Samsung UN60ES8000 60-Inch 1080p 240 Hz 3D Slim LED HDTV (Silver)
I bought this TV from Amazon and received it the next day via UPS. I hooked it up and it works flawlessly. The set-up is amazingly simple, the TV is very easy to set up and put together. Everything is explained in detail and gives video demonstrations. I went ahead and calibrated the TV using a calibration DVD and the TV offers some of the most superb and realistic picture quality I have seen yet. The 3D is also much improved and it's nice they threw in 4 pairs of glases with it. I have found that if you follow the directions that they show you very clearly in the demonstrations and follow the process, the TV responds very accurately and very well. The motion controls are probably the only thing that needs a very little amount of work, but I mean, compared to a Kinect, it basically works the same way and is not more or less accurate then the Kinect, either. The TV's black levels are the best I have seen for an LED set, coming close to the best of Plaasma's, motion rate is extremely enhanced and 3D performance has no visible crosstalk or juttering as in old sets. All in all, this is the best performing and high-est tech TV set available. It's also extremely fast with the dual core processing, everything you do is a snap. Apps load very quickly, internet is decent and the TV responds well. I have not had any issues from a weeks use of the TV. It has worked flawlessly.
***UPDATE*** after further testing I have found one flaw. The media hub works well, however, Netflix has an issue. It will only work half the time. Half the time it will not load a video and the TV will reset, the other half it works fine. I haven't lost any settings yet, however, it is annoying. I have reduced to 4 stars sInce it isn't the end of the world and will likely be fixed with a simple software update. I watch a lot of Netflix, so Samsung, I know you will read these first reviews. This software bug with Netflix needs to get fixed. I am an advanced tech lead for Sprint, I've already tried everything to T/S the issue and other people reviews state the same. However, my TV has not had its settings reset like others. This is my only small complaint, everything else works fine.
***UPDATE #2*** There was some kind of update to the TV last night and the resetting seams to have stopped during Netflix and seams a bit more responsive, for now, but still not a guarantee that it's fixed. I'm not sure what kind of update it was because the damn TV is so fast, I didn't see it long enough before it was done. I'm pretty sure I will need to wait and test it more. However, it seams to have stopped. The other thing I have noticed is that the LED lights at the bottom of the screen in the middle seam brighter then the rest of the lights, but this is only noticeable in pure 100% darkness, which you'll see anyways, because it's still and LCD anyway you look at it. I have also purchased a PN51E8000 TV for downstairs, it appears that the PN51E8000 has much darker blacks in pure darkness, in fact, it's not far off from an OLED, however, I'll post a review of that one later.
***UPDATE #3*** it appears that the reset issue with Netflix only appears when the smart hub has issues connecting with Samsung. I have noticed that on weekdays, it works fairly well and can connect to apps just fine. However, on weekends, it appears Samsungs servers can't currently handle the traffic as I seam to get "network interference" issues and most apps won't connect, even though my connection to the Internet is fine at 25mbps+ and when the apps are having difficulty and you try to get on Netflix, it has trouble playing videos and gets stuck and then resets. Other then these few small issues I have had with the TV and the connection to Samsungs media hub, I continue to be blown away by the stellar 3D, the ridiculous crispness of the picture and the smooth motion rate and I have gotten use to the voice commands. I was originally having problems with it recognizing my voice, but after turning down our fan in our room, it seams to recognize my voice very well now. So Samsung, hear me out... The network interference problems have to get resolved and Netflix needs to be updated so it simply rebuffed instead of turning off the TV. If this happens, I'll be a happy camper.
***UPDATE #4*** alright Samsung techs, here's one for ya and even though this doesn't actually reflect my review of the TV itself, im not sure where the problem lays. I have an iPad as well as two iPhone 4s's, all running iOS 5.1. The iPhones work great with the remote control, they always find the tv and connect and work well. However, the iPad 2 Samsung remote does not work. It will work right when you connect and allow it, but as soon as you don't use it for awhile, it stops working and never reconnects, it gets an "unknown network error" and disconnects. I was so fixated on getting it fixed that I even hard reset my iPad 2 and reinstalled the app and it still does it. The only way I am able to use it is if I go into the TV settings to network all share and delete the iPad from the allowed list and re-add it, until it stops working again after I don't use it for awhile. Samsung, it is an absolute necessity that this is fixed ASAP!! I use my iPad to browse the net while I watch tv and having the Samsung remote on it to control the Tav is essential. I am a total multi tasker! Gosh I hope they read my post.
***UPDATE #5*** the Netflix app has no reset now in almost two weeks and we watch Netflix almost on a daily basis... It has work flawlessly. The set seems to be performing much better after a few weeks break-in (normal). I think this a great set, but Samsung still needs to update the iPad remote app so it can actually work. I think this TV and PN51e8000 will be our last TVs for a few years until OLED TVs become mainstream in 2014-2015. Manufacturers say they will have mainstream 55inch sets for around $2k. Until then I might actually look into the evolution kits that will come out to upgrade its features, if they are a good price, I might pick one up. If not, then these will do until OLEDs are it.
