The Samsung AU8000 is an entry-level 4k TV that replaces the Samsung TU8000 from 2020. It's a simple model that lacks features like variable refresh rate (VRR) and HDMI 2.1 support, but that's somewhat expected from a budget-friendly option. It has a VA-like panel that performs best in dark rooms because it has a high native contrast ratio, but there's no local dimming feature to improve the black levels. It improves in a few areas compared to its predecessor, including its great reflection handling, so although it doesn't get very bright, it's not a bad choice for a room with a few lights. Sadly, it's not suggested for wide seating arrangements as it has narrow viewing angles that make the image look washed out from the side.
The Samsung AU8000 is decent for mixed usage. It's okay for watching movies thanks to its high native contrast ratio, but it doesn't have a local dimming feature to improve contrast. It's good for watching TV shows and decent for sports because of its great reflection handling, but it has narrow viewing angles, so it's not ideal for a wide seating arrangement. It doesn't have any gaming features and has a slow response time, so motion looks blurry, but it still has low input lag for a responsive gaming experience. Sadly, it can't display a wide color gamut for HDR content and doesn't get bright enough to bring out highlights.
The Samsung AU8000 is okay for watching movies. It has a VA-type panel with high native contrast and excellent black uniformity, but it lacks any local dimming feature to improve the black levels. Luckily, it doesn't have any trouble upscaling lower-resolution content, and it removes judder from 24p sources.
The Samsung AU8000 is good for watching TV shows. Although it doesn't get very bright, it still has great reflection handling, meaning visibility won't be an issue in a moderately-lit room. It doesn't have upscaling issues with lower-resolution content like cable boxes. Sadly, it has narrow viewing angles, so the image looks inaccurate when viewing from the side.
The Samsung AU8000 is decent for watching sports. It's a good choice for well-lit rooms because it has great reflection handling, but it doesn't get very bright. Unfortunately, it has a slow response time, so fast-moving content looks blurry. Also, it has narrow viewing angles, and the image looks washed out if you're watching at wide angles.
The Samsung AU8000 is decent for gaming. It has low input lag for a responsive gaming experience. However, it doesn't have any features like VRR support, and it has a slow response time that makes motion look blurry. On the plus side, it's good for dark room gaming thanks to its high contrast ratio, but it doesn't have a local dimming feature to improve contrast.
The Samsung AU8000 is unremarkable for watching HDR content. It has a high native contrast ratio that makes blacks look black, but it doesn't have a local dimming feature to improve it. Although it supports HDR10 and HDR10+, it doesn't display a wide color gamut needed for HDR content, and it has low brightness, so highlights don't pop how they should.
The Samsung AU8000 is decent for HDR gaming. It has low input lag for gaming, but it has a slow response time and no VRR support. Sadly, HDR content doesn't look very good because it can't display a wide color gamut and has low peak brightness, so highlights don't stand out how they should. It has high native contrast, but there's no local dimming feature to improve it.
The Samsung AU8000 is good for use as a PC monitor. It has low input lag for a responsive desktop experience, but the slow response time makes motion look blurry. It has great reflection handling if you want to use it in a fairly well-lit room. It displays chroma 4:4:4, which helps with text clarity. Sadly, it has narrow viewing angles, so the image looks washed out at the side if you sit too close.
The TV is a bit stylish for an entry-level model. It comes with new feet compared to 2020's Samsung TU8000, and they sit flat against the table. It has a simplistic look with thin bezels all around and looks nice in any setup.
The stand consists of two plastic feet that support the TV well. You can customize the feet to place the TV in a higher vertical position (in photo) to place a soundbar in front without blocking the screen, or it can be placed closer to the table as seen here.
Footprint of the 55 inch stand: 42.6" x 11.1". The height of the lower position is 1.78", and the higher one is 3.08".
The back of the TV has similar etched horizontal lines as other Samsung TVs. It doesn't offer much in terms of cable management, but you can run cables through the clips in the feet and the tracks in the back panel. The ports all face to the side, but because they're placed inside a cutout on the back, they're nearly impossible to access when the TV is wall mounted.
The Samsung AU8000 is much thinner than the Samsung TU8000 and doesn't stick out when wall-mounted.
This TV has a VA-type panel, resulting in great native contrast and blacks that look black in a dark room. Although it's great, the contrast ratio is a bit lower than other similar TVs with VA panels, including the Samsung TU8000. If you want a TV with a higher contrast, then check out the Samsung Q60/Q60B QLED.
