Some people are in the lucky position to receive high-end stuff
from high-end companies for review. I'm not one of them. But a family
member felt it was time for 3D and bought the new Samsung C8700. And I
managed to get a good look at it.
It was a Thursday morning when
the mailman rang the door and entered with a big package labeled
Samsung. The feeling of excitement was hard to suppress. I opened the
box and saw the TV its stand and a lot of cables. The instruction manual
was huge and contained instructions in a lot of languages, I only used
it for installing the stand though. Real men don't need user manuals!
Read: geeks like me.
Design
I had a good look at it after
installing the stand and carefully placing it on the furniture. The
first thing I noticed was the silver metal border around the screen, a
risky move considering the all-black trend of the last couple of years.
But I really like it. It makes the television look more premium and
makes it stand out from the pack. The very edge of the television isn't
silver but see through plastic. From the side it's very thin. Under an
inch thick, that's about as thin as it gets for sure.
The screen
is held by a 4-legged stand, which looks great. At first I wasn't sure
but it grew on me. And the obvious benefits of the stands are the great
stability of the TV and the unique design. The all silver looks will
disappoint some users though; I've heard stories of people going for the
C7700 just for the black borders around the screen.
Overall the
Samsung C8700 is one of the prettiest TVs on the market. Its all silver
design and 4-legged stand will make it stand out wherever it stands. The
backlit Samsung logo is also a very nice touch. Less successful is the
branding on the lower left corner. And it should be noted that the
design isn't for everyone.
Connectivity & specs
The
high-end Samsung C8700 allows you to connect virtually any device, like
you'd expect from a TV in this price class. It has 4 HDMI 1.4 ports, the
new standard which allows maximum 3D visuals. Further more in comes
with: PC audio in, RF in, Cl+ slot, 2x USB, 2x scart, optical audio,
Ethernet, headphone and 2 components. That's really nice connectivity
right there.
All the connections are angled, so you can put the
Samsung on the wall without worrying about cables sticking out. I should
also mention that most of the connections require a special 'extension'
cable, which is provided in the box.
It also packs some serious
specs. It has 200hz, a new hyper 3D engine, Internet, DLNA, PVR and a
marketed contrast radio no television will ever accomplish. Further more
it's a LCD edge-lit LED, which means that the light comes from the
side. It has local dimming in 12 zones, meaning that the TV can control
the light at 12 parts of the screen to achieve better blacks. All these
specs will come back further in the review; so don't worry if you don't
know what any of them mean. For your convenience, here's the full spec
list provided by Samsung.
Remote
The Samsung C8700, C7700
and C9000 televisions are the first to carry a special new remote. It's
thinner silver remote with backlit keys. The traditional rubber keys
have been replaced for flat keys, which give you no point of reference
for blind use. Also new are a few buttons, most noticeably the 3D
button.
I really like the new remote. It looks amazing. The silver fits the TV well and I found the key allocation logically.
Features
I'm
a bit of a geek when it comes to these things. I always try to use
every feature that a gadget has in store for me. Samsung has included a
lot in the new C8700, including Internet apps and media play.
They
have also provided a new menu graphic for the different features. It
displays an icon of the feature on the edge of a wheel which you can
turn using your remote. Television keeps playing even after activating
the menu, a nice touch.
The new Samsung application store allows
you to download apps for the television. Offering differs per country
but it should include the likes of Twitter, Facebook and weather.
Downloading went with ease and using the apps was a mixed experience.
The limited processing capabilities of the TV should be mentioned; don't
expect iPad like experiences. Navigation wasn't always smooth and some
of the apps were completely useless. Still it's a nice upgrade from last
year's leds. But the slightly improved sluggish feel still makes me
want to avoid all of it.
Media play means that you can insert an
USB device and play its content. This may not sound like a big deal but
it is. Samsung claims to support virtually every format, and in a way
they're right. The feature has improved this year. The user interface
first lets you choose between Movies, Music or Photos. Browsing the USB
disk follows after your selection; luckily this is easy and fast. Sub
maps are handled perfectly and I was able to navigate with serious
speed.
