that could display it. 

**

Viewing Angle**


Viewing angle, even an approximation, could not be determined. Similar models from Samsung were fairly narrow, only offering about 37 degrees.

Connectivity & Media

Audio & Video Ports


The Samsung UN55C8000 that was on the CES show floor was not a final production model, and the ports were not finalized. Despite Samsung's reluctance, we did manage to snap some shots of the rear. Even though the ports aren't final, we'd be surprised if the model shipped with a totally different design. The ports (some of them dummy ports) are arranged in a backwards L-shape and are either side-facing or down-facing. This way, cords that you plug in don't jut out at a 90-degree angle, which would create problems for wall-mounted screens.

The ports weren't finalized in this mock-up, and we saw some ports that weren't recognizeable. We're guessing the dummy ports were why Samsung didn't want us photographing the back of the set. Perhaps they thought we'd run around the convention center screaming about strange—dare we say alien!?—ports on Samsung's 2010 models, like the geekiest, most inane conspiracy theorists possible. And we are, so read the following as loudly as you can: we saw 4 HDMI, 2 USB, and a shared component/composite AV set of jacks on the back of the mock-up UN55C8000. There were other, mysterious ports of an indeterminate (alien) origin. There. The secret is out now. Expect more details soon, unless Samsung gets to us first.

 

 

**

Media & Other Connectivity**


The content that Samsung showed at the press conference was played off of a USB port, and previous high-end Samsungs have all supported photo, music, and video clip playback support. 

Samsung is making a big push for streaming internet features on their 2010 TVs. Expanding on last year's internet@TV set of features, they plan to launch an App Store that will have cross-device applications that interact with Samsung TVs, Blu-Ray players, and cell phones. While the list of content providers has expanded significantly since last year, we can only hope that the overall user experience is better than 2009's. Our review cited an absolutely terrible interface for internet@TV (read more at the Samsung UN46B8500 review). The crawling speed and pitiable collection of content providers were enough to write off the whole series of 2009 TVs, at least in terms of streaming content. **

Placement**


The placement of the ports on the Samsung UN55C8000 is fairly awkward. The HDMI ports and USB that run along the side are easy enough, but the ports along the bottom are hard to discern and hard to see and reach. Because it's so thin, there are no ports on the side of the TV.

**

Audio**


We couldn't listen to the TV, so we have no information about the Samsung UN55C8000's audio performance.

Controls, Menu & Remote

Remote


The remote control for the step-up model from the Samsung UN55C8000—the 9000 series—is another killer feature for 2010, and one that will be sure to cause envy among your friends. The remote that ships with the 9000 has an LCD touch screen. Unfortunately, there were no photos or mock-ups of the remote available at CES, so we can only guess as to it's design.

This amazing dream-remote does not actually ship with the UN55C8000, but it will be available as an optional accessory for an undisclosed price. 

Finally, you can also use certain Samsung cell phones as a substitute remote control. Samsung also mentioned some limited ability to transfer video from one device to the other, but they did not get into specifics yet.

**

Controls**


The onboard controls on the Samsung UN55C8000 are located on a translucent plastic strip along the bottom of the TV's front. It's just the basic controls here: volume, channel up/down, menu, and power. Samsung did not have the remote control available for CES, and they didn't let us touch the buttons on the TV. Boo-hoo.

 

**

Menu**


The Samsung UN55C8000 is far from finalized, and Samsung rigorously protected its menu from being seen.

Conclusion

 

Series Comparison

UNxxC8000 Series


Samsung has not released any information regarding the sizes that we'll see in the UNxxC8000, or any of their TVs, in time for CES.

Meet the tester

David Kender

David Kender

Editor in Chief

@davekender

David Kender oversees content at Reviewed as the Editor in Chief. He served as managing editor and editor in chief of Reviewed's ancestor, CamcorderInfo.com, helping to grow the company from a tiny staff to one of the most influential online review resources. In his time at Reviewed, David has helped to launch over 100 product categories and written too many articles to count.

See all of David Kender's reviews

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