Samsung AU8000 Review (UN43AU8000FXZA, UN50AU8000FXZA, UN55AU8000FXZA, UN60AU8000FXZA , UN65AU8000FXZA, UN70AU8000FXZA , UN75AU8000FXZA, UN85AU8000FXZA) (2024)

Curved No

The TV has a surprisingly premium design for an entry-level model. It comes with new feet compared to 2020's Samsung TU8000, and they sit flat against the table. It has thin bezels all around and looks nice in any setup.

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Wall Mount VESA 400x300

The back of the TV has similar etched horizontal lines as other Samsung TVs. It doesn't offer much in terms of cable management, but you can run cables through the clips in the feet and the tracks in the back panel. The ports all face to the side, but because they're placed inside a cutout on the back, they're nearly impossible to access when the TV is wall-mounted, so a mounting arm that pulls out from the wall is recommended.

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Borders 0.35" (0.9 cm)

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Max Thickness 1.22" (3.1 cm)

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This TV has decent build quality. It's made entirely of sturdy plastic, and everything is well-built with no significant issues. The back panel flexes a lot near the center and inputs, which is noticeable when plugging in HDMI cables, but this is common and won't cause any issues.

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Contrast

Native Contrast

The TV has disappointing contrast. Its native contrast ratio is alright, but since the TV lacks a local dimming feature, blacks aren't deep, and they become raised and washed out when bright highlights are on the screen.

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Since this TV lacks a local dimming feature, there's no blooming around bright objects in otherwise dark scenes. Since the entire backlight is always on at the same intensity and it has a low contrast ratio, dark scenes look washed out.

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Local Dimming

Backlight

Dimming Zones Count Of Tested TV

This TV doesn't have a local dimming feature; the entire backlight is always on at the same intensity, so there's no distracting flicker or brightness changes as bright highlights move across the screen.

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Switching to 'Game' mode doesn't result in any noticeable difference in contrast or blooming.

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Hallway Lights (~1950 cd/m²)

Yellow Skyscraper (~700 cd/m²)

Landscape Pool (~300 cd/m²)

Peak 2% Window

Peak 10% Window

Peak 25% Window

Peak 50% Window

Peak 100% Window

Sustained 2% Window

Sustained 10% Window

Sustained 25% Window

Sustained 50% Window

Sustained 100% Window

Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)

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Hallway Lights (~1950 cd/m²)

Yellow Skyscraper (~700 cd/m²)

Landscape Pool (~300 cd/m²)

Peak 2% Window

Peak 10% Window

Peak 25% Window

Peak 50% Window

Peak 100% Window

Sustained 2% Window

Sustained 10% Window

Sustained 25% Window

Sustained 50% Window

Sustained 100% Window

Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)

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600 Nit Tracking Delta

1000 Nit Tracking Delta

4000 Nit Tracking Delta

This TV has great PQ EOTF tracking, ensuring that most HDR content is displayed at the correct brightness level. Like most TVs with no local dimming, near-blacks are raised a bit. Midtones are also slightly too bright, but it's very close overall. There's a very smooth roll-off near the TV's peak brightness, so fine details in bright scenes are preserved.

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Real Scene Peak Brightness

Peak 2% Window

Peak 10% Window

Peak 25% Window

Peak 50% Window

Peak 100% Window

Sustained 2% Window

Sustained 10% Window

Sustained 25% Window

Sustained 50% Window

Sustained 100% Window

Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)

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Wide Color Gamut

DCI P3 xy

DCI P3 uv

Rec 2020 xy

Rec 2020 uv

The Samsung AU8000 has a decent HDR color gamut, with very good coverage of the DCI P3 color space. This results in vibrant colors when watching most HDR content, but it can't display the full range of colors available, so some content can look dull and muted. It has very limited coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space that is increasing in popularity, so it's not very future-proof.

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1,000 cd/m² DCI P3 Coverage ITP

10,000 cd/m² Rec 2020 Coverage ITP

White Luminance

Red Luminance

Green Luminance

Blue Luminance

Cyan Luminance

Magenta Luminance

Yellow Luminance

Due to the narrow color gamut, the color volume is sub-par. It displays darker colors fairly well but struggles more with brighter colors.

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White Balance dE

Color dE

Gamma

Color Temperature

Picture Mode

Color Temp Setting

Gamma Setting

With just a few quick settings changes out-of-the-box, the Samsung AU8000's accuracy before calibration is good. Most colors are slightly inaccurate, but reds, yellows, and cyans are the most off. The white balance is okay, but brighter shades of gray are a bit off. The color temperature is near the 6500K target, and gamma follows the 2.2 target very well.

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White Balance dE

Color dE

Gamma

Color Temperature

White Balance Calibration

Color Calibration

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50% Std. Dev.

50% DSE

5% Std. Dev.

5% DSE

This TV has just decent gray uniformity. There are a few patchy areas throughout the screen, which are distracting when you're watching anything with large areas of uniform color, like sports.

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Std. Dev.

Native Std. Dev.

