Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA Review: How Efficient is This TV?

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By Porbeni Johnson

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My take on Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA

Summary

The Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA is a 4K TV with good picture quality and an excellent contrast ratio. Furthermore, the television has a fast response time and low input lag, making it suitable for gaming and watching fast-motion content. However, this television offers poor viewing angles and average peak brightness.

Overall
4.1

Pros

  • Excellent contrast ratio
  • Decent sound performance
  • Good for gaming
  • Sufficient number of ports
  • Voice-supported remote

Cons

  • Interface contains ads
  • Poor viewing angles
  • Mediocre brightness

Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA: At First Glance

Since the release of its first smart TV in 2011, Samsung has risen in the television market to be synonymous with quality. That’s not all; the brand is also at the apex of the 4K television market.

Hence, in 2019, Samsung released its 8-series, a lineup of smart televisions that offer excellent 4K displays. Moreover, the Samsung 55RU8000FXZA, which this review is all about, is a 55-inch television in this lineup.

This TV offers an amazing display performance, featuring a high contrast ratio and HDR compatibility. However, does the TV have enough features and performance to remain relevant in the ever-changing 4K TV market?

Continue reading this review to find out.

Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA: Design, Dimension, and Weight

When it comes to design, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA offers an elegant design. To start with, the television’s display is surrounded by moderately-thick bezels that feature a matte-black finish.

To give more details, these bezels measure 0.55-inch and are made of plastic. Moreover, as with most Samsung televisions, there is a “SAMSUNG” logo at the middle of the bottom bezel.

This logo features a white finish and adds to the beauty of the television when viewed from the front side. Moving away from that, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA comes with two T-shaped legs.

These legs are built with quality plastic material and feature a matte-black finish. Also, the legs allow the television to stand firmly, wobbling just a bit when nudged with force.

However, the near edges positioning of the legs is a major concern. This is because if you don’t have plans to wall-mount the TV, you will need a fairly large table to place it on.

That said, turning over to the television’s back, you will come across a plain plastic panel with a matte-black finish. This back panel has four 200 x 200 VESA-compatible holes for wall-mounting the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA.

Moreover, the back panel is moderately thick, just like the bezels. Hence, the TV shouldn’t stick out much when mounted on the wall.

Unfortunately, there is no actual provision for a cable management system on the television’s back panel. Therefore, you will have to manually arrange cables attached to the Samsung 55RU8000FXZA so it won’t look disorganized.

In terms of size and weight, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA measures 1236.9 x 58.4 x 713.7 mm (W x D x H) and weighs 19096.2 g. Comparatively, this Samsung TV is significantly heavier than the VIZIO D55 D2, which weighs only 13800 g.

Therefore, I will offer the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA a rating of eight out of ten in this design review section.

Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA: Display Features and Picture Quality

The Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA comes with a 55-inch LED display that offers a 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) resolution. As most of us know, 4K resolution is one of the most popular, if not the most popular resolution out there.

This is because it allows a display to deliver sharp and colorful picture quality. Hence, with its 4K UHD resolution, don’t be surprised if the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA’s display renders realistic and well-detailed pictures.

However, due to the fact that this television’s display is made with a VA panel, it offers poor viewing angles. Thus, when watching the television off-center, you will notice pictures will lose quality and colors will look washed out.

Therefore, to get the best viewing experience, I suggest you watch the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA directly from the center. Nevertheless, being made with a VA (Vertical Alignment) panel actually has its own advantage.

To be more specific, displays made with VA panels are known to deliver incredible contrast ratios. Thankfully, the display of this Samsung television isn’t an exception, as it offers a great contrast ratio of 5,756:1.

Due to this, the display should be able to render deep blacks. As a result, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA is good for watching horror movies and other movies with lots of dark and shadowy scenes.

That’s not all; the TV is also great for dark room viewing thanks to its high contrast ratio. If you are wondering, the contrast ratio is the difference between the brightest white and darkest blacks of a display.

Unfortunately, this television’s display does not support local dimming. The fact that the display has a high contrast ratio is one of the main reasons why I feel it doesn’t support local dimming.

For clarity, local dimming is a contrast-enhancing technique that involves dimming backlight zones. Hence, with local dimming, blacks on the display will look darker than they would without local dimming.

Although the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA’s display does not particularly need local dimming, it would have been a great plus.

Moving on, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA’s display offers an average peak brightness. To be more precise, the display has a peak brightness of 347 nits.

Although this peak brightness is enough for you to enjoy watching the TV in a moderately-lit room, it isn’t enough for a bright room. Hence, using the television in a bright or well-lit room might not be a good idea.

On a positive note, this television’s display supports various HDR formats, which are HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG. Briefly, HDR (High Dynamic Range) is a picture technology that improves the brightness and color accuracy of a display.

Practically, when viewing HDR-supported content, the display’s picture quality will be more realistic and lifelike. For the record, you can find HDR-supported content on streaming apps like Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix.

That said, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA’s display comes with a semi-gloss coating on its surface. This coating prevents reflections and reduces the density of screen glares on the display when used in bright areas.

Now that you know all that, it might also interest you to know that the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA is good for watching fast-motion content. This is due to the fact that its display comes with an incredibly fast response time of 11.3 seconds.

Hence, when watching fast-motion content on the TV, there will be minimal to no blur trails. For your information, response time is the time it takes a display to shift from one color to the other.

Apart from being good for watching fast-motion content, this Samsung television is also good for playing video games. This is because its display offers a low input lag of 15.1 milliseconds.

For those wondering what input lag is, it is the amount of time it takes a display to register a signal input. Moreover, a signal input can be from the wireless gamepad of a PlayStation 5.

