Samsung UN55C8000 55 Inch 3D LED TV

Samsung UN55C8000 55 Inch 3D LED TV

It's been really fun building up a circle of HD TV buddies! I know it all sounds a bit geeky, but HD TV people get really excited about things like new TVs and they love to share their epxeriences so if you keep in contact with these people, you tend to find out first had what's good and what's not, after all a personal referral is so powerful!

Perhaps some of the TV manufacturers should bear that in mind...anyway, I digress.

So, I loved it when I got a call of wild excitement from one of my HD TV Buddies, Bryn in Seattle. We met at a TV trade show in Seattle about two years ago and hit it off. Del, "I've gone 3D" he bounded! I knew he was thinking about it as I'd told him about my 3D demo in London a few months back.

"Yeah, I've got myself a Samsung UN55C8000 55 Inch 3D LED TV" he enthused, "It's amazing"!

I found out he'd had it a couple of weeks and that it had taken a little bit of work to configure so it was "totally right" for him, but now he'd got it working properly he was totally blown away.

So, after listening to him wax lyrical for 20 minutes he said...

"Anyway Man, I know you write reviews on HD TVs so I've written you a full report on it - thought you'd like that"!

What a star! So here, without any editing or amendment from me is Bryn's report on his new Samsung UN55C8000 55 Inch 3D LED TV...take it away Bryn.

Having taken that big step to "go 3D" I was couldn't hide my excitement when my new Samsung UN55C8000 actually arrived.

Here it was...a new Samsung "C" range, what would it be like to watch? Well the sales material promised "full real life 3D", "get immersed in the action" and a jack pack that offered more connectivity than you could ever possibly need. This TV has it all, well that's what Samsung say anyway. As it gradually slid out of the box...a sharp intake of breath.

Oh Boy, it's beautiful with it's slate gray surround and the backest screen I've ever seen.

The family were completely awe struck by the sheer beauty. "Put it on Dad" cried an excited Jayne, "Yes, now, now, now" added Jordie. Come on then said a smiling Teri looking at the mass of wiring and components, "sort it out"!

"Errr, I'm gonna need some time" I protested. With the ample jack pack now in full view (4 HDMI, Anynet+, 2 x USB, PC Input, Ethernet, Optical Sound and Component Video) and a hefty set of manuals I knew it might take some time!

So, be warned if you're gonna get one of these beauties, be pepared for some initial pain. Make sure the family know it will take some time to configure, especially if you've not attempted a new TV, Blu-Ray and surround sound install before.

So, being the structured and organized sort I am, I sat down to read the manual, I'm glad I did.

With the amazing plethora of connectivity, including wireless connectivity to add to the surround and Blu-Ray, it was a big job. There are also a whole stack of "widgets" you can set up as well, such as Yahoo, YouTube and Flickr. I found the manual to be pretty good - but then I am technical, so I think that made it easier for me as I'm used to technical manuals!.

One of the things that attracted me to the Samsung UN55C8000 55 Inch 3D LED TV is that it has the built in
ability to make normal 2D images into 3D. Getting this to work was a little awkward though and took a bit of time.

Now I'm glad I went through the full configuration and took the trouble to get this right up front. Why? Well the converted 2D images are not the best. There was quite a bit of image blurring...I think the technical term is "crosstalk".

It was more than watchable but not brillaint, so our hopes weren't as high as they might have been for true native 3D. But, when we switched to a true 3D source...WOW! That's all - WOW!

Here again there is a configuration issue. As with all 240Hz HD TVs there is the "Spanish Soap Opera" look. What? That's what I thought. It's an effect that is supposed to make the viewed image look more like it does at the cinema. I know many people are big fans of this - not me. So, the Samsung UN55C8000 55 Inch 3D LED TV has to be configured again. I like a crisp picture, full clarity, so that had to be switched off, and I did need to dig into the menu system a bit to make that happen.

However...once I got the 3D picture working as I wanted, it was almsot beyond belief - it is fantastic!

The picture is robust and crystal clear, the 3D is amazing and the kids just loved it, they've hardly stopped watching Monsters v Aliens, and that bit with the paddle made us all jump. And the space scenes at the start are simply stunning. Star Trek is also amazing in 3D. There was still the odd bit of "crosstalk" even in native 3D, but I was hugely impressed that the 3D stays really true even if you sit quite a long way to the side of the screen.

