Samsung UE46F8500 TV review

Here is another new product from Samsung in 2013 – Smart TV UE46F8500. It belongs to the senior eighth series, so it carries on board the most advanced developments of the South Korean company.

Samsung UE46F8500 TV set

Appearance

Samsung Smart TV UE46F8500 captures the attention from the very first sight. The model stands out not only against competitors: among the whole eighth series it has no analogues, there is only its older brother – a 55-inch analog. This exclusivity is due to the unusually shaped stand. It is made in the form of two arcs with a smooth curve, which are officially called Lip Stand. The design solution appeals to the eye, and for some this will be an important factor.

Despite the presence of bright colors, the UE46F8500 look in general is strict and laconic. By the way, the older plasma models, presented at CES 2013, are designed in the same spirit. Samsung calls this style direction Metallic Magnum. LED matrix body traditionally has minimal thickness. Our test subject has its brother UE46F8000AT. Technologically, they are true twins, and the main difference is the design.

All connectors are concentrated on the back panel. There are 4 HDMI ports, 3 USB inputs, one composite and one component input each, digital optical output, three antenna inputs one for terrestrial or cable TV, two for satellite TV , infrared output, 3.5 mm standard audio jack and Ethernet for LAN and Internet connection. You couldn’t ask for more. Built-in WiFi module is also there.

As a novelty of 2013 Samsung UE46F8500 is equipped with an unusual remote control. The block of digital keys disappeared from it. On the surface of the manipulator there are very few buttons: most of the operations are proposed to perform with the touchpad. The surface of the latter is pleasant to the touch, your finger can easily slide over the sensor block. This area also supports five pressing directions – one on four sides and an additional confirming in the center.

Channels can be entered directly on the touchpad – by drawing the number or number you want. You can also enter channel numbers thanks to the digital field on the screen, which you have to navigate using the touch control. UE46F8500 has a good memory and over time makes a list of favorite channels, the transition to which is easier.

The Picture

At 1920 x 1080 resolution, you can’t find better picture quality on Samsung’s LCD matrices. The manufacturer considers one of its key technologies to be Ultra Clear Panel. This is a whole set of parameters that are designed to increase the brightness and contrast of the image, but most noteworthy is the use of a special coating consisting of layers with different indices of refraction. This peculiarity helps to reduce the intensity of reflected light. This allows you to be less distracted by glare from other light sources, especially the screen in this case has a glossy finish.

Another feature of the new panel is the 1,000 Hz. Samsung representatives have long ago did not disclose the actual refresh rate of their screen, but thanks to new technology, the image remains sharp even in the most dynamic modes. This is true for both 2D and 3D content. In the case of the eighth series TVs it should be noted separately because the active stereoscopy used in LED matrices halves the actual frequency.

Micro Dimming Ultimate must increase black depth. Its operation is based on the deactivation of individual blocks of LED backlighting. The activity of this system is most easily traced by the sharp dimming of the backlighting, for example, when selecting a picture source: during switching the TV tries as soon as possible to make the screen field as black as possible. It often really helps, especially in the darkest scenes. But if next to the black there is a bright spot, the effect will not be so positive. The reason is the peculiarities of the LED backlight structure: it can be switched off only in large blocks. Accordingly, if the individual module has not been deactivated, it will not allow for maximum depth of black.

Wide Color Enhancer Plus is responsible for the improvement of color rendering. With this Samsung UE46F8500 is all in order: the picture turns out lush. The basis of this technology is based on a simple effect. TV is trying to slightly dim the brightness of the most saturated shades, to eliminate their fade. It’s mostly about the three basic colors – red, green and blue. That’s why watching panoramas of wildlife on the new TVs of the eighth series is especially pleasant.

New picture settings menu lets you easily customize your viewing experience. The South Korean manufacturer has tried to simplify everything concerning control. This applies not only to the remote control, but also to the overall menu structure. All items are lined up logically and tooltips appear in the right places. Favorable graphics and smooth, but fast switching contributes to the beneficial communication with the system – brakes are excluded.