So does it really play every format out there? Yes and no. I
threw a lot at it, including media that the PS3 can't play. AVI, MPEG,
MP4 were all played with ease. MKVs weren't a problem either, even the
big 15+ gig ones. I had one instance where it declined to play my audio
format because it was not supported - DTS I think. I was in cloud 9
until I came across a little problem. Do you know those small HD
cameras? They sometimes record in a file called.MTS, also known as
AVCHD. The Samsung C8700 didn't want in and couldn't even see the files
appear in the browsing window. A small hiccup in an otherwise perfect
playback score, guess I've to use the PS3 for AVCHD files.
Calibrating
Everyone
who's serious about televisions can tell you that proper calibration is
critical. To accomplish this I calibrated the television for a few
different scenarios and ultimately chose a compromise. Because I don't
want to switch settings each time I change to gaming, SD or HD movies.
The menu is very easy to use. I pressed display options and found myself
confronted by a few sliders controlling: sharpness, contrast,
backlight, colors etc. I could also change the local dimming settings
(smart LED) and the way the television tries to remove grain.
After
about 2 hours, I found a good compromise in settings, displaying both
SD and HD very well. I had turned the sharpness down a notch to remove
unwanted artifacts around objects, most noticeably in SD signals.
Contrast was upped a bit but not too much otherwise it removes shadow
details. Colors were set up high and backlight was set to maximum with
the eco sensor enabled.
The new eco sensor is Samsung's response
to Sony's system. Basically it reads the environment and changes
settings accordingly. It can lower brightness based on ambient light,
turn the TV off when there's no signal and a few other less interesting
things.
The sound settings give basic control, not nearly as
extensive as the image setting capabilities. It allowed me to change the
sound to the optimal settings for: movies, music and speech. And of
course it has the surround mock-up setting, which I like. Last but not
least the C8700 can normalize volume differences between channels. This
can work but I kept it off because I never experience this problem much.
Normally
you'd be done now but there's one more setting to worry about: 3D.
Samsung has provided a wide array of tools to make the experience,
especially the conversion system, as comfortable as possible. Settings
include: generated depth, brightness and the way the system generates
the 3D effect. I noticed that bigger depth in the settings can be really
nice or really annoying. It all depended on how well the conversion
worked in the first place.
So with my TV calibrated it was time
for some real world tests. So I did what each family does... connect a
2TB HDD with 1080p content and hundreds of movies and TV series that I
legally own. But before that I watched some regular television.
Testing
Now
bear in mind that I don't have the equipment to do a scientific test. I
just looked at real world material and calibrated the television using a
method that every normal person uses.
First some general remarks
about the testing process and findings. I watched content in three
categories: SD, HD and gaming. I took my time and got a good look at
different aspects of the image quality, especially motion, colors, black
levels and general sharpness.
First my finding that applies to
everything I watched. The viewing angles on this TV are disappointing. A
small angle already resulted in a considerable loss of colors.
Everything became tinted quite quickly. There's also some lightning
uniformity. It's a problem that troubles every edge lit LEDs, basically
the edges are more bright because the background light comes from the
edges only. I didn't notice much during my tests, but it's there. Okay
now for some real world testing starting with SD.
SD
First I
connected a digital television receiver box onto the Samsung C8700. The
signal was SD (720x480) and 50hz. The quality was okay from a distance.
For the 46" model a distance of at least 7 feet (2,1 meters) is
recommended. From up close the lack of pixels became painfully obvious. I
also noticed that the television was unable to remove all graining
without losing detail. Motion was handled well by the 200HZ engine,
which means that the television makes motion smoother by placing more
frames in between.
I searched for more SD materials and found an
episode of Glee. Episode 21. It stumbled upon the same problem. The
image wasn't very sharp and looked washed out. The missing pixels become
a big pain. Again the same advice applies. Only try watching this from a
distance! Students don't buy a 46" television for a one-room house,
which some call home for lack of better.
Overall I was
disappointed by the SD picture quality but it wasn't the Samsung C8700's
fault. It's just very hard to display DVDs crisp on a panel of this
size. It's watchable from a distance but don't get too close.
My
second test was one for the future. Every thing we watch is converted to
HD. This new higher standard equals more pixels and thus a better video
quality. In fact we have so much faith in this technology that we're
even converting old classics like Star Wars episode 4-6 and the Shining
to the new platform. Remember though that a camera with ¼ the amount of
pixels shot those movies. Which means that the extra dots need to appear
from thin air - not possible. So I only tested HD movies filmed after
2007, modern movies.
