That’s a positive, though. At a touch over 25mm deep for our 55-inch version, the chassis is enviably slim, and the bezels surrounding the screen are minimal too. It can be wall-mounted, of course. If you don’t fancy that option, though, and would rather stand your new TV on a surface, the Samsung’s feet are usefully close together, so your surface needn’t be as wide as the screen itself. Its panel is a VA type, raising hopes of decent contrast but, predictably, meaning that you’ll see colours and contrast start to reduce if you have to watch the screen from much of an angle from the side. The BU8500 also pays the price for its missing Quantum Dot colour system by delivering a colour palette which, while fairly wide-ranging and decently subtle, ultimately feels a little desaturated versus the vibrancy of the TCL. Admittedly the TCL sometimes pushes its colours a little too much, but overall its extra vividness is more engaging than the Samsung’s rather pallid look.

There are various panel technologies. Each has its own specific features - viewing angles, color reproduction, response time, brightness/contrast, production cost, etc. The image quality depends directly on the type of the display panel used. The panel is illuminated from its edges, rather than having lights positioned directly behind it. This no doubt helped Samsung achieve the UE50BU8000’s AirSlim design, but edge lighting can struggle to control where the light goes as well as LED lighting systems that are placed directly behind the screen. There’s a choice of a standard Samsung controller or a SolarCell remote that recharges using solar energy, and offers a stripped-down set of keys including basic navigation controls, volume and channel up/down, plus direct access buttons for Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and TV Plus. Samsung BU8500 review: Smart TV platform In case you haven’t noticed, Samsung is betting big on 4K Ultra HD and curved televisions this year, and no product embodies this more than the company’s flagship UHD (ultra high-definition) TV for 2014, namely the HU8500 series. It’s available to buy in the UK in three screen sizes: the 55-inch Samsung UE55HU8500 (which we’re reviewing today), the 65-inch UE65HU8500, and the gigantic 78-inch UE78HU8500.

The Samsung BU8500 delivers decent pictures and extensive features at an affordable price

Overall, with its combination of an external, upgradable connections/processing unit, up to the minute connectivity options and uniquely expansive UHD content options, it’s fair to say this Samsung TV tries harder than any other TV in the UK right now to offer a full UHD/4K story. Samsung UE55HU8500: Set Up Percentage Luminance drop at 35 degree horizontal angle from the centre of the screen with 50% white output A side by side comparison with the recently reviewed TCL 55C735K confirms our first reaction, as the TCL model delivers pictures that are brighter overall and enjoy significantly punchier peak HDR highlights than the UE55BU8500 can give you. Size class of the display as declared by the manufacturer. Often this is the rounded value of the actual size of the diagonal in inches.

This impression is spoiled only slightly by the rather prosaic feel of the plastics, and only a little more by the pedestal stand arrangement. This review BU8500 weighs less than 16kg, so is no problem to hang on the wall – and if you want it to stand on a surface instead, its feet are usefully close together so that surface doesn’t need to be especially wide. The two feet are disguised as a pedestal using a plastic cover– it feels cheap and doesn’t fit with what you might call ‘precision’. Still, it elevates the screen to the extent that slotting a soundbar underneath should be no trouble. The comparisons with rival budget TVs continue to do the Samsung BU8000 no favours when it comes to sound. Its speakers are severely short of volume and projection (especially versus the Toshiba 50UK4D63DB), and produce a much less dynamic mid-range. Anything approaching a big action scene lands with practically no impact at all, sounding thin and utterly unconvincing.

Samsung 55HU8500 Picture Quality - 3D

The static contrast shows the ratio between the brightest and the darkest color, which the display can reproduce simultaneously, for example, within one and the same frame/scene. The Samsung BU8500 is impressively slim, but this does limit what its speakers can do. (Image credit: Future) Samsung BU8500 review: Sound quality If needed, continue setting up your TV. When you're ready, press and hold the Mic button on the remote. Setup prompts will appear on your TV screen. There are limits to the amount of ‘designing’ that can be done to a TV at the best of times, and ‘the best of times’ most certainly does not include a mainstream range of aggressively priced televisions designed to appeal to as many folk as possible. So the BU8500 is an unremarkable looker. Please note: Failure to produce the card and relevant ID means we are unable to release goods on collection.

Happily, the UE55HU8500 is armed with an HEVC decoder and all geared up to show 4K content from Netflix. UHD and 4K

Samsung's Smart Evolution means that you can keep your TV up to date without needing to replace your set every few years. This unique kit can re-engineer and renew your TV so it can deal with the latest technology for performance, content and features. Ergonomics Information about the ergonomic functions - height adjustment, swivel angles, tilt angles, etc. VESA mount The storage temperature shows the range from a minimum to a maximum temperature, within which storing of the display is considered to be safe.