The Samsung UN65MU8000 is a part of Samsung’s 2017 4K LED TV lineup series 8 and is also a successor of the UN65KS8000 that was released in 2016. Although somewhat unusual, there is no “S” lettering on Samsung’s 2017 Series 8 for the two previous versions, Samsung always used “S” lettering for its Series 8 for “Super” UHD. By being labeled MU (and not MS), the Samsung Series 8 has been downgraded to a mid-tier TV. Additionally when introduced, the UN65MU8000 was being sold for hundreds of dollars less than the UN65KS8000. We’ve seen the price of the UN65KS8000 lowered by hundreds less than the price of the UN65MU8000. If you would like to see our review of the Samsung UN65KS8000, click here.
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Review of the Samsung UN65MU8000
As the successor of the 2017 UN65KS800, the new Samsung UN65MU8000 is lacking some important technologies that make its picture performance not on par as what was offered by its predecessor, especially when it comes to picture quality. The UN65MU8000 is powered by 4K Color Drive Extreme Technology which means it lacks the quantum dot technology.
On its panel display, the Samsung UN65MU8000 uses the Edge Lit backlight with local dimming technology. There is also UHD Dimming, Ultra Clear Panel, Triple Black, and other technologies to make the black level deep and the contrast is strong. For improving brightness, it is also powered by Peak Illuminator Pro that makes its peak brightness above average. With good display specs, this makes picture quality of the UN65MU8000 above average and its HDR performance is great, even including one of the best displays in its price range. Additionally, powered by UHD Remastering Engine and 4K HDR Extreme as its HDR processor, the Samsung UN65MU8000 already supports both HDR 10 and HLG format. Nevertheless, because the standardization of HLG is not yet confirmed, you’ll need a firmware update in future once the HLG standard is confirmed.
For handling motion blur and 24p movies, the Samsung UN65MU8000 is powered by Motion Rate 240 based on native 120 Hz refresh rate panel. This makes the picture produced look very smooth when used for watching movies or sports programs. Additionally, it is also equipped with their great UHD Up-scaling engine that allows you to enjoy contents with any resolution with the appearance close to 4K resolution. The other strong point of the UN65MU8000 is about its low input lag that makes it comfortable to be used for playing any kinds of games.
Although a poor side viewing angle still becomes a major downside of the UN65MU8000. This means the picture will look degraded when watching TV from any side viewing angle.
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Specs and Features of the Samsung UN65MU8000
| Specs and Features | UN65MU8000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 4K (2160 x 3840) | |
| Panel Type | VA Panel | |
| Backlighting | Edge Lit | |
| Dimming Technology | Local Dimming (Precision Black) | |
| UHD Dimming | Yes | |
| Picture Engine | UHD Remastering Engine | |
| HDR Engine | 4K HDR Extreme | |
| HDR Support | HDR 10 | |
| Color Technology | 4K Color Drive Extreme | |
| Supports 10 Bit | Yes | |
| Ultra Clear Panel | Yes | |
| Peak Illuminator | Pro | |
| Blacks | Triple Black | |
| Depth Enhancing Technology | Information not provided | |
| UHD Up-scaling | Yes | |
| Motion Handling | Motion Rate 240 | |
| Refresh rate | Native 120 Hz | |
| 3D Technology | No | |
| Smart TV | Tizen | |
| Audio Channel | 2.1 | |
| Sound Output | 40W (10W x 2, Woofer 10W x 2) | |
| HDMI | 4 | |
| USB | 3 | |
| Price | See today’s price |
Performance of the Samsung UN65MU8000
Picture Quality
Since Samsung released QLED TV as the top model of their 2017 lineup, they have removed quantum dot panel technology from Series 8 and Series 9 of their 2017 lineups, including for the UN65MU8000. The result is a color gamut delivered that’s not as wide as what’s delivered by its predecessor. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean the color gamut of the UN65MU8000 is poor. With 4K Color Drive Extreme behind it, the UN65MU8000 is also able to deliver a wide color gamut. In other words, color gamut for the UN65MU8000 is above average, and can deliver more than 90% of DCI P3 color space as the minimum recommendation for displaying HDR 10 contents fully.
Black on images looks absolute black so that details of images on shadow or dark scenes looks clearer, even when viewed in a dark room. Additionally this makes the color look consistently accurate in a dark room.
For peak brightness, the UN65MU8000 is quite bright to fight glare and makes its HDR performance great.
The UN65MU8000 is equipped with a great performance UHD Up-scaling engine that allows you to enjoy content with any resolution with a quality close to 4K quality. This is very useful considering most of the content available on the market still has 1080p or lower resolution. As a result, the final images in 4K resolution look very sharp and clear with small details preserved well, even when the source is lower resolution 480p content, such as the older DVD movies. The higher the resolution of the source — of course — the final image result will certainly look sharper and clearer.