Update 02/7/2022: Unfortunately, switching the Samsung AU8000 to 'Game Mode' enables its frame dimming feature, which causes a noticeable decrease in brightness in small, bright scenes. When displaying a 2% slide in 'Game Mode', the brightness flashes quickly at 145 cd/m² before quickly decreasing to 104.3 cd/m², significantly lower than the sustained brightness outside of 'Game Mode'. This isn't noticeable with most real content, but generally, dark scenes are significantly dimmer in 'Game Mode' than out of it, but only in SDR. In HDR, there's no difference between modes, as they both show frame dimming.
The SDR brightness is okay. It's an improvement from the Samsung TU8000 because there's no frame dimming in the 2% windows outside of 'Game Mode'.
These measurements are from after calibration in the 'Movie' Picture Mode with Brightness at its max, Gamma set to '2.2', and Contrast at its default setting with all other image processing disabled. If you want an even brighter image at the cost of accuracy, the 'Dynamic' Picture Mode reaches a peak brightness of 399 cd/m² in the 10% window.
This TV doesn't have a local dimming feature. We still film these videos on the TV, so you can see how the backlight performs and compare it with a TV that has local dimming. If you need something with local dimming, look into the Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2021.
There's no local dimming feature on this TV. We still film these videos on the TV, though, so you can see how the backlight performs and compare it with a TV that has local dimming.
The HDR brightness is poor. It's not bright enough to display HDR content properly, and small bright highlights in dark scenes are dimmed considerably by the TV's frame dimming feature. The EOTF doesn't follow the target well either, as most scenes aren't as bright as they should be.
These measurements are with the 'Movie HDR' Picture Mode with Brightness and Contrast at their max with all other image processing disabled. If you want a brighter image, set Contrast Enhancer to 'High' with ST.2084 at its max; this results in a slightly brighter image as you can see in this EOTF, but the overall peak brightness of the TV is about the same.
The Samsung AU8000's HDR brightness in Game Mode is once again poor. It's pretty much the same as outside of Game Mode and there's no noticeable difference.
These measurements were taken with Game Mode enabled, Color Gamut set to 'Auto', Color Tone on 'Warm 2', and Brightness and Contrast at their max.
Sadly, this TV has just decent gray uniformity. There are a few patchy areas throughout the screen, which are distracting when you're watching anything with large areas of uniform color, like sports. Note that the exact uniformity varies between individual units, so yours might not look identical to this.
The Samsung AU8000 has narrow viewing angles, which is expected from a VA panel. Colors start to shift, and the image looks darker as you move off-center. If you have a wide seating arrangement, a TV with an IPS panel like the Hisense A6G or the LG NANO75 2021 might be a better choice.
The reflection handling is impressive, and it's a nice improvement from the Samsung TU8000. It handles a moderate amount of light well, and even though it struggles more with stronger light sources, it's still better than most entry-level TVs.
The Samsung AU8000's out-of-the-box accuracy is good. Most colors are slightly inaccurate, except red, yellow, and cyan are a bit less accurate. The white balance is okay, but brighter shades of gray are a bit off. The color temperature is fairly close to the 6500K target, and gamma follows the 2.2 target somewhat well, except most scenes are a bit brighter than they should be for a moderately-lit room. If you want a TV with even better out-of-the-box accuracy, the Sony X80K is a good alternative.
The accuracy after calibration is fantastic. Any remaining inaccuracies to the white balance and most colors are almost impossible to notice, except for saturated reds, which are a bit off. The color temperature is closer to the calibration target of 6500K, but it's a bit cool, giving everything a slightly bluish tint.
You can see our recommended settings here.
The panel is different from the Samsung TU8000 and looks like an MVA panel, which is a type of VA panel and performs the same. There's dithering with blue pixels, but it's only visible with a full white screen. It has BGR subpixel layout, which negatively affects text clarity when using it as a PC monitor.
The Samsung AU8000 has a decent HDR color gamut, with good coverage of the DCI P3 color space. This results in vivid colors when watching most HDR content, but it can't display the full range of colors available, so some content can look dull and muted. It has very limited coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space, and it can't display a wide color gamut, so it's not very future-proof.
Due to the narrow color gamut, the color volume is mediocre. It displays darker colors fairly well, thanks to the high contrast, but it struggles more with brighter colors.