This TV has excellent black uniformity. The screen is cloudy throughout but very uniform, so it's not very distracting. Sadly, there's no local dimming feature to reduce the cloudiness of the screen.

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Color Washout

Color Shift

Brightness Loss

Black Level Raise

Gamma Shift

The Samsung AU8000 has a narrow viewing angle. Colors start to shift, and the image looks darker as you move off-center, so it's not ideal for a wide seating area or if you like to move around your room with the TV on.

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Screen Finish

Total Reflections

Indirect Reflections

Calculated Direct Reflections

The reflection handling is impressive. It handles a moderate amount of light well, and even though it struggles more with stronger light sources, it's still better than most entry-level TVs.

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100% Black to 50% Gray

50% Gray to 100% White

100% Black to 50% Red

50% Red to 100% Red

100% Black to 50% Green

50% Green to 100% Green

100% Black to 50% Blue

50% Blue to 100% Blue

The gradient handling is excellent, which is a significant improvement from the Samsung TU8000. There's a bit more banding in the reds and greens, but it's not too noticeable. The Noise Reduction setting, which is designed to smooth out gradients in low-quality content, doesn't appear to do anything at all.

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Smoothing

Detail Preservation

The TV has poor low-quality content smoothing. Although it preserves details well, there's no noticeable smoothing done, and artifacts are still present in dark scenes.

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The Samsung AU8000 upscales 480p content, like from DVDs, without any issues.

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Subpixel Layout

Type LED

Sub-Type

The panel is different from the Samsung TU8000 and looks like an MVA panel, which is a type of VA panel and performs the same. There's dithering with blue pixels, but it's only visible with a full white screen. It has BGR subpixel layout, which negatively affects text clarity when using it as a PC monitor.

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80% Response Time

100% Response Time

The Samsung AU8000 has an okay response time. Transitions in dark scenes are very slow, resulting in a long trail behind dark objects, known as black smearing. Motion looks blurry because of this slower response time, and there are noticeable duplications due to the TV's backlight flicker.

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Flicker-Free

PWM Dimming Frequency

The Samsung AU8000 uses pulse width modulation (PWM) to dim its backlight, which results in flicker that can cause headaches and eye strain. It's flicker-free in the 'Movie' Picture Mode with the Brightness set to anything '25' and above, but it flickers at 480Hz at '24' and below. It flickers at 120Hz with Picture Clarity enabled or in Game Mode. It also flickers at 120Hz in the 'Dynamic', 'Standard', and 'Natural' Picture Modes, but it's flicker-free in those modes if the backlight is set to its max.

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Optional BFI

Min Flicker For 60 fps

60Hz For 60 fps

120Hz For 120 fps

Min Flicker for 60 fps in Game Mode

The Samsung AU8000 has a backlight strobing feature, commonly known as black frame insertion (BFI). BFI is designed to improve the appearance of motion by reducing the amount of persistent blur. It flickers at 60Hz outside of Game Mode if you enable LED Clear Motion, but once Game Mode is enabled, there aren't any motion settings and it always flickers at 120Hz, which leads to motion duplication. Unfortunately, the flicker introduced is poorly timed, resulting in noticeable crosstalk, so the overall usefulness of this feature is limited.

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Motion Interpolation (30 fps)

Motion Interpolation (60 fps)

The Samsung AU8000 has the option to interpolate 30fps content up to 60fps, which gives motion the 'Soap Opera Effect'. It looks okay in slower scenes but stops interpolating altogether during busy scenes, which is distracting due to the sudden change in frame rate.

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Frame Hold Time @ 24 fps

Frame Hold Time @ 60 fps

Since the TV has a slower response time, there's very little stutter when watching low frame rate content, like movies.

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Judder-Free 24p

Judder-Free 24p via 60p

Judder-Free 24p via 60i

Judder-Free 24p via Native Apps

Like the Samsung TU8000, this TV can only remove judder from sources that can send a true 24p signal, like a Blu-ray player or a streaming box with a "match frame-rate" feature. It can't remove judder from sources that don't have this feature, like most cable boxes.

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Native Refresh Rate

Variable Refresh Rate

HDMI Forum VRR

FreeSync

G-SYNC Compatible

4k VRR Maximum

4k VRR Minimum

1080p VRR Maximum

1080p VRR Minimum

1440p VRR Maximum

1440p VRR Minimum

VRR + Local Dimming No Local Dimming

This TV has a basic 60Hz panel without any variable refresh rate support. If you want a budget-friendly TV with VRR support, check out the Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022.

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1080p @ 60Hz

1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode

1080p @ 120Hz

1080p @ 144Hz

1440p @ 60Hz

1440p @ 120Hz

1440p @ 144Hz

4k @ 60Hz

4k @ 60Hz + 10-Bit HDR

4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4

4k @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode

4k @ 60Hz With Interpolation

4k @ 120Hz

4k @ 144Hz

8k @ 60Hz

This TV has incredibly low input lag as long as Game Mode is enabled. Surprisingly, input lag is still low enough for most casual gamers even outside of Game Mode.

