This is my first Samsung TV, previously I stuck to LG. So has my opinion been changed?
The package & setup.
I’m a big fan of having the flat screens mounted up on the wall, as it looks great and keeps the lounge tidy, but more so to keep little hands from pulling it over. So my task was quite simple, replace the 55inch LG I had up with the new Samsung 65’ 8k!
In a nut shell it was a piece of cake, the thing was easy to get out of the box and I was able to use my existing TV wall bracket. As my previous 55inch TV was older, the new 65inch Samsung was actually lighter, and slimmer. It took more effort lifting the old one off.
4 screws in the back for the tv bracket, power and TV aerial connected and it’s up on the wall. We use all online streaming in our household so I didn’t actually have any need for HDMI connections, but they are side mounted so you can just about access them depending on you wall bracket. I had a quick peak at the mount and it looks very elegant, put it to one side and might use it in the future.
Two TV remotes are included, what I call the generic (standard) black Samsung remote, with handy shortcut buttons for Netflix and Amazon. The second remote is a very sleek and simplified silver remote. I used this one for the setup.
Setup was very simple, bit of a bore not having a quick WDS option for connection, or not that I could see. Honestly entering my routers password was the longest part of the whole process in setup. There is an option to use your mobile phone to sync all of your apps etc, But I opted not to do this and pick which apps I was to use.
Looks & Picture.
My sofa is 3.2meters away from the wall that the TV is mounted on, probably could go a bit closer if we had too.
The most eye catching thing is the lack of bezel around the side of the TV, it’s very, very small and looks amazing. As for the picture quality, I had a 1080p TV before, so obviously for me there is a great improvement in picture quality. It is not noticeable with standard terrestrial TV, in fact having on HD tv channels at 65’ just emphasises how bad standard definition is. It’s more noticeable at 65’! I couldn’t really see any kind of upscaling. Thankfully we don’t watch that much terrestrial TV and stick to some kids TV channels, and streaming platforms.
Netflix, Amazon and Disney + are the channels of choice in our house, and a bit of YouTube.
The first thing we actually watched was Disney +, Aladin. Absolutely stunning picture quality. I don’t proclaim to be an expert in colour depth, knowing how a pixel works, and baffling people with technical jumbo. All I know is that I can play a movie and it looks amazing, really amazing.
I tried a couple of 4k & 8k clips that are available on YouTube. Bring on the day that the UK finally broadcasts in a better definition.
Once the kids were away we played ‘Rocketman’, which was visually impressive and the sound quality for all the songs was not bad at all. We don’t have a sound bar or surround sound so rely on the TV’s own speakers, so they need to be good. Glad to say it didn’t disappoint, not going to outperform any additional speakers obviously but it’s sufficient.
Ambient setting mode.
I like this little feature quite a lot, essentially you can select some high definition pictures to have as a background, all be it picture on your wall.
Summary.
We have now been using the Samsung for 28 days. All my initial issues with the menu functionality have disappeared and I am more than happy with the whole item. We mostly use the smaller silver remote as it has the voice command button, which is easier than typing in searches.
What makes this tv such a superior item is the lack of bezel around the edge. Yes the picture quality is great, but in terms of the actual looks, it’s all down to the bezel. So has my opinion been changed, in a word, yes? Samsung has made a beautiful TV.
A great product. 5*