Forget about the curve. Forget about 4K, in fact forget about just about every feature that Samsung's latest UHD set boasts except one; it has phenomenal picture quality.
The UE65HU8500 Smart 3D 4K Ultra HD 65" Curved LED TV - to give it its full and rather lengthy title - is a TV that sits right at the top of what Samsung is managing to do with panels right now. It's one of the absolute best that money can buy, regardless of the curve.
Hardware and Design
The 65-inch model we were sent for testing was certainly impressive, not least because it is so large. Really though, it's the relaxed curve of the TV that gets people talking, simply because they haven't seen a TV like this before.
As for the display itself, thin bezels wrapped around the screen ensure you get that 'floating image' effect that Samsung does so well. Interestingly though, Samsung hasn't opted to use its usual premium materials on what is a TV that costs close to £4,000.
The end result is a set that is impressive at a distance, but disappoints when you get up close to it. The curve also means that wall mounting the set doesn't work particularly well, as the screen bends out at an unusual angle from the wall.
The hardware is much harder to fault. Samsung's 65-inch ultra HD panel is an absolute stunner with picture quality that is class leading, but more on that later.
Alongside the panel itself is Samsung's quad-core plus processor. It's twice as powerful as the best thing Samsung had on offer in 2013, and it shows. Image processing - particularly 4K upscaling - is unparalleled, while all menus and other features run smooth.
The television's processing and connections are all handled via an external box. This is upgradeable, so you can get hold of the latest tech Samsung has on offer in the future, should you be so inclined.
User interface
Samsung's Smart TV setup was for a long time, the best thing out there. It has now however been surpassed by LG's quite fantastic WebOS.
That's not to say it's bad, however. Applications are now fairly impressive in number, with some highlights including Netflix operating in 4K. Breaking Bad and House of Cards have never looked so good.
Everything else is divided into various content hubs. There are hubs for TV, movies and games, plus one built specifically for on-demand content. Samsung also throws in an app store, which actually has a fairly impressive amount of apps on offer.
In terms of UI interaction, you have the usual remote control methods, or alternatively you can use your smartphone or tablet via an app. Then, you have a trackpad on the remote.
Out of the box, the Samsung actually proved less over the top than most sets. Picture setup can be quite easily fixed via a few settings changes, but it's the wealth of customisation options available. If you know what you're doing, you can make this TV look really good.
Picture quality
It only take a few moments after you first turn the Samsung on for its value to become apparent. Sure, £4k is a lot to spend on a television, but when you are getting picture quality like this, it seems justified.
Black levels, colour production and motion processing are all absolutely the best you can get right now. Clever imaging tweaks like a 'football mode', which works wonders for the World Cup, also impress.
Then you have upscaling. Any content needs to be beefed up to 4K resolution in order to run on the TV. That means missing pixels are 'guessed' by the image processing engine to fill in the gaps.
Samsung's television does it brilliantly. In fact, it's the first 4K set we have seen where HD content looks better than running on a native resolution panel.
Other features, like localised dimming and a cinema mode that stops colours bleeding into black bars in 16:9 movies, are also welcome.
As for 4K content, this is the TV that you really are going to want to show off with. The House Of Cards intro in particular takes advantage of the huge depth of colour and detail that the Samsung can offer. It looks stunning, and we can't wait for more 4K content to arrive.
Ahead of the Curve?
The curved TV really came out of nowhere. We've always asked for more resolution and better picture quality, but the shape of the TV has never been something consumers have been bothered about.
Samsung UHD 4K HU9000 Series 65" Smart TV
© Samsung
Samsung UHD 4K HU9000 Series 65" Smart TV
But electronics manufacturers need to stand out. Sometimes they do this with gimmicks, sometimes they introduce something genuinely useful.
While the curve on Samsung's latest UHD set is massively cool, it's also largely pointless. Samsung talks about it enhancing the viewing experience, but it really doesn't. Instead, you get a TV more prone to reflections and moments where the Smart UI appears a little wonky.
That said, the curve doesn't do any harm to picture quality, which is what really matters with a TV. As such, it becomes more of a talking point than something genuinely useful.
Verdict
Ultra HD is still a format in its infancy. Unlike 3D, however, it is a genuinely compelling technology. The first time you witness something streamed in 4K via Netflix, it all makes sense. The depth of colour, the clarity, it genuinely adds to the experience of watching TV.
So does the absolutely incredible display that Samsung has packed into its top-of-the-line UHD set. This is arguably one of the best-looking televisions on sale today.