HD
I started with Leap year. This new
2010 romantic comedy was the perfect candidate because of the beautiful
scenery of Ireland. And boy was it beautiful. The Samsung C8700's local
dimming system does a great job in generating impressive black levels.
Black is really black on this television! Motion was also good as the
scenery flashed by. It was really smooth. Some don't like this but I do.
Leap year ended in a completely dark room. During the movie I couldn't
notice that the television was adjusting its brightness dynamically and
to be honest during the end I found the screen sometimes too bright. Not
sure if the eco system really adjusted the LEDs accordingly.
Secondly
I watched Avatar. This fast pace movie was perfect because it can
really stress the Samsung and show any imperfections. Let me be honest
there weren't many for me but could be for some. It all rests on the
motion. It's buttery smooth and almost looks unreal because of it. Some
will not like this but no matter the setting I used I couldn't get rid
of it completely. I also noticed artifacts around some of the objects,
but it wasn't a big deal as it only happened once. And I wouldn't have
seen it if I was paying attention to the movie.
Color
reproductions and black levels were again spot-on. Although I think that
most full LED local dimming sets could do better, but that's only
noticeable in a direct comparison environment. And it's not like your
neighbor will buy one and install it right next to yours for showing. If
someone experienced this please contact me and I'll remove that
statement.
Blu-rays or legally owned 1080p content are amazing on
this set and the real reason why someone would own a television of this
caliber in the first place. Color reproduction is excellent and
black-levels are spot on. Motion isn't always handled perfectly. I saw
some artifacts and some people will find it unnatural no matter the
settings. If you're one of those people than this can be your deal
breaker!
Gaming
Gaming. We all do it, some admit it but few
feel proud of it. I connected my PS3 to the Samsung C8700 to test
gaming. Again I don't have the high-end stuff to measure input lag, this
review represents what the naked eye sees.
First up was Need for
Speed Shift. This new EA title was released in 2009 and marked a change
for the series. Moving more towards the semi-simulation racer with great
graphics and spectacular crashes. The Samsung C8700 held itself well
during the tests. The color reproduction was good and the image remained
crystal sharp despite only showing 1280x720 pixels. I did notice some
input lag compared to my reference display, a 2ms TNT panel. But for me
as a casual gamer I don't see this as a big issue.
LittleBigPlanet
was tested next and the Samsung C8700 nailed it. Input lag was even
less of an issue thanks to the slower paced game. The game showed better
depth thanks to the sharpness and the size of the display. Further more
I saw nothing unusual.
Last but not least was the game Resistance
2. This popular shooter sits high with the likes of Call of Duty and
Battlefield Bad Company 2. My first impression wasn't too great with
this title. I found the color tending a bit too much towards the
yellows. And I found halos around some of the objects during heavy
motion. I got rid of it after some tweaking, but it wasn't ideal.
Gaming
was nice on the Samsung C8700 television. The big size really makes the
experience more immersive. I did notice some input lag but it's not
that big of a deal.
Glasses
Samsung doesn't provide glasses
with the television. Costs are 70 - 130 $ depending on the model you
choose. Your options are limited between Samsung rechargeable or
non-rechargeable, the latter working on special batteries. Glasses from
other manufacturers don't work.
For this test I used a set of
non-rechargeable glasses. I found them to be average in both looks and
comfort. They don't look as good as the more expensive rechargeable
glasses. And I felt a pinch at the touching point near my ears. Moving
the glasses as bit relieved the pain.
Samsung claims that the
glasses can work over 100 hours with a single battery and those numbers
are impressive. But despite that I have to advise everyone to go for
rechargeable ones - at least for yourself. They're better looking, more
comfortable and nobody wants to buy batteries these days. My family
member decided to purchase 2 rechargeable for regular use and 3
non-rechargeable ones for guests.
Conversion
Samsung's
biggest change for 2010 is 3D. It's not a surprising move; competitors
like Sony have pushed it and everybody knew it was coming this year. But
I still don't have any comparison because Samsung is the only one out
there with a fully available 3D set. I've seen Sony's 3D engine a while
back at a demonstration, but can't use it to compare because they were
running special demos. For this part of the review I tried the special
2D to 3D conversion on a wide range of media. I couldn't test the native
3D engine because I don't own a 3D Blu-Ray player. Sony update the PS3
already!