The gradient handling is excellent, which is a significant improvement from the Samsung TU8000. There's a bit more banding in the reds and greens, but it's still not too noticeable. The Noise Reduction setting, which is designed to smooth out gradients in low-quality content, doesn't appear to do anything at all.
VA panels like the one used in this TV are unlikely to experience burn-in, as the VA panel in our long-term test appears immune.
The Samsung AU8000 has an okay response time. Like many TVs with VA panels, transitions in dark scenes are very slow, resulting in a long trail behind dark objects, known as black smearing. Motion looks blurry because of this slower response time, and there are noticeable duplications due to the TV's backlight flicker.
The Samsung AU8000 uses pulse width modulation (PWM) to dim its backlight, which results in flicker that bothers some people. It's flicker-free in the 'Movie' Picture Mode with the Brightness set to anything '25' and above, but it flickers at 480Hz at '24' and below. It flickers at 120Hz with Picture Clarity enabled or in Game Mode. It also flickers at 120Hz in the 'Dynamic', 'Standard', and 'Natural' Picture Modes, but it's flicker-free in those modes if the backlight is set to its max.
The Samsung AU8000 has a backlight-strobing feature, commonly known as black frame insertion (BFI). BFI is designed to improve the appearance of motion by reducing the amount of persistent blur. It flickers at 60Hz outside of Game Mode if you enable LED Clear Motion, but once Game Mode is enabled there aren't any motion settings and it always flickers at 120Hz, which leads to motion duplication. Unfortunately, the flicker introduced is poorly timed, resulting in noticeable crosstalk, so the overall usefulness of this feature is limited. Note that the score here is based only on the refresh rates supported by this TV's BFI feature, not how well the feature performs.
The Samsung AU8000 has an option to interpolate 30fps content up to 60fps, known as the 'Soap Opera Effect'. It looks okay in slower scenes but stops interpolating altogether during busy scenes, which is distracting due to the sudden change in frame rate.
Since the TV has a slower response time, there's very little stutter when watching low frame rate content, like movies.
Like the Samsung TU8000, this TV can only remove judder from sources that can send a true 24p signal, like a Blu-ray player or a streaming box with a "match frame-rate" feature. It can't remove judder from sources that don't have this feature, like most cable boxes.
This TV has a basic 60Hz panel without any variable refresh rate support. If you want a budget-friendly TV with VRR support, check out the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2021.
This TV has incredibly low input lag as long as Game Mode is enabled. Surprisingly, even outside of Game Mode input lag is still low enough for most casual gamers.
The Samsung AU8000 supports most common resolutions, but only at 60Hz, as it doesn't support a 120Hz refresh rate. Chroma 4:4:4 is displayed properly, which is important for clear text from a PC but only in the TV's 'PC' mode.
Since it's a 60Hz TV, it only supports 4k games up to 60fps from the PS5 and Xbox Series X. It has an Auto Low Latency Mode that automatically switches the TV into Game Mode to get the lowest input lag possible when a game from a compatible device is launched.
Unlike the Samsung TU8000, the Samsung AU8000 doesn't have any component or composite inputs. You'll need an external HDMI adapter to connect older devices like retro game consoles.
Even though the Samsung AU8000 doesn't have HDMI 2.1 inputs, it still supports eARC. This allows you to pass uncompressed audio in the Dolby Atmos via TrueHD format to a compatible receiver over a single HDMI connection. Unfortunately, it doesn't support DTS, which is disappointing, as many UHD Blu-rays use DTS for their lossless audio tracks.
The frequency response is mediocre. It doesn't produce bass, and there are compression artifacts at its max volume. You have to listen at moderate levels if you want a more well-balanced sound profile.
The Samsung AU8000 comes with an upgraded version of Tizen compared to 2020's Samsung TU8000; the menu navigation feels smoother, and it's easy to use. However, it has fewer features than some higher-end models like the Samsung Q80/Q80A QLED as it lacks things like MultiView.
This TV comes with the same new redesigned remote as other Samsung TVs in 2021, except it requires disposable batteries instead of a rechargeable one. There are shortcut buttons to popular streaming devices, and the voice control gives you access to Bixby, Alexa, and Google Assistant. You can ask it to change settings and switch inputs, but you can't ask it to search for specific content in apps.
