Our Verdict
Overall, the Samsung H8000 LED TV is a great TV with tons of features. The curved screen is a novelty that doesn't add much to the experience, though, and the picture quality is similar to lower-end models. Therefore, unless you really need the curve, go for a cheaper Samsung model, like the H7150.
- Great contrast ratio with good blacks.
- Very few reflections, and can get very bright. This TV is excellent in a very bright room.
- Good 3D with no crosstalk.
- The curved screen doesn't improve the experience significantly.
- As with all Samsung LED TVs, the picture quality degrades when viewing it at an angle.
Check Price
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests are done with specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
This TV has a curved screen. At first, this is quite noticeable while watching movies, because the sides appear bigger than usual. After a while though, you get used to it.
The stand is 34" wide, which is very wide. It didn't fit on our table, so we had to extend it.
It performs well in a dark room. The contrast ratio is very good. The colors were very accurate out of the box.
The H8000 has a few backlight uniformity issues. A little bit of clouding can be seen on the left side of the screen.
The gray uniformity is one of the best of the LED TVs that we have tested. The left and right edges appear a bit whiter because of the curved screen.
The viewing angle is quite poor. As soon as you are off-axis, the colors lose saturation. The curved screen also diminishes the experience off-axis.
Because the screen is curved, the reflections stretch horizontally. It only reflects lights that are directly in front of the TV. We had to move our background lights closer to the camera for them to be captured by the picture. The finish is glossy, so the reflections are attenuated, but more defined.
The maximum brightness of the TV won't be an issue in a bright room. As long as a window isn't directly in front of it, it is great.
When the input type is set to PC, the H8000 has a low input lag of 46.1 ms. This is average, but hardly noticeable, even for fast games.
The smart features are great on this TV. It isn't as user friendly as LG's WebOS, but you can do a lot more. Check out our full review of Samsung's 2014 Smart TV platform.