On normal 2D TV the full 1080p and 240Hz make for simply stunning pictures. As I said earlier the screen is so incredibly black, but when it comes to life, I am still in awe of the pciture it produces. Brilliant, crystal, vibrant, sharp, bright, rich color, stunning contrast...add whatever superlatives you like it the best TV picture I have seen.

Overall in my opinion the Samsung C Series produces TV that's a new and higher level. Despite the odd bug here and there which Samsung say will be fixed (via a software upgrade) I am blissfully happy with my Samsung UN55C8000 55 Inch 3D LED TV.

So, for my money, I am cool with being into 3D TV early. It's true it wasn't cheap to upgrade everything (3D Blu-Ray and of course, remember you have to buy 3D glasses for the entire family).

But all in all, for around $3.5k we have home entertainment far and above run of the mill TV. I don't know how long the "WOW" factor will last? To be honest at the moment I don't really care...I'm having way too much fun because it all seems so very worthwhile right now!

Go 3D, I don't think you will regret it!



For more information on the Samsung UN55C8000 55 Inch 3D LED TV and Great Internet Prices - Click HERE

ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV

ViewSonic VT2430 24-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

I have to admit to being quite amazed that the main HD TV producers such as Samsung, LG and Sony seem to avoid producing smaller sets. Why is this? Surely there is a market, I certainly wanted one...So, I was more than a little interested when I heard about the ViewSonic VT2430 24 inch LCD TV so I thought I'd have a look and maybe get one for the guest room.

The guest room has never had a TV and as my old LG Plasma now services the marital bedroom, or alternatively is where I am shown the door to watch sport...I thought we should look for a small set in the 22-24 inch range for the guestroom.

So, I went to the local store to have a look at the ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD HD TV. And I have to report that I was very pleasantly surprised by this small but extremely well put together LCD TV. The first surprise was that it offers full 1080p HD. Major surprise on such a small screen. Consequently the picture is outstanding. You really should try and get a look at 1080p HD on a 24 inch screen because it's an outstanding picture. The picture is crystal clear and wonderfully crisp. The 1080p coupled with a contrast ratio on 8000:1 means the ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV boasts a perfect picture even when the action is fast paced. I was a bit worried about this as the refresh is only 60 Hz, but with the smaller screen this didn't show any noticeable degradation on picture performance.

It's certainly true that screen blur has been a traditional problem for LCD TVs and I have highlighted this in many of my reviews. However, more recent LCD TVs have overcome this nagging problem by offering the higher contrast ratios. So, the 8000:1 ratio makes viewing sport or action movies an absolute delight on this little beauty. The ViewSonic VT2430 also offers a 5ms (millisecond) screen response rate which also goes a long way to defeating any screen blur when coupled with the other technologies. Certainly any doubts I had on buying a set with only a 60Hz refresh rate were totally overcome.

I was also hugely impressed by the natural but bright colors and the richness of the blacks. LCD has again traditionally been a bit "gray" in the black zone, but the ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV maintains dark, deep blacks giving excellent contrast with the bright and vibrant colors.

The ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV also has an internal HDTV tuner. As it happens this is needed given that there is only one HMDI input (it does have S-Video input as well), but in truth the set could probably do with an extra HDMI. However, at the price, there are really not any complaints - more in a minute.

The ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV can also double up as an outstanding PC monitor and works superbly well with games as well although you will have to rely on that one HDMI port for all uses. Sadly this does mean a bit of messing around with cables. And...unfortunately the same applies if you want to hook up a Blu-Ray via the HMDI, but the picture is brilliant in return for your trouble. But...if I'm honest, I think it's a small small price to pay given the amazing performance you get.

And...talking of small prices. The ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD comes up at a remarkable $359. That in itself is just a great price for an HD TV, but I was gobsmacked when I found an online price of just $309!!

So...I got one! For the spare room.

It's great because if the children (well young adults) come to stay, they can go off and watch their favourite soap, soccer or play a game without badgering me for use of the main TV or our bedroom. Although they do still tend to lock themsleves in and disappear for the night, depsite the fact they're supposed to be visiting!

