# Samsung UHD 4K HU9000 vs. 1080P UN75F8000



## hornmdt1 (Mar 21, 2013)

I'd like to get some feedback on these two TVs that I am considering since my 8-9 year old 75" Samsung 1080i TV died. The UHD TV is this year's offering from Samsung at 78" with the slightly curved screen. The 1080p TV is their flagship model from 2013 at 75". The reviews for the 2013 1080p are sterling especially for picture quality. I've seen the UHD at Best Buy and the picture quality is jaw dropping. However I realize that I'm also looking at 4K content that is being pumped into it.

My provider is DirecTV and they only provide a 1080x1920 1080i HD content at best. Movies at 1080p are offered from DirecTV, Vudu or my Blue Ray Player but I watch a lot more sports and network TV shows than movies. There is about a $2600 difference between the two TVs. Since I have no 4K content will the 1080p TV have just as great of a picture quality as the UHD TV would with the content available to me?

I know the UHD TV will be doing up-scaling but if the content is not there to begin with how much better can it make the picture? Also how will non HD content look on the UHD TV? I don't want to buy old technology but if the picture is not going to be any better would it make any sense to spend the extra $2600? But if the picture quality will indeed be much better then the UHD would seem to be the way to go. 

I assume it will be many years until broadcast and cable TV will be broadcast by DirecTV or anyone else anywhere near the 4K content level so is the UHD TV worth the extra money? But I don't change TVs often so maybe I should bite the bullet and get the UHD set so I'm future proof. However if it will be 7 or 8 years until 4K content is widely available then maybe the 1080p set will be fine for now and when it is time for another set then go the 4K route down the road.

Also, does anyone think that the curved screen is just a fad and they will go back to flat screens stopping the curved screen offerings? I've read reviews that say that both TVs are glare resistant. Is that everyone's experience?

I'm leaning slightly toward the UHD TV just because I don't change TVs often and want the most current technology (plus the extra 3 inches doesn't hurt). But if the 1080p set will do about the same job with the content available now and in the foreseeable future I'd prefer to save the money. I nearly pulled the trigger on the new 1080p set last year but my old Samsung set was still pumping out a great picture. So now that it has died the 1080p set is now one year old technology and the UHD set is this years version of it. I don't want to waste money but want the best picture but it needs to be noticeably better to justify the extra money.

I'd love all the feedback I can get.

Thanks!!


----------



## Juanus (Jun 5, 2007)

I was doing the same kind of comparisons and IMO I would stick with the 1080 set.
People are hyping up UHD a lot, but I am not sure where the content is going to come from or how long it will take. I might not be up to the latest news, but I haven't heard of anyone thinking of producing UHD BluRays and the few places that have talked about streaming it will have limited content to start I am sure. If this past set lasted 8 years, I feel like you will be fine with the 1080 set for the next 10.
I am purely speculating, but I don't see UHD taking off and you will be able to use that extra 2600 on something cool. If the content is not there, then having a UHD TV is a waste.


----------



## Rockaway1836 (Sep 26, 2007)

Chad B just posted a review yesterday

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-lcd-flat-panel-displays/1522081-official-samsung-4k-hu8550-hu9000-thread-134.html look for post 4013

CNET did a review last month

http://www.cnet.com/products/samsung-un55hu9000/


----------



## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

UHD 4K is coming. Hopefully it will not be 3D 2014. 

So the question becomes where do you see yourself on the tech buying curve. Ahead of the curve, on the wave, or behind. I'm normally ahead, but didn't do 3D. I hope to try some limited 4k relatively soon, though it will likely be as a computer monitor mostly, TV partly. 

Peace,
Tom


----------



## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

I don't think it will be like 3D. At worst it will be like the change to HD, where in the early days we only had a few special HD channels, like Discovery HD Theater. I think it wasn't until this year that the final primetime network show went HD (Big Brother).


----------



## hornmdt1 (Mar 21, 2013)

I'm planning to build a Home Theatre room with a 4K projector early next year where most of our serious movie watching will be done. This new TV will be used primarily to watch network and cable TV channels such as the NFL, NBA, NCAA football and basketball, etc., primetime network TV shows along with some ESPN/ESPN2 shows such as First Take, NFL Live, etc. Throw in some TNTHD shows like The Last Ship and Manhattan on WGNHD among other shows and you pretty much have what the TV will be used for. Wife likes Hallmark movies and some of their series like Cedar Cove and we subscribe to the full compliment of pay movie channels from DirecTV such as HBO, Showtime, etc. so some movies will be watched on it but the streamed, Blueray and 4K content movies will be watched in the home theatre room.

So I think it comes down to will there be any 4K content broadcast either OTA or by DirecTV in the near future? If so I think I should go the UHD 4K route. But if not I should save the $2600, put it toward my 4K projector and buy the 1080p TV that will probably last until 4K or better content is actually being broadcast.

Also, what does non HD content look like on a UHD 4K TV? Is there any noticeable difference in picture quality of a UHD 4K TV vs. a 1080p TV when the content is just 720p or 1080i?

I appreciate the feedback.

Thank you.


----------



## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

Have you looked at them for yourself ? Do you really think you need a curved screen ?
Here is a comparison on the Samsung web site of a Flat UHD and a Flat 1080p. There is $1,000 difference between the 2 units.

http://www.samsung.com/us/compare/#category/N0000042/products/UN65HU8550FXZA%2CUN65H6400AFXZA

Edit / Add: I just chatted with a rep about their model numbering system and I also asked him about the viewing distance for the 65" curved TVs.
Copied and pasted from chat:

*Visitor: *OK, so the higher / further down the alphabet the letter is, the newer the model is. Thanks
*Marshall: *You're welcome. Is there anything else I can assist you with?
*Visitor: *Yes, what is the recommended viewing distance for one of your curved 65" TV screens.
*Marshall: *The recommended viewing distance for 65" curved model is 12Ft to 15Ft.
*Visitor: *Thanks
*Marshall: *You are welcome!


