Samsung TU8000 vs RU8000 Review (UN50TU8000 vs UN49RU8000, UN55TU8000 vs UN55RU8000, UN65TU8000 vs UN65RU8000, UN75RU8000 vs UN75TU8000, UN85TU8000 vs UN82RU8000)

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The Samsung TU8000 is the highest priced model of non-QLED TVs in Samsung’s 2020 TV lineup. The Samsung RU8000 is its predecessor and also the highest priced model of non-QLED TVs from Samsung’s 2019 TV lineup. Both have an excellent native contrast ratio and black uniformity that makes their performance in a dark room great. Of course, since they may be considered an entry level TV, they lack some features and technologies found in higher-end TVs like the local dimming feature, wide color gamut support, wide viewing angle, etc. Overall, both of the TU8000 and RU8000 are a good entry level TV for most uses.

For their offering, the Samsung RU8000 is available on 5 screen size options, while the TU8000 comes in 1 more screen size option. The smallest screen of the TU8000 is 43 inches (UN43TU8000) while the smallest screen of the RU8000 is 49 inches (UN49RU8000). Meanwhile, the largest screen of the RU8000 is 82 inches (UN82RU8000) and the largest screen of the TU8000 is 85 inches (UN85TU8000) instead 82 inches. And their same matching screen sizes that are 49 Inch (UN50TU8000 vs UN49RU8000), 55 inch (UN55TU8000 vs UN55RU8000), 65 inch (UN65TU8000 vs UN65RU8000), and 75 inch (UN75TU8000 vs UN75RU8000). The question becomes is the Samsung TU8000 better than the RU8000 predecessor?

Samsung TU8000 vs RU8000 Specifications

Technology and Features Samsung TU8000 Samsung RU8000
Screen Size Available 43 Inches (UN43NU8000FXZA), 50 Inches (UN50TU8000FXZA), 55 Inches (UN55TU8000 FXZA), 65 Inches (UN65TU8000 FXZA), 75 Inches (UN75TU8000 FXZA), and 85 Inches (UN85TU8000 FXZA) 49 Inches (UN49RU8000 FXZA), 55 Inches (UN55RU8000 FXZA), 65 Inches (UN65RU8000 FXZA), 75 Inches (UN75RU8000 FXZA), and 82 Inches (UN82RU8000 FXZA)
Resolution 4K (3840 x 2160) 4K (3840 x 2160)
Panel Technology VA Panel VA Panel
Panel Form Flat Flat
Backlight Technology Direct LED Edge Lit LED (Ultra Slim Array)
Local Dimming Technology No No
Dimming Technology Na UHD Dimming
Processor Crystal Processor 4K 4K UHD Processor
HDR Supports HDR10, HLG, HDR10+ HDR10, HLG, HDR10+
Color Technology PurColor Dynamic Crystal Color
UHD Up-Scaling Yes Yes
Motion Technology Motion Rate 120 Motion Rate 240 (49 Inches: Motion Rate120)
Native Refresh Rate Panel 60 Hz 120 Hz (49 inches Model : 60 Hz)
Smart TV Platform Tizen 2020 Tizen 2019
Processor Quad Core Quad Core
Google Assistant Support Yes Yes
Amazon Alexa Support Yes Yes
Remote Smart Remote (TM2050A) Smart Remote (TM1950A)
Speaker Channel 2 2
Total Sound Output 20 watts 20 watts
HDMI Ports 3 4
HDMI Supports HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth, CEC, HDCP 2.2 HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth, CEC, HDCP 2.2
USB 2.0 2 2
USB 3.0 No No
Price See today’s price See today’s price

Features and Technology of the Samsung TU8000 and RU8000

Panel Technology

Just like other models of Samsung’s TV lineup, both the Samsung TU8000 and the RU8000 use VA (Vertical Alignment) panel technology. Typically a VA panel is strong in native contrast ratio but poor in side viewing angle coverage. Although both use VA panel, each uses different backlight technology. The RU8000 is powered by Ultra Slim Array technology based on an Edge-Lit LED backlight. The TU8000 uses backlight technology. Both don’t have local dimming technology. Special for the RU8000 its powered by a software-based dimming system called UHD Dimming while the TU8000 lacks of this technology.

Image Processor

As we see on the comparison table above, for the image processor the Samsung RU8000 is powered by an image processor called 4K UHD Processor while the TU8000 is powered by a processor called Crystal Processor 4K. We don’t know for sure what the differences are between these processors. Both seem very good. We suspect this is just a marketing name to boost sales.

