Design
The 32.8-by-57.1-by-1.4-inch (HWD), 54.2-pound 65HU8550$2,497.99 at Dell looks remarkably understated considering its price and size. The screen is surrounded by a flat, 0.4-inch brushed aluminum bezel, which itself is framed by a silver-colored metal edge that extends into a small lip on the bottom side of the display. It rests on a T-shaped metal stand that doesn't pivot but holds the large screen steadily.
The 32.8-by-57.1-by-1.4-inch (HWD), 54.2-pound 65HU8550$2,497.99 at Dell looks remarkably understated considering its price and size. The screen is surrounded by a flat, 0.4-inch brushed aluminum bezel, which itself is framed by a silver-colored metal edge that extends into a small lip on the bottom side of the display. It rests on a T-shaped metal stand that doesn't pivot but holds the large screen steadily.
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A four-way control stick sits on the lower-right corner
of the back of the screen, and serves as a combination power button and
menu navigation device. Three HDMI ports, three USB ports including one
USB 3.0 port, an optical audio output, a DisplayPort, and an
antenna/cable jack face right, near the control stick. A fourth HDMI
port, component and composite video inputs, an Ethernet port, a coaxial
audio output, and an IR blaster port face straight back.
Remotes and Smart Hub
Samsung includes two remotes with the 65HU8550. One is a conventional wand remote with backlit rubber buttons for most of the common functions on the HDTV. The other is a curved, silver-and-black controller built around a prominent touch sensor and direction pad. The sensor enables the remote's motion-sensing functions, which controls an on-screen pointer. It's an elegant way to have a mouse-like input scheme on the HDTV without getting in the way of individual menu items; if you want to jump between specific choices, you can simply use the direction pad without triggering the motion control. If neither remote suits you, you can control the 65HU8550 with your smartphone using Samsung's free iOS and Android remote apps.
Samsung includes two remotes with the 65HU8550. One is a conventional wand remote with backlit rubber buttons for most of the common functions on the HDTV. The other is a curved, silver-and-black controller built around a prominent touch sensor and direction pad. The sensor enables the remote's motion-sensing functions, which controls an on-screen pointer. It's an elegant way to have a mouse-like input scheme on the HDTV without getting in the way of individual menu items; if you want to jump between specific choices, you can simply use the direction pad without triggering the motion control. If neither remote suits you, you can control the 65HU8550 with your smartphone using Samsung's free iOS and Android remote apps.
Both remotes have prominent Smart Hub buttons for
accessing Samsung's connected HDTV portal. The Smart Hub features four
tabs: Games, Apps, Movies & TV Shows, and Multimedia. Games, like
its name implies, offers a selection of HDTV-based games that can be
played with a connected Bluetooth gamepad or Samsung's remote app. Apps
features all of the major online media services, social networks, and
apps like Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Instant Video, Facebook, Twitter, and
Skype. Movies & TV Shows presents individual movies and shows,
displaying different on-demand services through which you can access
them. Multimedia covers popular online videos and audio streams through
YouTube, Telly, DailyMotion, and TuneIn, and lets you access any media
stored on USB-connected, networked, or cloud storage.
4K Content
The main problem with 4K televisions is the dearth of content. If you have a very fast Internet connection, you can stream some UHD videos on Netflix, but that requires a consistent downstream bandwidth of at least 25Mbps. The 65HU8550, like all 4K televisions, can upconvert 1080p video to its 3,840-by-2,160 resolution, but you can't beat the picture quality of native 4K content. Samsung offers a UHD Video Pack for $299.99, and sent one to us along with the 65HU8550 for review. The pack is a hard drive that plugs into the screen's USB 3.0 port, and includes five 4K movies (G.I. Joe: Retaliation, World War Z, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Night at the Museum, and The Counselor) and three 4K nature documentaries that can give you a compelling taste of the future standard of ultra high-definition content. The movie selection isn't particularly impressive and you'll spend easily two to four times the cost of a film's Blu-ray equivalent for the video pack, but it lets you show off native 4K. The version we received was part of a temporary promotion that includes additional films, but Samsung no longer offers that configuration of the pack.
The main problem with 4K televisions is the dearth of content. If you have a very fast Internet connection, you can stream some UHD videos on Netflix, but that requires a consistent downstream bandwidth of at least 25Mbps. The 65HU8550, like all 4K televisions, can upconvert 1080p video to its 3,840-by-2,160 resolution, but you can't beat the picture quality of native 4K content. Samsung offers a UHD Video Pack for $299.99, and sent one to us along with the 65HU8550 for review. The pack is a hard drive that plugs into the screen's USB 3.0 port, and includes five 4K movies (G.I. Joe: Retaliation, World War Z, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Night at the Museum, and The Counselor) and three 4K nature documentaries that can give you a compelling taste of the future standard of ultra high-definition content. The movie selection isn't particularly impressive and you'll spend easily two to four times the cost of a film's Blu-ray equivalent for the video pack, but it lets you show off native 4K. The version we received was part of a temporary promotion that includes additional films, but Samsung no longer offers that configuration of the pack.
Sony remains the frontrunner for accessible,
downloadable UHD content with its FMP-X10 4K Ultra HD Media Player and
Video Unlimited on-demand library, but that $699.99 device has its own
significant issues, like only working with Sony 4K televisions and
involving a byzantine authorization and registration process to watch
content. The Samsung UHD Video Pack is limited to Samsung screens, but
it doesn't need to access any sort of server or online authorization
process.
With the limitations of the content
in mind, native 4K movies look genuinely impressive on the 65HU8550
through the sheer technical achievement of its higher resolution. I
watched Star Trek: Into Darkness and Night at the Museum
on the 65HU8550, and while neither movie is particularly good as a
film, both are certainly stunning as UHD video seen on a 65-inch
television. The picture indeed looks much more crisp than the equivalent
1080p version, even on a 4K screen with upconversion. It's clear UHD is
the future of television content, but actually getting that content is
still a difficult and bizarre process.
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