As for the curve, we could take it or leave it. Flatten the TV out and save us some money we say, but even so, if you have to have the absolute best, you can't really go wrong here.
The UE65HU8500 Smart 3D 4K Ultra HD 65" Curved LED TV - to give it its full and rather lengthy title - is a TV that sits right at the top of what Samsung is managing to do with panels right now. It's one of the absolute best that money can buy, regardless of the curve.Hardware and Design
The 65-inch model we were sent for testing was certainly impressive, not least because it is so large. Really though, it's the relaxed curve of the TV that gets people talking, simply because they haven't seen a TV like this before.
The end result is a set that is impressive at a distance, but disappoints when you get up close to it. The curve also means that wall mounting the set doesn't work particularly well, as the screen bends out at an unusual angle from the wall.
The hardware is much harder to fault. Samsung's 65-inch ultra HD panel is an absolute stunner with picture quality that is class leading, but more on that later.
Alongside the panel itself is Samsung's quad-core plus processor. It's twice as powerful as the best thing Samsung had on offer in 2013, and it shows. Image processing - particularly 4K upscaling - is unparalleled, while all menus and other features run smooth.The television's processing and connections are all handled via an external box. This is upgradeable, so you can get hold of the latest tech Samsung has on offer in the future, should you be so inclined.
User interface
Samsung's Smart TV setup was for a long time, the best thing out there. It has now however been surpassed by LG's quite fantastic WebOS.
That's not to say it's bad, however. Applications are now fairly impressive in number, with some highlights including Netflix operating in 4K. Breaking Bad and House of Cards have never looked so good.
Everything else is divided into various content hubs. There are hubs for TV, movies and games, plus one built specifically for on-demand content. Samsung also throws in an app store, which actually has a fairly impressive amount of apps on offer.In terms of UI interaction, you have the usual remote control methods, or alternatively you can use your smartphone or tablet via an app. Then, you have a trackpad on the remote.
Out of the box, the Samsung actually proved less over the top than most sets. Picture setup can be quite easily fixed via a few settings changes, but it's the wealth of customisation options available. If you know what you're doing, you can make this TV look really good.
Picture quality
It only take a few moments after you first turn the Samsung on for its value to become apparent. Sure, £4k is a lot to spend on a television, but when you are getting picture quality like this, it seems justified.
Black levels, colour production and motion processing are all absolutely the best you can get right now. Clever imaging tweaks like a 'football mode', which works wonders for the World Cup, also impress.
Then you have upscaling. Any content needs to be beefed up to 4K resolution in order to run on the TV. That means missing pixels are 'guessed' by the image processing engine to fill in the gaps.
Samsung's television does it brilliantly. In fact, it's the first 4K set we have seen where HD content looks better than running on a native resolution panel.
Other features, like localised dimming and a cinema mode that stops colours bleeding into black bars in 16:9 movies, are also welcome.
As for 4K content, this is the TV that you really are going to want to show off with. The House Of Cards intro in particular takes advantage of the huge depth of colour and detail that the Samsung can offer. It looks stunning, and we can't wait for more 4K content to arrive.
Ahead of the Curve?
The curved TV really came out of nowhere. We've always asked for more resolution and better picture quality, but the shape of the TV has never been something consumers have been bothered about.
Samsung UHD 4K HU9000 Series 65" Smart TV
© Samsung
Samsung UHD 4K HU9000 Series 65" Smart TV
But electronics manufacturers need to stand out. Sometimes they do this with gimmicks, sometimes they introduce something genuinely useful.
While the curve on Samsung's latest UHD set is massively cool, it's also largely pointless. Samsung talks about it enhancing the viewing experience, but it really doesn't. Instead, you get a TV more prone to reflections and moments where the Smart UI appears a little wonky.
That said, the curve doesn't do any harm to picture quality, which is what really matters with a TV. As such, it becomes more of a talking point than something genuinely useful.
Verdict
Ultra HD is still a format in its infancy. Unlike 3D, however, it is a genuinely compelling technology. The first time you witness something streamed in 4K via Netflix, it all makes sense. The depth of colour, the clarity, it genuinely adds to the experience of watching TV.
So does the absolutely incredible display that Samsung has packed into its top-of-the-line UHD set. This is arguably one of the best-looking televisions on sale today.
As for the curve, we could take it or leave it. Flatten the TV out and save us some money we say, but even so, if you have to have the absolute best, you can't really go wrong here.
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