Color Technology

To improve performance in delivering color, the Samsung RU8000 is powered by Dynamic Crystal Color while the TU8000 is powered by PurColor Technology. Last year, you could find PurColor Technology on entry level TVs like the RU7100 and the RU7300. This is a sign that the level of Samsung’s UHD 8 Series is lowered again as what happened with the RU8000 compared to the NU8000.

Motion Technology

Except for the 49 inch model (UN49RU8000), the Samsung RU8000 is powered by Motion Rate 240 Hz and has a native 120 Hz Refresh Rate Panel.  Additionally it also supports FreeSync VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) technology that is compatible with AMD Card and Xbox One. VRR technology can improve the game experience with almost no screen tearing. With 4K resolution, the Refresh rate of the RU8000 can change between 48 Hz-60 Hz while with 1080p resolution, the refresh rate of the RU8000 can change between 20-120 Hz. Conversely for the Samsung TU8000, it is only powered by Motion Rate 120 and has a native 60 Hz refresh rate panel for all its screen sizes. Additionally the TU8000 lacks the FreeSync VRR technology found on the RU8000.

For dimming their backlight, both the Samsung TU8000 and the RU8000 use a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) dimming system. However their dimming frequency is different. In movie mode, the RU8000 uses a 240 Hz dimming frequency while the TU8000 uses 600 Hz of dimming frequency in most of he picture modes. Since the TU8000 has a higher dimming frequency, this makes backlight flicker less noticeable on its screen than on the screen of the RU8000. Once are set in Game Mode or Auto Motion Plus feature, their dimming frequency will drop to 120 Hz. Furthermore enabling LED Clear Motion will drop their dimming frequency to 60 Hz. In this condition this will make their backlight flicker to be noticeable for people who are sensitive to flicker, even though this makes motion much smoother when they playing 60 fps content like Video Games and Sports.

Inputs

For their main connectivity, the Samsung RU8000 is equipped with 4 HDMI ports while the TU8000 has 3 HDMI ports. Each supports the same features. All their HDMI ports support HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth, HDCP 2.2, CEC, and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode). Additionally they both also have a port that supports ARC (Audio Return Channel), for the TU8000 its on HDMI 2 while the RU8000 has it on HDMI 4.

They both have the same number of USB ports, which is 2 ports.  Just like other models, their USB ports only support USB 2.0 and don’t support USB 3.0. In addition to HDMI and USB, they both also have 1 Tuner In (RF In), 1 Digital Audio Out (Optical), and 1 Ethernet port. The difference is about the Composite In where the TU8000 has this type of Input and the RU8000 doesn’t.

Smart TV Platform

Both series run Tizen OS with the Bixby Voice Assistant as their smart TV platform. The difference is that the TU8000 runs a 2020 version with some reduced features while the RU8000 runs a 2019 version. There is only a small difference between these versions. Their interface is simple and easy to use, but the interface of the 2020 version looks sleeker than the 2019 version. Additionally the 2020 version has a “Dark Mode” while the 2019 doesn’t. The interesting thing offered by Tizen OS is it has a lot of preinstalled apps. There is video on demand service like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Videos, Live TV, Web Browser, Games, and more. Additionally the Tizen OS has one of the largest selections of apps in its collection called the “Samsung Apps Store”. Not only that it also supports Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and AirPlay2. And to improve its voice navigation, it’s supported by Samsung Bixby Voice Assistant.

Remote

For their controller, both use the Samsung Smart Controller. The RU8000 comes with a 2019 version (TM2019A) while the TU8000 comes with a 2020 version (TM2020). At a glance, their remotes look similar. Each remote is small and only has a few buttons. Each remote is equipped with a built-in microphone and a quick access button to voice command. Each has many features for voice command, making the navigation easier and comfortable. They both also have the Ambient One feature allowing them to act as a universal remote to control other devices with a single Samsung remote. Not only HDMI-CEC supported devices can be controlled by this remote but also other devices that don’t support HDMI CEC. There is a small difference between them where the 2019 model has a quick access button for Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu while on 2020 model, the “Hulu” quick access button is replaced by Samsung TV Apps.