We tested the 65 inch Samsung AU8000, but the results are valid for the 43 inch, 50 inch, 55 inch, 70 inch, 75 inch, and 85 inch models as well, but the 70 inch model isn't available in North America. The warehouse variant is known as the AU800D. The 43 inch model has an IPS panel in some regions, which is common for Samsung.
Size | US Model | Short Model Code |
---|---|---|
43" | UN43AU8000FXZA | UN43AU8000 |
50" | UN50AU8000FXZA | UN50AU8000 |
55" | UN55AU8000FXZA | UN55AU8000 |
65" | UN65AU8000FXZA | UN65AU8000 |
70" | - | UN70AU8000 |
75" | UN75AU8000FXZA | UN75AU8000 |
85" | UN85AU8000FXZA | UN85AU8000 |
If you come across a different type of panel or your Samsung AU8000 TV doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, like gray uniformity, may vary between units.
Our unit was manufactured in April 2021; you can see the label here.
The Samsung AU8000 is a basic entry-level 4k TV with decent overall performance. It's a nice improvement from the Samsung TU8000, and although it doesn't get as bright as the higher-end Samsung Q60/Q60A QLED, it offers better value for the dollar.
See our recommendations for the best budget TVs, the best 4k TVs, and the best 40-42-43 inch TVs.
The Samsung AU8000 is a bit better overall than the Samsung TU7000. They have similar features, but the AU8000 is better in a few areas. The AU8000 gets brighter and has better reflection handling, so it's a better choice for well-lit rooms. It also has an upgraded version of Tizen OS, which feels smoother to use, and it comes with a mic for voice control in the remote, which the TU7000 doesn't have. On the other hand, the TU7000 supports 1440p, which the TU8000 doesn't.
The Samsung Q60/Q60A QLED and the Samsung AU8000 are decent TVs from Samsung's 2021 lineup. There's not much difference between the two, but since the Q60A sits in the higher-end QLED lineup, it performs better in a few areas. It has a much wider color gamut and gets brighter in HDR, making highlights pop more than the AU8000. On the other hand, the AU8000 has much better reflection handling.
The Sony X80J and the Samsung AU8000 are both okay TVs, but they have different panel types. The Samsung has a VA-type panel with higher contrast, while the Sony has an IPS-like panel with wider viewing angles. The Sony gets a bit brighter and displays a much wider color gamut, but it still delivers a worse HDR experience because of the lower contrast. Motion looks smoother on the Sony because it has a quicker response time, and it's a better choice for PC use because it can display 1440p.
The Samsung AU8000 replaced the Samsung TU8000 in 2021 and is a slight improvement over its predecessor. The AU8000 is better in a few areas, like reflection handling and improved gradient handling, but it doesn't have frame dimming with small highlights like the TU8000. The newer model even has an upgraded version of Tizen that feels smoother. However, the TU8000 still has better motion handling, and it has a much better contrast ratio, but this can vary between units.
The Sony X85J is better overall than the Samsung AU8000. The Sony gets brighter, has a higher contrast, and displays a wide color gamut, delivering a better HDR experience. The Sony also has a 120Hz panel compared to 60Hz on the Samsung, so motion handling is better, and it has HDMI 2.1 inputs, while the Samsung is limited to HDMI 2.0. Despite the Sony's better gaming features, the Samsung still has lower input lag for a more responsive gaming experience.
The Samsung Q60/Q60T QLED and the Samsung AU8000 are both decent 4k TVs. Being Samsung TVs, they have many of the same features, but the main difference is that the Q60T uses quantum dot technology to produce a wide color gamut for HDR content, which the AU8000 can't do. The Q60T also gets much brighter, making it a better choice for well-lit rooms or watching HDR content. They each have similar panel types, and even though the Q60T has a higher contrast, this can vary between units.
The Samsung AU8000 is better overall than the LG UP7000, but they use different panel types. The Samsung has a VA panel with higher contrast for deeper blacks, while the LG we tested has an IPS-like panel with wider viewing angles. However, there are variants of the LG with a VA panel. The Samsung has much better reflection handling and gets slightly brighter than the LG, so it's a better choice for rooms with lights. The Samsung also comes with a much better smart remote with voice control, which the LG doesn't have.
The Sony X800H and the Samsung AU8000 are two decent TVs with different panel types. The Sony uses an IPS panel with wide viewing angles, while the Samsung has a VA panel with higher contrast. The Sony gets brighter, making it a better choice to use in well-lit rooms, and even though it displays a wide color gamut, which the Samsung doesn't, the Sony isn't a better choice for HDR content because of its lower contrast. The Sony also has a quicker response time, so motion looks smoother.
