Our Verdict
Good TV for mixed usage. Good picture quality when viewed from directly in front, but it degrades at an angle. Motion handling is great for sports or gaming.
- Great blacks and contrast
- Low input lag
- Good brightness
- Mediocre color gamut
- Image degrades at an angle
Good for watching movies in a dark room. Picture quality is good, but unfortunately local dimming doesn't work well to improve dark scene performance.
Better than average for TV shows in a bright room. Picture quality is good, but degrades at an angle. The TV can get quite bright but unfortunately the reflection handling is worse than ideal. Smart OS works well for casual viewing.
Good sports performance. Motion handling is great, so only a short trail is seen. Picture quality is good but degrades at an angle. Very little dirty screen effect which is good.
Great for gamers. Low input lag at a range of resolutions and very little motion blur which is great. Picture quality is good when viewed from directly in front.
Very good for HDR content in a dark room. Picture quality is good, but the local dimming doesn't work well to improve it further. Can produce a wide range of colors but can't produce bright highlights.
Great for HDR gaming. Picture quality is good, and very little motion blur can be seen. Input lag is great, even for more competitive gamers. Can produce a wide range of colors for vivid scenes but can't produce bright highlights.
Average for PC use. Supports chroma subsampling for clear text, and has little motion blur. Input lag is low and the picture quality is good, but the viewing angle is narrow so the sides of the TV degrade when the TV is viewed from close.
Changelog
- Updated Mar 30, 2018: It was discovered that many 2017 Samsung TVs change their BFI frequency to 60 Hz when a lot of 60 Hz motion is detected on screen. The scores have been updated.
- Updated Mar 12, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Mar 31, 2017: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 55" (UN55MU8000) version FA01. For the most part, we expect our review to be valid for the 49" version (UN49MU8000), 65" version (UN65MU8000) and 75" version (UN75MU8000). The 49" variant does however have a lower panel refresh rate of 60Hz instead of 120Hz.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Samsung MU8000 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review.
| Size | Model | US | CA | UK | AU | Warehouse | Refresh Rate |
| 49" | UN49MU8000 | UN49MU8000FXZA | UN49MU800FXZC | UE49MU7000 | UN49MU800D | 60Hz | |
| 55" | UN55MU8000 | UN55MU8000FXZA | UN55MU800FXZC | UE55MU7000 | UA55MU7000WXXY | UN55MU800D | 120Hz |
| 65" | UN65MU8000 | UN65MU8000FXZA | UN65MU800FXZC | UE65MU7000 | UA65MU7000WXXY | UN65MU800D | 120Hz |
| 75" | UN75MU8000 | UN75MU8000FXZA | UN75MU800FXZC | UE75MU7000 | UA75MU7000WXXY | UN75MU800D | 120Hz |
Popular TV Comparisons
The Samsung MU8000 is a good TV, but it isn't very competitive in its price range. It doesn't offer any exceptional features compared to competing TVs at the same price or even cheaper. Overall, the MU8000 doesn't offer great value. See our recommendations for the best smart TVs and the best 4k TVs.
The Sony X900E is better than the Samsung MU8000 in almost every usage. The Sony X900E has significantly better local dimming and slightly better contrast ratio and can display deeper blacks which is great if you watch movies or HDR content in a dark room. Also, the Sony X900E has better reflection handling, which is good news if you watch TV shows in a brighter room. On the other hand, the Samsung MU8000 has a bit better input lag, and this will please those who play video games.
The Samsung Q7F/Q7 QLED 2017 is slightly better than the Samsung MU8000. The Q7F has better reflection handling and is a better choice if you have a room with many light sources. The Q7F also has a faster response time and thus a smaller blur trail. The Samsung MU8000, on the other hand, can get brighter and can fight the glare of a bright room.
The Samsung MU8000 is significantly better than the Samsung MU7000. The MU8000 has a local dimming feature to improve blacks in a dark room. The Samsung MU8000 also has better motion handling with faster response time and better motion interpolation for the soap opera effect fans. The MU8000 can get brighter and can handle reflections better if you watch TV shows in a bright room.
The Sony X850E and the Samsung MU8000 have very similar performance. The Samsung MU8000 has better local dimming and can display deeper blacks when watching movies in a dark room, whereas blacks on the Sony X850E are marginally more uniform. The Samsung MU8000 is a bit better for gaming and HDR gaming as it has a bit better input lag even when sent HDR signal. On the other hand, the Sony X850E has somewhat better reflection handling that you'll appreciate if you watch TV shows in brighter rooms.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
Older Test Bench: This product has been tested using an older TV test methodology, before a major update. Some of the test results below aren't directly comparable with other TVs. Learn more
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