----------



## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Well, this Marshall is full of it. 

Great questions! If my Sammy plasma croaked today, I'd get 4k. Dunno about the curved style, though. 

Any chance you can get to Las Vegas for the CES? You'll see dozens of different 4K sets.


----------



## hornmdt1 (Mar 21, 2013)

Not any chance in CES since I'm in NC. The UHD 4K set looks amazing at Best Buy but that's with 4K content so it should. Of course the 1080p set is no longer on the floor but I remember it looking amazing too when it was but not 4K amazing. I want at least a 75" screen. I could care less about the curved screen unless that's the way everything is going then I'd want to have current technology.

So what it comes down to is what does the picture quality of a UHD 4K set look like with 480i, 720p and 1080i content? Are there any noticeable difference between the picture quality of the UHD 4K and 1080p TVs when running the before mentioned resolutions? Also does anyone think there is a snowball's chance that DirecTV or OTA will pump out much or any 4K content (not including streaming pay per view movies that I would watch in a Home Theatre room on a 4K projector) anytime in the foreseeable future especially considering they don't even broadcast a full 1080x1920 resolution now on their 1080i broadcasts? If there will be tons of broadcast 4K content then the decision is simple to buy the UHD 4K TV. But if all I'm going to be watching for the next 7 or 8 years is up-converted 720p and 1080i the 1080p set would seem to be the right choice unless the UHD 4K set does one heck of a job of up-converting. 

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated since I need to make this decision soon.

Thank you!!


----------



## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

I think you'd need to make your own tests on how good the up converting is for a few different formats. How to do it? Possibly persuade some sales person to run different live inputs through a 4K set you're interested in. Otherwise, all conjecture, or worse, projections based on pixel count alone.

But I do feel 4K will not take more than a few years to become prevalent enough to make it worthwhile. Kinda like early days of HD, perhaps. YMMV, as will opinions on forum boards!


----------



## hornmdt1 (Mar 21, 2013)

The CNET review posted above states that 4K content vs. 1080 content had only a subtle PQ advantage (and only in certain scenes) on the 4K set vs. the 1080p set and not even noticeable at all after sitting 8.5 feet away. Also states that even with 4K input the 4K's advantage is not so much in PQ as color and black levels.

I've seen the Samsung UHD 4K set with 4K content sitting beside a Samsung 1080p set (not the 75" set I'm looking at however) with 1080p content and I'd agree that the 4K set is sharper but I think I'd agree that it is subtle. I don't understand that because one would think a 4K set with 4K content would have to outperform a 1080p set with 1080p content. I can wrap my head around the fact that with both sets displaying 1080p content that the difference would be subtle since the 4K set can upscale all it wants but if the original content is not there it is just making copies of pixels already there (or that is my layman's view of what is going on here).

I think this is making me lean toward the 1080p set which is a 180 from when I started this post. If anyone has any other firsthand experiences with this please let me know.

Thanks!!!


----------



## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

C'mon, man, there are flights from Charlotte to LV in January!! 

You are on the right track, but I'd be skeptical at what is shown at any store, unless you are a part of the input selection.

One thing that I question is this part of the statement you quoted:
_*".....even with 4K input the 4K's advantage is not so much in PQ as color and black levels."*_

Because color and black levels are a large part of PQ!

Anyway, happy exploring!


----------



## hornmdt1 (Mar 21, 2013)

That's the way the CNET reviewer phrased it not me. Personally I like vibrant color but have never been a stickler for black levels. As long as its pretty close is fine with me. In my view the PQ he was talking about would be similar to mine however. I think he's talking about pixel definition. On the 4K TV with 4K content you could maybe see a pore in an extreme close up of Cameron Diaz's face skin where you couldn't see that or see it as well with 1080p content on the 1080p TV. But on all other scenes he couldn't tell the difference between the TVs and if he was sitting at 8.5 feet away or more he couldn't even tell the close up shot difference. He says he even brought 4 colleagues over and only one of the 4 could tell which set was the 4K TV and which was the 1080p TV.

I've thought how that could be the case and I think it must be similar to the evolution of cameras where the TV has surpassed the capability of the human eye to tell the difference in the added pixel count unless you're talking about a super huge screen like an IMAX or something. That's the only thing I can think of anyway that would explain why a 4K TV with 4K content has only a subtly better PQ than a 1080p TV with 1080p content would have.

If you can't tell the difference between them except in some rare super close up shots I don't think I can justify spending an extra $2600 for that. I think I'd be better served putting the $2600 toward my 4K projector where my screen size will be double at 150 inches and need the extra pixel count. At least that's where I'm at right now.

My only experience with 4K was at Best Buy where the sales rep said Samsung bought the whole display area and has a computer media player pumping out 4K content to the TVs. Most all the video is extreme close ups of things like lizards, alligators, etc. where you can see every bump on their skin. A 1080p TV is in the same area and the PQ is also great but standing 4 feet away the 4K TV's picture definition is marginally better which is pretty much what the CNET reviewer stated.

Maybe others here have a totally different experience but I haven't heard from anyone saying that. I'd love more feedback.

Thanks!


----------