Unfortunately, you can only enjoy amazing picture quality displayed on the screen if you’re watching TV from the center and in front of the screen. As VA screen type of TV, a poor side viewing angle is a major downside. NSo as long as you don’t often watch TV from a side viewing angle, then this shouldn’t be a problem for you.
Motion Handling and 24p Playback
For handling motion blur, 24p movies, and motion interpolation, the UN65MU8000 is powered by Motion Rate 240 based on a native 120 HZ refresh rate panel. Essentially, the performance in handling motion blur is great and well above average. The Samsung UN65MU8000 offers good performance due to its lowered pixel response time. On the screen of the UN65MU8000, there is only a short trail following the fast moving object when they are displaying fast moving objects like sports or fast movies. When considering the ability playing 24p movies, you’ll get smooth picture quality and judder-free. Whether the source is native 24p like movies from Blu-Ray Player, or 24p via 60i signals like movies from satellite TV, or even 24p via 60p signals like movies from streaming media, judder can be removed without adding the “soap opera effect”. Additionally, since the UN65MU8000 has a native 120 Hz refresh rate panel, it already supports 30fps / 60 fps motion interpolation. This means the UN65MU8000 can interpolate lower frame rate content well.
Input / Output
For major connectivity, there are 4 HDMI ports that support HDCP 2.2, CEC, Audio Return Channel and more. Additionally, the UN65MU8000 is also equipped with 3 USB Ports for the other major connectivity. In addition to HDMI and USB ports, there are also RF In (Terrestrial), Ethernet, Built In Wi-Fi, Digital Audio Out (optical), and RS 232. Most of the ports are equally not located in the rear or side panel, but they’re located on separate box called the “One Connect Box Mini”. When considering input lag, essentially the UN65MU8000 has low input lag for any sources under “Game Mode”. This means the UN65MU8000 is a great TV when used for any kind of games with any resolution, even for fast-paced games. Nevertheless, under “PC Mode”, the input lag of the UN65MU8000 is lower than its predecessors.
Smart TV
The Samsung UN65MU8000 features the same smart TV platform with Tizen OS 2017 and has a quad core processor. This newer version of Tizen OS comes with a more attractive user interface. The performance and ease of navigation, is fast, responsive and simple. Additionally, the apps are diverse such as VoD Services like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Videos, and many more, including a Web Browser, Cloud Games, Screen Mirroring apps, and many more.
Samsung Smart Controller
The UN65MU8000 is equipped with a remote control called the “Samsung Smart Controller”. It’s designed to be comfortable to use and with minimalist buttons. This remote is equipped with a built-in microphone for voice navigation along with Google Voice Search functionality. Additionally, it can function as a universal remote with lots of IR commands embedded, allowing you to control other devices that are connected to your Samsung TV via the HDMI ports and then using the single “Samsung Smart Controller.
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Summary of the Review of the
Samsung UN 65MU8000
| Performance | UN65MU8000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Design | (4.5/5) | |
| Picture Quality | (3.8/5) | |
| HDR | (3.9/5) | |
| Motion Handling | (4.3/5) | |
| Inputs | (4.4/5) | |
| Sound Quality | (3.3/5) | |
| Smart TV | (4.1/5) |
Conclusion
Overall the picture quality of the Samsung UN65MU8000 is good for its class. Dark room performance is respectively good due to a deep black level, with good black uniformity, and the ability to have a strong contrast. The color looks very saturated when displaying HDR and SDR content. Peak brightness is also quite bright for displaying HDR content stunningly. Combining good picture quality, great performance for handling motion blur, 24p movies, and lower resolution contents, and a low input lag, this makes the Samsung UN65MU8000 to be a good TV for mixed usage, whether you’re watching TV Shows, Movies, Sports, or playing video games — and it doesn’t matter the light condition of the room where used. The only downside is a poor side viewing angle — so if you don’t often watch TV from a side viewing angle, then it should be fine.
When considering picture quality, you might find the Samsung UN65KS8000 to be a better choice than the Samsung UN65MU8000. In addition to its price being cheaper, it also offers better picture quality even though the Samsung UN65KS800 is inferior to the UN65MU8000 in terms of motion handling and input lag under PC mode. If you choose UN65KS8000 over the UN65MU8000, you should buy it immediately considering it has been discontinued by the manufacturer. But even after saying this, it doesn’t mean the Samsung UN65MU8000 is a bad choice. In addition to it being a newer model and offering good picture quality, it also offers better motion handling and lower input lag in PC mode. The ultimate decision is yours to make and really should be based on your preferences. You can see our head to head comparison of the Samsung UN65KS8000 and the Samsung UN65MU8000 here.
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