***UPDATE 6*** April 22nd, I have received another update and have had 0 problems with set since. I guess that fact it needed to break in held true. The TV has worked flawlessly, I can't imagine getting much better until OLED hits mainstream. The picture quality has increased as well with the update. The voice recognition now works a lot better, but if you have fans or kids or noise in general, it still has a hard time unless dead silent, but that would be expected. This is my final update.
***UPDATE*** after further testing I have found one flaw. The media hub works well, however, Netflix has an issue. It will only work half the time. Half the time it will not load a video and the TV will reset, the other half it works fine. I haven't lost any settings yet, however, it is annoying. I have reduced to 4 stars sInce it isn't the end of the world and will likely be fixed with a simple software update. I watch a lot of Netflix, so Samsung, I know you will read these first reviews. This software bug with Netflix needs to get fixed. I am an advanced tech lead for Sprint, I've already tried everything to T/S the issue and other people reviews state the same. However, my TV has not had its settings reset like others. This is my only small complaint, everything else works fine.
***UPDATE #2*** There was some kind of update to the TV last night and the resetting seams to have stopped during Netflix and seams a bit more responsive, for now, but still not a guarantee that it's fixed. I'm not sure what kind of update it was because the damn TV is so fast, I didn't see it long enough before it was done. I'm pretty sure I will need to wait and test it more. However, it seams to have stopped. The other thing I have noticed is that the LED lights at the bottom of the screen in the middle seam brighter then the rest of the lights, but this is only noticeable in pure 100% darkness, which you'll see anyways, because it's still and LCD anyway you look at it. I have also purchased a PN51E8000 TV for downstairs, it appears that the PN51E8000 has much darker blacks in pure darkness, in fact, it's not far off from an OLED, however, I'll post a review of that one later.
***UPDATE #3*** it appears that the reset issue with Netflix only appears when the smart hub has issues connecting with Samsung. I have noticed that on weekdays, it works fairly well and can connect to apps just fine. However, on weekends, it appears Samsungs servers can't currently handle the traffic as I seam to get "network interference" issues and most apps won't connect, even though my connection to the Internet is fine at 25mbps+ and when the apps are having difficulty and you try to get on Netflix, it has trouble playing videos and gets stuck and then resets. Other then these few small issues I have had with the TV and the connection to Samsungs media hub, I continue to be blown away by the stellar 3D, the ridiculous crispness of the picture and the smooth motion rate and I have gotten use to the voice commands. I was originally having problems with it recognizing my voice, but after turning down our fan in our room, it seams to recognize my voice very well now. So Samsung, hear me out... The network interference problems have to get resolved and Netflix needs to be updated so it simply rebuffed instead of turning off the TV. If this happens, I'll be a happy camper.
***UPDATE #4*** alright Samsung techs, here's one for ya and even though this doesn't actually reflect my review of the TV itself, im not sure where the problem lays. I have an iPad as well as two iPhone 4s's, all running iOS 5.1. The iPhones work great with the remote control, they always find the tv and connect and work well. However, the iPad 2 Samsung remote does not work. It will work right when you connect and allow it, but as soon as you don't use it for awhile, it stops working and never reconnects, it gets an "unknown network error" and disconnects. I was so fixated on getting it fixed that I even hard reset my iPad 2 and reinstalled the app and it still does it. The only way I am able to use it is if I go into the TV settings to network all share and delete the iPad from the allowed list and re-add it, until it stops working again after I don't use it for awhile. Samsung, it is an absolute necessity that this is fixed ASAP!! I use my iPad to browse the net while I watch tv and having the Samsung remote on it to control the Tav is essential. I am a total multi tasker! Gosh I hope they read my post.
***UPDATE #5*** the Netflix app has no reset now in almost two weeks and we watch Netflix almost on a daily basis... It has work flawlessly. The set seems to be performing much better after a few weeks break-in (normal). I think this a great set, but Samsung still needs to update the iPad remote app so it can actually work. I think this TV and PN51e8000 will be our last TVs for a few years until OLED TVs become mainstream in 2014-2015. Manufacturers say they will have mainstream 55inch sets for around $2k. Until then I might actually look into the evolution kits that will come out to upgrade its features, if they are a good price, I might pick one up. If not, then these will do until OLEDs are it.
***UPDATE 6*** April 22nd, I have received another update and have had 0 problems with set since. I guess that fact it needed to break in held true. The TV has worked flawlessly, I can't imagine getting much better until OLED hits mainstream. The picture quality has increased as well with the update. The voice recognition now works a lot better, but if you have fans or kids or noise in general, it still has a hard time unless dead silent, but that would be expected. This is my final update.
