The NEW Samsung D8000, hot or not...

In the wake of the release of the new Samsung D8000 is about to be released onto the UK market.  And after the success of the C8000, what have they done this time round to seduce you into its beauty.  There is no doubt that yet again this will be one of the best looking TV's on the market, but has it improved? What have they added? What have the taken away? and is it going to be the best TV this year?

Well, I think its pretty safe to say that it is definitely better than its predecessor, with a full internet web browser, 5 millimeter screen surround, built in wireless, and new style 3D glasses, it will be challenging the likes of the Panasonic V30, Sony HX923 and the new LG nfinia range.  With all of these improvements surely its not all good?

The built in web browser, and WiFi are for me the best improvements on the D8000,  however I think Samsung may have missed a bit of a trick, the new sleek and stylish 3D glasses use Bluetooth rather than the glasses of the  predecessor using infra-red.  This in turn means that the two differing types of glasses are not compatible with the different generations of TV.  Last years glasses will not work with the D8000 and the new glasses will not work with the C8000. This risks angering people who unaware that buying cheaper glasses over the internet will not work with there new TV.

As previously mentioned the style of the D8000 is remarkable I will be extremely surprised if I speak to anyone that doesn't like the look of it, because to be fair they'd be wrong.  They have taken the perspex edging away, and gone for a more c7000-esq design with a rounded finish, still in silver, with an almost invisible frame at only 5 mm big.  If there is a better looking TV this year then I think I might marry it.

It is certainly going to be interesting this year, as the TV's on the market are not just going to be judged on picture quality anymore, as they are all now expected to give you an exceptional picture anyway.  For me this is going to be the most desired TV of 2011, it ticks all the boxes and more.  People that might already have a 3D Samsung will be furious that they can't use their existing glasses, but that won't stop everyone wanting one, and why not, it's going to be brilliant.

How to narrow down my choices of TV!

Selecting the TV that we choose is no simple task. We walk into the shop to see what looks like hundreds of TV's. We walk around looking, reading, but still have no idea what we are looking out for. Well this is where we can help. These first 5 questions will narrow down the hundred TV's to just a handful.

Question 1 - What size is it that I am looking for?

Is it for the bedroom or the living room? How far am I going to sit away from the TV? Am I looking for a bigger TV than the last TV? People ask if I sit a certain distance away from the TV is my choice made up? Yes and no, you wouldn't want to be sitting 6 feet away from a 60 inch TV, nor 20 feet away from a 20 inch TV, but with the massive increase in visual technology over the last few years, it is possible to be closer to the TV without lose of quality through poor pixilation. The key is high definition. The better the quality on the screen the closer you can sit. This is something that will be discussed more in the future. Once you can get an idea of what size the TV is this will narrow our choice down to the double digit range.

Question 2 - LED, LCD Plasma?

Dependent on your size that you aiming to buy this decision may already be made you for you. Plasma are normal for the larger range, 50" but there are 42 inch TV's available too. LCD's and LED's are available all sizes with the LED's usually a better quality than it's LCD counterpart, but are more expensive. The pro's and con's to each type are available below, and more information in depth will be available in the future.

Plasma -
Pro's - Great at motion, so ideal for sports movies and gaming. Can be a cheap option for a large size TV. Usually a warmer more natural colour choice, but again this is a personal opinion.

Con's - Dependent on what price you are looking at can be duller than LCD/LED TV's.  Can have retention or plasma burn problems. Difficult to transport, because of the glass inside TV's need to be transported upright. Can have trouble in brighter rooms.

LCD -
Pro's - Brighter than plasma, Use less power than plasma. Available in all sizes. No rentention or burn issues. Good in bright rooms. Affordable

Con's - Cheaper models can suffer from motion blur (If you go for a LCD, 100 htz is advised)

LED -
Pro's - Very thin, Very bright picture quality. Use's the least power out of all the TV's types. Good viewing angle.

Con's - Again can suffer from motion blur. The thinness of the TV can mean the TV is very delicate. Be careful with them. More expensive than LCD.

If you can narrow this selection down with size then we should be looking now at no more than 20 different TV's available.

Question 3 - What am I going to watch?
Do I plan to watch standard TV or look to watch high definition? DVD or bluray? Is it for gaming?
Your TV is only as good as what your gong to be watching on it. Buy a £4000/$6000 TV to just watch standard digital or analogue TV is pretty much pointless, the same goes for watching Blurays on a large, 50 htz LCD. One bit of advise I give people on a daily basis. Your viewing experience is only as good as your weakest link, that be the source (Sky, DVD, Blu Ray etc), the TV, or the connection between the two (Hdmi, Scart etc)

Simply put if you enjoy your TV and want the most out of it, your going to be paying more for the TV than someone who isnt.

Question 4 - 3D or not 3D!

This is at the moment one of the most important pieces of information that I can give. If you want a 3D TV then great you have again narrowed your TV to a select few. However if you are not looking at going for 3D or even hate 3D, don't discard a TV because it can do 3D! Alot of TV's available now and in the next few months will be 3D capable or 3D ready. Just because it can do this doesn't mean thats all these TV's do. 3D TV's for how they work are technically better than the most of non 3D TV's. Better panels (better colours), better htz and therefore a smoother image, as well as the fact they are packed full of features like internet TV, DLNA and other unique qualities. (to be discussed in future posts). So before you discard all 3D TV's first have a look at what it comes with.

An example of this is the Samsung C750 range. currently priced for the 40" at £699/$999 it is a far better TV than it's sister the C652. The £50/$100 difference will increase the htz from 100 htz to 200htz as well as increasing the picture quality through a better panel. The small dfference in prce makes for a massive differences in quality. Too many people though rule this TV out for the 3D label. My advise, don't!

Question 5 - Who!

Sony, Panasonic, LG, Samsung, Toshiba, Sharp...... the list goes on and thats not includng the different makes that different retailers have. This is personal preference. If you have enjoyed a make of TV or other electrical devices why change. I know alot of people that will simply only buy from the same company. Thats fine. But if there is a company type of TV you want then this last question will help you to narrow the TV for you to hopefully less than 5. If your not sure or don't mind which TV make you go for then thats still not a problem, I personally have electrical products from all the companys as first stated.

Hopefully these 5 questions have helped in choosing the right TV for you, or at least narrowed your choice down. But if your still unsure message me with a comment to this post with the answer to these 5 questions and I can try to help narrow down your choice further. Again any questions you have feel free to ask and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.