>> Please click here to see today’s price for the Samsung TU8000 <<

>> Please click here to see today’s price for the Samsung RU8000 <<

Samsung TU8000 vs RU8000 Performance

Native Contrast Ratio

In terms of contrast ratio, the Samsung TU8000 offers an improvement over the RU8000 predecessor. The native contrast ratio of the Samsung RU8000 is less than 6000:1, the native contrast ratio of the Samsung TU8000 is higher than 6000:1. Even then their difference is not very significant and in general, their native contrast ratio is equally great. With around 6000:1, both can produce a black level around 0.017 nits, which is deep enough to make the black of image looks very black and is great for watching movies in a dark room. Combined with their excellent black uniformity, the black level is deep enough to make shadow details of HDR images look excellent on screen. Unfortunately they don’t have any local dimming feature to improve performance in a dark room. Additionally, the TU8000 lacks local dimming technology which causes a lot of noticeable blooming around small highlights.

Winner: TU8000

Peak Brightness

If in terms of native contrast ratio, the RU8000 is better than the TU8000 — in terms of peak brightness, the Samsung TU8000 can not hit as bright as the RU8000. With SDR content, the RU8000 can hit around 350 nits while the peak brightness of the TU8000 is less than 300 nits. Of course in fighting glare in a bright room, you can see that the performance of the TU8000 is not as good as the RU8000. As long as its not set in a very bright room, the peak brightness is actually good enough to fight glare in most bright rooms. And the good point is the peak brightness is relatively consistent in any window size, except a 2% window (where 2% of screen is white and the rest is black) where peak brightness is noticeably less bright around 200 nits for the RU8000 and 150 nits for the TU8000). This means their peak brightness is relatively consistent when displaying different types of content.

With HDR content, the peak brightness is relatively the same to the SDR peak brightness. With around 350 nits for RU8000 and 275 nits for TU8000, the peak brightness is not bright enough to show HDR images as they should be. Furthermore their peak 2% window is less than 200 nits, and this certainly makes small highlights that can’t pop the way they should in HDR. This means even though they both support HDR format, you will not get the benefits offered by HDR images compared to SDR images.

Winner: RU8000

Color Performance

As discussed above, to produce color the Samsung TU8000 is powered by PurColor Technology instead of the Dynamic Crystal Color found on the RU8000 predecessor.  The result is because it lacks Dynamic Crystal Color, the color gamut delivered by the TU8000 is not as wide as the RU8000.  Color gamut delivered by the Samsung RU8000 can cover around 90% of DCI P3 color space, which is good for HDR content. On the other hand, color gamut delivered by the TU8000 can only cover around 82% of DCI P3 color space. This means color gamut of the TU8000 is wide enough for SDR content but not wide enough to show color HDR images the way they should be in HDR. This certainly is a bit disappointing considering the RU8000 predecessor supports the color gamut.

Additionally, the Samsung RU8000 also has better color volume than the TU8000. It has wider a color gamut and brighter peak brightness than the TU8000. Since they both have deep black level, they both can produce deep dark black fairly well. But just like most other LED TVs, they both can not produce very bright blues.

In addition to the color gamut and color volume, the color gradient of the Samsung TU8000 is also not as good as the RU8000. In fact, the color gradient of the TU8000 is quite poor. Banding is very noticeable in almost all colors. It actually has “Noise Reduction”, but this feature cannot do much to eliminate banding. On the other hand, the RU8000 has a good color gradient. Even though there’s some banding in certain colors, this should be hard to notice in normal content. And in general, the color gradient of HDR images displayed on its screen looks very smooth.

Winner: RU8000

Motion Handling

The pixel response time of the Samsung TU8000 is also not as low as the RU8000. The pixel response time of the Samsung TU8000 is around 11 ms, while the pixel response time of the TU8000 is around 18 ms.  The result is that fast scenes displayed on the screen of the RU8000 look smoother than the TU8000. On the screen of the TU8000, there is a bit of a blur trail behind a fast moving object. Fortunately, this is hard to notice in normal content so this should not be a problem.

To dim their backlight, both use a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) dimming system. The highest dimming frequency of the TU8000 is higher than the RU8000. In most picture modes, the dimming frequency of the TU8000 is 600 Hz, while the RU8000 is 240 Hz. The result is that flickers are harder to notice on the screen of the TU8000 than the RU8000. But even with this feature their dimming frequency is not fixed and can change depending on the picture mode setting. Once Auto Motion Plus is enabled or set to either “Auto” or “Custom” the dimming frequency will change to 120 HZ. Additionally, once their BFI (Black Frame Insertion) mode is enabled by enabling “LED Clear Motion” setting, their dimming frequency will change to 60 Hz. This is able to help make motion crisper, particularly when they are playing 60 fps content like sports or games. But on the other hand, this will cause the backlight flicker to be noticeable particularly for people who are sensitive to flickers.