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Resolution 4k

480p @ 59.94Hz (Widescreen)

720p @ 59.94Hz

1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4

1080p @ 120Hz

1080p @ 144Hz

1440p @ 60Hz

1440p @ 120Hz

1440p @ 144Hz

4k @ 60Hz

4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4

4k @ 120Hz

4k @ 120Hz @ 4:4:4

4k @ 144Hz

8k @ 30Hz or 24Hz

8k @ 60Hz

The Samsung AU8000 supports most common resolutions, but only at 60Hz, as it doesn't support a 120Hz refresh rate. Chroma 4:4:4 is displayed properly when the TV is set to 'PC' mode, which is important for clear text from a computer.

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Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM)

4k @ 120Hz

1440p @ 120Hz

1080p @ 120Hz

HDR

VRR

Since it's a 60Hz TV, it only supports 4k games up to 60fps from the PS5. It has an Auto Low Latency Mode that automatically switches the TV into Game Mode to get the lowest input lag possible when a game is launched.

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Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM)

4k @ 120Hz

1440p @ 120Hz

1080p @ 120Hz

HDR

VRR

Since it's a 60Hz TV, it only supports 4k games up to 60fps from the Xbox Series S|X. It has an Auto Low Latency Mode that automatically switches the TV into Game Mode to get the lowest input lag possible when a game is launched. Unfortunately, the TV doesn't support Dolby Vision.

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HDR10

HDR10+

Dolby Vision

HLG

HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth

HDMI 2.1 Class Bandwidth

CEC Yes

HDCP 2.2 Yes (HDMI 1,2,3)

ATSC Tuner

USB 3.0

Variable Analog Audio Out No

Wi-Fi Support Yes (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz)

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HDMI 3

USB 2

Digital Optical Audio Out 1

Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 0

Analog Audio Out RCA 0

Component In 0

Composite In 0

Tuner (Cable/Ant) 1

Ethernet 1

DisplayPort 0

IR In 0

Unlike the Samsung TU8000, the Samsung AU8000 has no component or composite inputs. You'll need an external HDMI adapter to connect older devices like retro game consoles.

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ARC/eARC Port

eARC: Dolby Atmos Over Dolby Digital Plus

eARC: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1

eARC: LPCM 7.1 Over Dolby MAT

eARC: Dolby TrueHD 7.1

eARC: DTS:X Over DTS-HD MA

eARC: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1

eARC: LPCM Channels (Bitstream)

ARC: Dolby Digital 5.1

ARC: DTS 5.1

Optical: Dolby Digital 5.1

Optical: DTS 5.1

Even though the Samsung AU8000 doesn't have HDMI 2.1 bandwidth inputs, it still supports eARC. This allows you to pass uncompressed audio in the Dolby Atmos via TrueHD format to a compatible receiver over a single HDMI connection. It can also pass through a DTS 5.1 signal through ARC, which is great, although it can't do the same through optical, nor does it support advanced DTS formats through eARC.

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Low-Frequency Extension

Std. Dev. @ 70

Std. Dev. @ 80

Std. Dev. @ Max

Max

Dynamic Range Compression

The frequency response is mediocre. It doesn't produce much bass, and there are compression artifacts at its max volume. You have to listen at moderate levels if you want a more well-balanced sound profile.

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Weighted THD @ 80

Weighted THD @ Max

IMD @ 80

IMD @ Max

The distortion performance is mediocre. Although there isn't too much at moderate listening levels, it increases quite a bit at its max volume.

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Smart OS Tizen

Version 2021 (with reduced features)

Ease of Use

Smoothness

Time Taken to Select YouTube

Time Taken to Change Backlight

Advanced Options

The Samsung AU8000 comes with an upgraded version of Tizen compared to 2020's Samsung TU8000; the menu navigation feels smoother, and it's easy to use. However, it has fewer features than some higher-end models like the Samsung Q80/Q80A QLED as it lacks things like MultiView.

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Ads

Opt-out

Suggested Content in Home

Opt-out of Suggested Content

Sadly, there are ads on the home page and app store, and there's no way to disable them.

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App Selection

App Smoothness

Cast Capable

USB Drive Playback

USB Drive HDR Playback

HDR in Netflix

HDR in YouTube

Samsung's app store has a great selection of apps, including all major streaming services.

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Size

Voice Control

CEC Menu Control

Other Smart Features

Remote App Samsung SmartThings

This TV comes with the same new redesigned remote as other Samsung TVs in 2021, except it requires disposable batteries instead of a rechargeable one. There are shortcut buttons to popular streaming devices, and the voice control gives you access to Bixby, Alexa, and Google Assistant. You can ask it to change settings and switch inputs, but you can't ask it to search for specific content in apps.

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A single button below the Samsung branding on the bottom right side can be used to adjust the volume, change channels, switch inputs, and turn the TV on/off.

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Power Consumption 63 W

Power Consumption (Max) 139 W

Firmware 1054

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