The 2D to 3D conversion is very easy to use. There's a
button on the remote saying 3D, press it and the real time converting
begins. Further tweaks are possible in the menu, controlling things like
depth simulation, color correction and so forth. For this test I kept
everything at default because the depth simulation at maximum emphasized
mistakes too much, and a lower value made the whole 3D experience an
average experience. I started with SD.
Glee was a good test case.
The busy hallways of overly stereotyped teens gave me the perfect
opportunity to see if the Samsung C8700 is capable of aligning objects
properly. And it was. People in the front 'popped out' a bit, while
background students really remained in the back. Even with movement
everything stayed fine. I can truly say that an episode of Glee is worth
watching in 3D, despite a small loss of colors.
Next was a motion
test. I played back a F1 race that I had recorded. F1 is like NASCAR
but with corners and modern technology. It was raining and I was
interested to see how timing graphics and cars would show. After ten
minutes of viewing I was disappointed and forced to take off the
glasses. All of this was because my glass of water was empty and I had
to refill. After refilling the glasses stayed off because the fast
moving cars were a pain to watch. Cars going from the right side of the
screen towards the left weren't sharp and 'shook' heavily on the screen
surface. The system clearly couldn't keep up with the fast pace. On a
positive note: graphics were rightfully showed in front of the action,
and the extra depth was exciting to watch at times. Just not when there
were any fast moving cars around - Red Bull cars and such.
Commercials
are never fun to watch, except when they're about a product you want to
purchase. This has nothing to do with my third 3D test though, which
was regular television. I'm sad to say that the C8700 made mistakes
regularly when the commercials hit in. I found slogan text (buy cheese
now) to pop out while the price remained in the background. On top of
that some of the graphics weren't sharp. Overall the loss of brightness
and the discomfort from the glasses made regular television not
recommended for 3D conversion. Of course your mileage may vary, some
shows lend themselves more to the system than others.
I popped
Avatar in my PS3 and hit 3D on the remote. Mind you I haven't seen this
movie in 3D in the cinemas so no reference there. Avatar looked amazing
in 3D. The opening scene when the main character floats looks fantastic.
Objects looked sharp, and the television made to mistakes in depth
calculations. The only downside isn't really Samsung's fault but a
compromise in the active shutter glasses technique. These darkened
glasses work like sunglasses and remove some brightness when viewing 3D.
This occurred in all the footage I saw.
Last but not least:
gaming. I turned on my PS3 and started the titles I discussed earlier. I
was again torn between good and bad experiences. LittleBigPlanet made
no difference at all. But it does work in racing titles. Overall I felt
the games were built up in 4 layers of depth, with nothing really coming
out of the TV or sitting completely in the background. I found a lot of
instances of crosstalk and that wasn't the only problem. Some of
objects showed 'halos' around them, some weren't sharp and other weren't
as far on the background as they needed to be. It made the experience
very tiring and therefore I won't use it much. Native 3D games can
change my mind but for now gaming in 3D is a no go, with the Samsung
C8700 at least.
So here's what I think about the conversion system
by Samsung. It works but your mileage may vary. Some of the television
shows/movies don't work too great, especially with a lot of moving
objects. I also found SD 3D way more frustrating than HD 3D, with the
latter displaying very sharp textures and objects. Gaming for now is a
no go with conversion, a nice gimmick that will not last. Also a no go
is watching 3D in a resting position. You can't watch 3D with the
glasses in a 90-degree angle. Doing so will result in a black screen.
I'd like to stress that I wasn't able to test native 3D, so for now my
opinion about 3D is subject to change.
Conclusions
Samsung
did a terrific job with the C8700 LED television. Its design is
beautiful and will please most buyers - but not all. Watching SD is a
bit of a pain on the large screen so a few feet of viewing distance is
advised. HD content looks excellent though, with great black levels and
amazing color reproduction. But the overly smooth motion can annoy some
and please others.
The 3D conversion system is very easy to use
and can work great. Especially HD movies are converted well. Fast paced
SD or gaming should stay into the 2D realm for now.
You can't
really go wrong with the Samsung C8700. It's an excellent television but
be prepared to overlook some minor flaws for this expensive silver
piece of engineering brilliance.
I'm Robin Chung, author of the dutch book Tegenlicht. I have a
website that brings interesting reading material from all kind of
subjects like health and gaming. The website also includes a forum, so
you can discuss the articles, and you can order my book from there.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4428951