When playing 24p movies, the performance of the Samsung TU8000 is not as good as the RU8000. No matter the type of source, the Samsung RU8000 can show it judder-free. To remove judder on the RU8000, you just need to set “Auto Motion Plus” to “Custom” and then both sliders to “0”. the TU8000 is not able to remove judder from any source, even when the source is native 24p movies like DVD or Blu Ray movies.

Winner: RU8000

Input Lag

For input lag, the Samsung TU8000 is better than the RU8000. Since the TU8000 only has a native 60 Hz refresh rate panel, it only supports 60 fps content. And in “Game Mode” regardless of the resolution, its input lag is around 10 ms. This makes it is very responsive for any game, even for fast-paced games that require quick reflexes. On the other hand, with 60 fps content the input lag of the RU8000 is around 15 ms. This may be not as low as the TU8000, but with its input lag the RU8000 is also still very responsive for any game. For 120 fps content, the input lag of the RU8000 is dependent on the resolution. On 1080p resolution, its input lag is around 15 ms while on 1440p resolution, its input lag is around 20 ms. Keep in mind, the RU8000 does not support 4K at 120 Hz. Furthermore in VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) mode, its input lag is excellent. At 1080p and 1440p resolution, its input lag is around 6 ms while at 4K resolution its input lag is around 15 ms. So regardless if you’re playing 60 fps or 120 fps games, 1080p. 1440p. or 4K games; playing games on the RU8000 will feel very responsive without lag.

Winner: RU8000.

>> Please click here to see today’s price for the Samsung TU8000 <<

>> Please click here to see today’s price for the Samsung RU8000 <<

Conclusion

For Watching Movies

They both produce a deep black that is good for watching movies in a dark room.  Additionally they both also have a great black uniformity and they don’t have any local dimming feature. In general the Samsung RU8000 is better than the TU8000 when used for watching movies. This is due to the exceptional black level performance of the RU8000 which is better than the TU8000, whether it is peak brightness, color performance, o motion.  Additionally, the TU8000 has much better 24p judder handling than the TU8000. Even though its not as good as the RU8000 predecessor, performance of the TU8000 when used for watching movies actually is also fairly good.

For Watching Sports

Just like for movies, the Samsung RU8000 is better than the TU8000 when used for watching sports. It has brighter peak brightness, makes the picture displayed on their screen more consistent when they are used for watching sports in a brighter room. Additionally the RU8000 has better motion handling than the TU8000, making fast scenes in sports look smoother on the screen of the RU8000 than on the TU8000. Although the RU8000 is better, both are actually good TVs for watching sports. Keep in mind that they both have poor side viewing angle performance, which means they are not suitable for watching sports with a group of your friends or with family.

Video Games

The Samsung TU8000 may have lower input lag that makes it more responsive than the RU8000 when used for playing games, particularly when you’re playing 60 fps games. In most aspects, the RU8000 is better than the TU8000. Additionally the RU8000 also already supports 120 Hz which makes it support 120 fps games. The RU8000 (Except for the 49 Inch) also support FreeSync VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) technology. In addition to when in VRR mode it has lower input lag, the VRR technology also allows you to play games with nearly tear-free. So in general the RU8000 is still a better deal than the TU8000 for video games.

HDR Performance

In most aspects, the RU8000 has better HDR performance than the TU8000. Except for black level, the RU8000 has brighter HDR peak brightness, allowing it to show brighter HDR images than the TU8000. Additionally its color performance is much better than the TU8000, particularly in terms of color gamut and color gradient. So even though they both support the same HDR formats (HDR10, HLG, HDR10+) the HDR performance of the RU8000 is better than the TU8000. Nevertheless this doesn’t mean the RU8000 is a great TV for HDR. Even though it has deep black and wide color gamut, its HDR peak brightness is only around 350 nits. This means it’s not bright enough to show HDR images the way they should be. Despite this, its HDR performance can still be said to begood.

Summary

As discussed above, although the Samsung TU8000 is the successor to the RU8000, its performance is not as good as the predecessor. The performance of the TU8000 is actually closer to last year’s RU7000. It seems that Samsung has lowered the class of the 8000 series. Overall their performance is good for the price range. So which is a better choice for you? Since the price of the RU8000 has dropped a lot over time, it seems to be the better choice than the TU8000. Of course, the decision is up to you according to your need.

>> Please click here to see today’s price for the Samsung TU8000 <<

>> Please click here to see today’s price for the Samsung RU8000 <<

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