Our pool of vetted reviewers felt that the Samsung NU8000’s performance would highly impress both gamers and daytime TV watchers. Their testing revealed that this TV features excellent native contrast, splendid black levels, superb upscaling, and a wide color gamut. But watch out for the poor viewing angles and the lack of HDMI 2.1.
PICTURE QUALITY
4K
- Reviewers absolutely loved the native UHD output the Samsung NU8000 offers. In addition, its upscaling performance also left them speechless. 1080P content looked almost as good as native UHD, and even upscaling standard definition content didn’t introduce any artifacts.
Color
- The Samsung NU8000 comes with excellent color accuracy out of the box. In addition, both RTings and TechRadar measured close to 100% coverage of the DCI P3 color space, which allows this TV to feature a wide color gamut for achieving a high dynamic range (just like the Samsung NU6900).
Black
- Experts adore the deep inky black levels of the Samsung NU8000, thanks to its VA screen. As a result, just like the Samsung Q6FN/Q6/Q6F QLED, they highly recommended watching HDR content with many dark scenes on this TV rather than watching them on IPS LCDs. Only more premium micro-LED, mini LED, and OLED TVs can compete well against the NU8000 in this category.
Brightness
- The NU8000 has a decent peak brightness, unlike the Samsung NU6900. Testers measured the peak brightness at 876 nits, which is extremely close to the 1000 nits threshold TVs need to reach to deliver a good HDR viewing experience.
Contrast
- Critics applauded the high native contrast ratio of the Samsung NU8000, which they measured at 5461:1. And that is once again thanks to its excellent VA screen, which historically performs well in this category (like with the Samsung Q6FN/Q6/Q6F QLED). They also reported the screen uniformity to be amazing, as they couldn’t spot any clouding or backlight bleed.
Dimming
- Despite having edge-LED backlighting, the Samsung NU8000 does feature local dimming. And TV reviewers did say that it helps the black levels a bit.
- But they also noted that it doesn’t have full-array local dimming. So turning on local dimming actually worsens the contrast ratio a bit.
Gaming
- Most vetted experts liked gaming on the Samsung NU8000, primarily because it supports VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) for seamless game mode activation.
- However, they also said that the Samsung NU8000 doesn’t have HDMI 2.1.
HDR
- The Samsung NU8000 has support for HDR 10, HDR 10+, and HLG, according to Consumer Reports and Trusted Reviews. And they reported the HDR performance to be excellent, thanks to the wide color gamut and decent peak brightness.
- But, they also pointed out the fact that it doesn’t support Dolby Vision HDR.
Motion
- Product testers had nothing but praises for the motion handling of the Samsung NU8000. It has a fantastic motion smoothing feature that can interpolate 30 and 60 FPS content to up to 120 FPS for the pleasure of “Soap Opera Effect” lovers. In addition, it also packs in an optional BFI (Black Frame Insertion) feature, which they said works exceptionally well.
Refresh Rate
- The Samsung NU8000 has a native screen refresh rate of 120Hz. It also features VRR, which helps the TV screen to adjust its refresh rate according to the in-game frame rate.
- However, unfortunately, due to HDMI 2.0 limitations, top critics couldn’t get 4K to work with 120Hz.
Response
- Certified reviewers lauded the low response time of Samsung NU8000 (13 ms). They also measured the input lag at about 20 ms, which should be more than good enough for casual gamers.
- But the fast response time can result in stuttery 24 FPS playback.
Viewing Angle
- Being a VA TV, the Samsung NU8000 has terrible viewing angles. Top experts could only go as far as 21° off-center, after which the colors started to shift. If you have a wide seating arrangement and want good picture quality from most angles, they recommend picking up an IPS TV or investing in an OLED instead.
Burn-In
- Testers don’t expect any units from the Samsung NU8000 range of TVs to suffer from permanent screen burn-in, and thankfully this opinion is universal. Unlike OLED TVs, the NU8000 was entirely immune to even the slightest temporary screen retention during their long-term tests.
DESIGN
Stand
- The Samsung NU8000 comes with a middle positioned metallic stand. Reviewers reported it to hold the TV well with minimal wobble. Best of all, they also said that the frame doesn’t require much space.
Back
- TV experts were ecstatic about the fact that the Samsung NU8000 features side-mounted ports on its back for easy access. In addition, they also noted the presence of guiding tracks for cable management and holes for a VESA 200×200 wall mount.
Borders
- The Samsung NU8000 features black bezels that are about 0.9 cm wide. They are similar in width compared to other modern Samsung smart TVs, and critics weren’t distracted by them whatsoever.
Thickness
- Pro testers were impressed by the slim design of the Samsung NU8000, as they measured the max thickness only at 5.8 cm. According to them, once wall-mounted, it won’t stick out much.
FEATURES
Tuner
- The Samsung NU8000 has a built-in digital tuner that supports both ATSC and cable QAM standards. Reviewers didn’t face any issue with it and reported it to work well in accord with its specifications.
Input
- Experts were disappointed that the NU8000 doesn’t include the OneConnect box with a USB 3.0 port, unlike the older Samsung smart TVs. Other than that, they noted the presence of four HDMI 2.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports in its I/O section.
Remote Control
- The Samsung NU8000 comes with a small and sleek smart remote that features voice control (with Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant). Critics liked the premium build of the remote and how it feels in hand, and they also reported the Bixby voice recognition to work exceptionally well using the built-in mic. And thanks to Samsung’s OneRemote feature, the remote control can be easily used with other devices universally. In addition, users can also take advantage of the Samsung SmartThings app to control the TV using their smartphones.
SMART TV
Apps
- Testers were delighted by the massive app library Samsung’s app store offers on the NU8000, which is almost as big as the Google Play Store. And surprisingly, they reported most apps to run even smoother than the actual user interface on the built-in SoC (System on a Chip).
Streaming
- The Samsung NU8000 provides an excellent streaming experience, as you can easily search for and purchase content between different streaming platforms using just your voice. Vetted reviewers also said that all the preloaded streaming apps (e.g., Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play Movies & TV, Hulu, HBO Max, etc.) could playback 4K content with HDR 10 without dropping frames. In addition, one reviewer even got HDR 10+ to work with Amazon Prime Video.
Menu
- Sadly, most experts hated the laggy nature of Samsung’s Tizen OS UI on the NU8000. They experienced choppiness way more frequently than they preferred, and they also had to endure a lot of bugs that made the interface crash to the home screen even without performing intensive tasks.
SOUND QUALITY
Audio
- The Samsung NU8000’s built-in audio system consists of four speakers and a woofer, with a total output power of 40 watts. Top critics said that the drivers are very well balanced with each other, and they can deliver a clean sound signature.
- However, they also noted a lot of distortions at loud volumes due to compression artifacts.
Bass
- Professional testers thought that the bass output of Samsung NU8000’s built-in audio system for an average user. But, dedicated bass lovers will always crave for more, and they can go with an external sound system that sports a subwoofer or two.
Soundstage
- The Samsung NU8000 is only limited to standard HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel). Unfortunately, it does not have eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel), prohibiting advanced surround audio features like Dolby Atmos. As a result, its soundstage is only limited to Dolby Digital 5.1.