Smart or not Smart?

Among similar panels, Samsung’s eighth series is probably the smartest. Today the UE46F8500 not only learns to understand our wishes via the remote control buttons, but also via our voice. What is especially pleasant, the modern devices are taught American speech. Orders can be given to the TV, and an additional microphone is built into the remote itself, with the latter sometimes making it easier to connect a human and an artificial intelligence. At least it’s a good high-tech toy, but not cheap.

If your knuckles are tired and the remote control is far away, you can not waste time looking for it. All the controls are in your hands. With the built-in camera, which is located above the upper frame, the TV recognizes a specific set of features, which are implemented by pointing your hand on one or another of the icons on the screen. You can flip through an image with the palm of your hand, zoom in and out with two fists, and even give out “likes” on Facebook with a simple flick of your thumb.

For some operations there is no need to move at all: UE46F8500 can recognize registered users. This feature comes in handy for logging into your Smart Hub account. In the latter, you can use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts. Another important element of a smart TV is apps. Out of the box their number is small, in the Samsung Apps store are currently available more than 600 programs. There are also useful little things like weather forecasts and fun games. The key position is occupied by the video services of the category BBC News, ivi or Play: movies.

The last item Smart Hub – the storage of photos, videos and music. Advanced multimedia features can be useful for entertainment at your leisure. The browser will also be in demand, allowing you to enjoy web content on the high-quality 46-inch screen. Users can run videos embedded in pages. Navigating the World Wide Web is made much easier with a remote control touchpad. Just last year, the lack of a handy mouse did not allow you to fully enjoy web surfing, and although the touchpad is no substitute for a mouse, the new Samsung TVs offer a really handy control. You can also use gestures again.

Typing is realized in the only possible way: by touch-scrolling the alphabet with the remote control. This is exactly the overkill: each swiping movement moves the selection area by only one position. The most we have patience for is to type the address of a web-site. The problems are solved by a third-party wireless keyboard, thankfully UE46F8500 has a lot ofUSB-ports.

Additionally expand the capabilities of the gadget will help set-top box Evolution Kit. Hidden in a small black box is a quad-core processor, 1.5 GB of RAM and a 4 GB flash drive. It gives your TV new features and technology. In the case of UE46F8500 its purchase does not make sense yet: the smart TV can perform all conceivable operations today. In a year or two the owner will be able to upgrade it to the level of the new 2014 or 2015 models. We still need to mention Skype support: we have dreamed of making video calls from the comfortable sofa for a long time!.

Built-in player

This Samsung will handle just about any video format and container you can find. The list of official support stretches over several pages: 3GP, AVI, ASF, FLV, M2TS, MKV, MOV, MP4, MPG, MTS, SVI, TS, TP, TRP, VOB, VRO, WEBM, WMV. Even the complex M2TS files on Blu-ray are streamed without a hitch. No need to speak about popular AVI and MKV: a powerful processor can even cope with movies with a bitrate over 50 Mbps, which are pretty rare on their own. The huge file size won’t be a limitation: both smooth playback and rewind capabilities are preserved.

The Sound

In addition to the two conventional 20W speakers, the F8500 series models get two 10W subwoofers. It allows you to fill the scene with a lot of low frequencies. Such a set is quite enough to operate the TV even without external acoustics.

Conclusion

As of 2013 Samsung UE46F8500 has the maximum set of technologies and their excellent quality. High-quality picture is complemented by a good for such a thin model speaker system with two subwoofers. The built-in media player handles almost all video formats. But the TV does not need external sources of information, because it can wander the global network in search of interesting movies. The user will be helped by specialized applications and a convenient browser. Calls to friends and relatives over Skype will also bring positive emotions. The highlight of the F8500 LED TV series is a superb elegant design.