The bottom line is this, if you need a small TV for the kitchen, spare room, the office or perhaps the college dorm, then the ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV is a brilliant buy and at an unbeatable price. I'm really pleased that companies ViewSonic and Vizio are making these great smaller HD sets and making them with real quality. There really is a niche that the Sonys and Samsungs have missed out on - delivering high quality small HD TV's at very affordable prices.

So, if you need a small, compact, yet beautiful LCD that proivdes excellent picture performance then you can not do any worse than get yourslef a  ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV.

For more information on the ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV and that GREAT Internet Price Offer - Click HERE

ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV

ViewSonic VT2430 24-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

I have to admit to being quite amazed that the main HD TV producers such as Samsung, LG and Sony seem to avoid producing smaller sets. Why is this? Surely there is a market, I certainly wanted one...So, I was more than a little interested when I heard about the ViewSonic VT2430 24 inch LCD TV so I thought I'd have a look and maybe get one for the guest room.

The guest room has never had a TV and as my old LG Plasma now services the marital bedroom, or alternatively is where I am shown the door to watch sport...I thought we should look for a small set in the 22-24 inch range for the guestroom. Why not?

So, I went to the local store to have a look at the ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD HD TV. And I have to report that I was very pleasantly surprised by this small but extremely well put together LCD TV. The first surprise was that it offers full 1080p HD. Major surprise on such a small screen. Consequently the picture is outstanding. You really should try and get a look at 1080p HD on a 24 inch screen because it's an outstanding picture. The picture is crystal clear and wonderfully crisp. The 1080p coupled with a contrast ratio on 8000:1 means the ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV boasts a perfect picture even when the action is fast paced. I was a bit worried about this as the refresh is only 60 Hz, but with the smaller screen this didn't show any noticeable degradation on picture performance.

It's certainly true that screen blur has been a traditional problem for LCD TVs and I have highlighted this in many of my reviews. However, more recent LCD TVs have overcome this nagging problem by offering the higher contrast ratios. So, the 8000:1 ratio makes viewing sport or action movies an absolute delight on this little beauty. The ViewSonic VT2430 also offers a 5ms (millisecond) screen response rate which also goes a long way to defeating any screen blur when coupled with the other technologies. Certainly any doubts I had on buying a set with only a 60Hz refresh rate were totally overcome.

I was also hugely impressed by the natural but bright colors and the richness of the blacks. LCD has again traditionally been a bit "gray" in the black zone, but the ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV maintains dark, deep blacks giving excellent contrast with the bright and vibrant colors.

The ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV also has an internal HDTV tuner. As it happens this is needed given that there is only one HMDI input (it does have S-Video input as well), but in truth the set could probably do with an extra HDMI. However, at the price, there are really not any complaints - more on this in a minute.

The ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV can also double up as an outstanding PC monitor and works superbly well with games as well although you will have to rely on that one HDMI port for all uses. Sadly this does mean a bit of messing around with cables. And...unfortunately the same applies if you want to hook up a Blu-Ray via the HMDI, but the upside is a brilliant picture on DVD play for your trouble. But...if I'm honest, I think it's a small small price to pay given the amazing performance you get.

And...talking of small prices. The ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD comes up at a remarkable $359. That in itself is just a great price for an HD TV, but I was gobsmacked when I found an online price of just $309!!

So...I got one! For the spare room.

It's great because if the children (well young adults) come to stay, they can go off and watch their favourite soap, soccer or play a game without badgering me for use of the main TV or our bedroom. Although they do still tend to lock themsleves in and disappear for the night, depsite the fact they're supposed to be visiting and socialising!

The bottom line is this, if you need a small TV for the kitchen, spare room, the office or perhaps the college dorm, then the ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV is a brilliant buy and at an unbeatable price. I'm really pleased that companies ViewSonic and Vizio are making these great smaller HD sets and making them with real quality. There really is a niche that the Sonys and Samsungs have missed out on - delivering high quality small HD TV's at very affordable prices.

So, if you need a small, compact, yet beautiful LCD that proivdes excellent picture performance then you can not do any worse than get yourslef a  ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV.

For more information on the ViewSonic VT2430 24 Inch LCD TV and that GREAT Internet Price Offer - Click HERE