Hence, the lower the input lag the display has, the better the gaming experience on the television. Well, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA’s display’s 15.1 ms input lag is low enough to get an enjoyable gaming experience.

Thus, this Samsung TV is a good choice for gamers.

Having said all that, I will conclude by saying that the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA offers a good display performance with great features. Nevertheless, the display has poor viewing angles and average peak brightness.

Thus, I will rate the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA an eight out of ten in this display review section.

Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA: Sound Features

When it comes to sound production, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA got you covered with its pair of 2 CH 20-watt speakers. That’s a total sound output and audio power of 40 watts.

Hence, this television should be loud enough to fill a fairly large room with sound. Besides that, the television’s speakers produce decent audio quality and clear dialogue.

On a quick note, dialogue is the conversation between two or more people in a movie or TV show. Sadly, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA lacks a subwoofer.

A subwoofer is a form of loudspeaker that produces low-pitch audio frequencies referred to as bass. Hence, without a subwoofer, this Samsung television won’t be able to produce an adequate amount of bass to enjoy vibrating, rumbling, and thumping effects in movies.

Nevertheless, to get an ideal amount of bass, you can purchase a soundbar alongside the TV. Obviously, that’s going to cost you extra.

On the bright side of things, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA comes with Dolby Audio. Dolby Audio is a sound technology that enhances the loudness and surround sound production of the television’s speakers.

In doing so, allowing the speakers to deliver a cinema-style sound quality.

Moving on, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA has a good performance when it comes to distortion. This claim was proven through the television’s THD score of 0.79%.

Briefly, THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) test is a test that measures the amount of distortion that a sound device can deliver. Furthermore, on this test, a score of 1% or less indicates that the sound device delivers minimal distortion.

Whereas any score above 1% indicates that the sound device can deliver a relatively high amount of distortion. Well, as seen above, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA’s THD score is way less than 1%.

Thus, either set at a moderate or maximum volume level, distortion on this TV will be nearly absent.

All in all, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA deserves a rating of eight out of ten in this sound features review section.

Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA: Ports and Connectivity Features

Like most Samsung televisions, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA comes with a good port selection. However, all the ports are positioned in a compartment on the right side of the television’s back.

Hence, you might not be able to easily access the ports whenever the TV is mounted on the wall. Now that you know where the ports are, it might interest you to know that the television features four HDMI ports.

As with most TVs nowadays, one of these four HDMI ports supports ARC (Audio Return Channel). Thus, with this ARC-HDMI port, you can conveniently connect an HDMI-supported soundbar to the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA.

Besides, this television also features two USB ports, an Ethernet port, an antenna port, and digital optical audio out. Meanwhile, the TV has a built-in 802.11 ac WIFI and Bluetooth for wireless connectivity.

That said, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA comes with a TM1950A remote control. In terms of design, this remote is quite small and made of plastic with a matte-black finish.

However, due to the small size of the remote, it features a total number of 12 buttons. Obviously, with a total number of 12 buttons, this remote control lacks a full number pad.

Nevertheless, the remote has a circular navigation button, channel rockers, and volume rockers. In addition to that, the remote control also comes with dedicated buttons for quick access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu.

Impressively, the TM1950A remote control features a built-in mic for voice input via Bixby, Amazon Alexa, or Google Assistant.

All things considered, I will offer the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA a rating of nine out of ten in this ports and connectivity review section.

Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA: Smart Features

As you would expect from a Samsung television, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA comes with the Tizen operating system. This OS features an easy-to-use and lag-free interface that Samsung calls the SmartHub.

Although navigating this SmartHub interface is seamless, you might be distracted by annoying ads. What’s even worse is that these ads cannot be disabled.

On the good side, the interface is very fast in responding to inputs. To be more specific, it takes the SmartHub interface just 2 seconds to open applications when selected.

Speaking of applications, the Tizen OS offers a variety of streaming apps. These streaming apps include YouTube, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, Spotify, Pandora, HBO max, Sling TV, and so much more.

In fact, the OS has a built-in app store called the Samsung Store, where you can download more applications. Besides that, the Tizen operating system features a full web browser that allows you to surf the internet using the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA.

In conclusion, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA offers an excellent OS that is user-friendly and has lots of streaming apps. Regardless, the OS’ SmartHub interface contains ads that can be annoying.

Therefore, I will offer the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA a rating of eight out of ten in this smart features review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA have Bluetooth?

Yes, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA comes with Bluetooth for wireless connectivity.

2. When did the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA come out?

The Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA was released in 2019.

3. How heavy is the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA?

The Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA weighs 19096.2 g. Hence, it is pretty heavy.

4. Does the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA have Netflix?

Yes, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA comes with the Tizen OS that offers various streaming apps, including Netflix.

5. How many HDR formats does the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA support?

The Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA supports three HDR formats which are HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG formats.

Conclusion

The Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA is a smart 4K television that is very reliable in terms of performance. Specifically, this television offers a good 4K display that has good picture quality, great contrast ratio, and fast response time.

Furthermore, the TV has decent sound performance and a voice-supported remote control. Besides that, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA is an ideal choice for gamers due to the fact that its display features a low input lag.

That’s not all; the TV also comes with a good number of ports as well as a brilliant operating system. However, this Samsung TV isn’t perfect, as it features a few flaws.

Some of these flaws are poor viewing angles and average brightness. Nevertheless, the Samsung UN55RU8000FXZA has an incredible overall performance which makes it worth considering.

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About the Author

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Porbeni Johnson

Porbeni Johnson is a Technical Writer for Itechguides.com. He has a B.Eng in Electrical/Electronic Engineering. Porbeni loves reading, movies, playing soccer, and gadgets. In Itechguides.com, he writes gadget buying guides, apps and software reviews, movies, and video games reviews.

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