The Samsung AU8000 and the Hisense A6G use different panel technologies, each with strengths and weaknesses, but the Samsung is much better overall. The A6G uses different panel types with different sizes, so the exact performance difference may vary. The Samsung has much better contrast, better black uniformity, so it looks much better in a dark room. The Samsung also has much higher peak brightness and better reflection handling, but the Hisense has better viewing angles.
The Samsung AU8000 and LG UP8000 are both okay TVs with different panel types. The Samsung has a much higher contrast because of its VA-type panel, and the LG has wider viewing angles due to its IPS panel type. The Samsung is a better choice to use in well-lit rooms because it has better reflection handling and gets brighter, but it's still not enough to truly fight glare. On the other hand, gamers should appreciate the LG's quicker response time for smoother motion. It also supports 1440p, which the Samsung doesn't.
The Samsung Q60/Q60B QLED and the Samsung AU8000 are both decent TVs, but the Q60B is slightly more polished overall. It displays a wider range of colors thanks to its quantum dot technology, and it has much better out-of-the-box accuracy. It also has higher peak brightness, but the AU8000 has better reflection handling. The Q60B is better for dark rooms as it has a higher native contrast and improved black uniformity. In terms of smart features, they both have Tizen, but the Q60B has a few extra features that the AU8000 doesn't have, like the support for different voice assistant features.
The Samsung AU8000 and the LG NANO75 2021 use different panel types, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, but overall the Samsung is much better. The Samsung has much better contrast, better black uniformity, better reflection handling, and it's significantly brighter. The only advantage of the LG is its wider color gamut, so it might be a better choice if you have a wide seating arrangement, but only if you're not in a bright room.
The Samsung AU8000 is much better than the LG UQ9000. The LG UQ9000 uses an IPS panel, which looks bad in a dark room, and it can't get very bright, so it isn't ideal for a bright room, either. The Samsung, on the other hand, looks much better in a dark room, with deep, uniform blacks, and it can handle a bit more glare than the LG. The only advantage of the LG is if you have a wide seating arrangement, as the image remains accurate to a wider angle, but it still looks worse overall.
The LG C1 OLED is much better than the Samsung AU8000, but they have different panel types. The LG is a high-end TV with an OLED panel with a near-infinite contrast ratio, perfect black uniformity, and wide viewing angles. The LG also has more gaming features like HDMI 2.1 and VRR support to reduce screen tearing. However, the Samsung is an entry-level model that has an LED panel and doesn't suffer from the risk of permanent burn-in like on OLEDs.
The Samsung AU8000 and the LG NANO85 2021 are decent TVs with a few differences. They have different panel types with strengths and weaknesses. The Samsung is better for dark room viewing because it has a higher contrast, and even in bright rooms, it has much better reflection handling. However, the LG has an IPS-type panel with wider viewing angles, so the image remains accurate from the side. Also, the LG has more gaming features than the Samsung, like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and VRR support, both of which the Samsung doesn't have.
The Vizio M7 Series Quantum 2021 is better overall than the Samsung AU8000. The Vizio has more features like a full-array local dimming feature, which improves the contrast ratio, but it causes blooming around bright objects. The Vizio also has FreeSync support, which the Samsung doesn't, and it has a quicker response time. The Vizio displays a much wider color gamut for HDR content, but neither get bright enough to make highlights pop. The Samsung doesn't have trouble upscaling lower-resolution content like the Vizio, and the Tizen OS has a built-in app store, which Vizio's SmartCast OS doesn't.
The Samsung AU8000 and the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2021 are both decent TVs. The Vizio uses quantum dot technology, so it displays a much wider color gamut, and it also has VRR support, which the Samsung doesn't have. The Vizio also has much better contrast, but this can vary between units. The Samsung does a better job at upscaling lower-resolution content, like from cable boxes, and the built-in Tizen OS is a better smart platform than the Vizio SmartCast system.
The Samsung AU8000 and the Vizio V5 Series 2021 are both decent TVs. They have the same panel type, so they each have high contrast but lack local dimming. The Samsung is a better choice for well-lit rooms because it gets brighter and has better reflection handling. Samsung's Tizen OS is better overall than Vizio's SmartCast because it has an app store, which the Vizio doesn't, and menu navigation feels smoother.