Vizio vs. Sony vs. Samsung

Although I am not a videophile or audiophile I'd like to comment on this product.



To be honest I purchased at the Cost** Warehouse store because of a $50 savings over Amazon a 90 day no-questions-asked return policy and an extra year of manufacturer warranty included in the price. Since this is a new technology in this size set and sales usually come up on TV's around the Superbowl it made sense to me to have the option of return if the price drops and to be protected by an additional year of warranty.



So far I'm glad I have a 90 day return option because I just might have to take advantage of it regardless of any price movement. Unless there is something wrong with the set or we can't figure out what we are doing the poor quality of the sound might necessitate it's return.



Having prior experience with a 19" Sony and a couple of 26" Samsung LCD sets I can report that the sound on this set is extremely poor compared to the others. So far no matter what we do to adjust the sound it just does not perform. Using the SRS surround setting is just horrible. This set replaced an older Sony 720p LCD that had a simulated surround setting and it sounded fine. The other options you have include several pre-sets that do not allow for equalization adjustments if you choose them or the setting called 'flat' which does allow for setting the bass and treble. So as of this writing the best sound we can get from this set is to use the 'flat' setting and then turn the bass up to 100% and the treble at 60%. Using this setting the TV still sounds very 'tinny' like you are listening to a 2" speaker! If you turn down the treble any more it begins to sound muddy and if you compensate by reducing the bass you get more tinny.



Aside from the sound (which may prove to be a deal breaker) the picture looks very good on a par with my other Samsung sets. I think the size is very nice the old Sony was 19" and this makes a nice difference giving you more screen area than the 20 or 22 inch alternatives. The form factor is very sleek the remote is poor (but we use a combo cable remote anyway). We do not connect directly to cable so I can't comment on 'channel lag' as has been reported but can tell you it takes an annoyingly long time to start up making you watch a 'vizio' splash screen then a blue screen then finally your picture.



If you have a very bright room be aware that there is the potential for a lot of glare from the reflective glass surface of this set and that may be a deal breaker for you because there is a lot of reflection from some angles. If you can train yourself to look through it you might be fine.



So in summary we are happy with the picture and performance of the set overall but if we can't find a solution to the sound problem the set just may go back. I will update this review if there is any news to report.More detail ...

WOW. Amazing LED set!!

First off I want to be clear about the kind of review this is intended to be. I am not a profession TV rater. I am not a videophile. I am a regular Joe and I am reviewing this for the regular Joe who is thinking about spending more than usual on a good quality television. During the next few months I'm sure you can find a more professional review from the usual places... But for now this is my impressions.



CORNER LIGHT: After reading many reviews on last years B8000 and this year's C7000 I was worried about the light that emits from the corners. I've seen displays of last year's B8000 and this year's C7000 and have VERY easily seen what people are talking about. I took a big gamble in purchasing this TV before I read if people were having issues with this C8000. So let me say... After watching this TV for about 5 hours per day for 3 days... I have NOT seen the light coming from the edges as seen on other sets. And believe me I've been looking. I tried to find it watching the HD feed on Time Warner Cable Blu-ray's from the PS3 Blu-Ray's from the Samsung 3D Blu-Ray player watching at night during the day... Nothing. I just do not see it!



LOOKS: This TV looks just amazing. It has a VERY dark black screen. It looks as beautiful turned off as it does on. I was nervous about the brush metal look but it actually looks very nice and compliments the new chromed four-legged stand.



PICTURE: The picture clarity looks incredible. It's as if I'm discovering HD for the first time. This set replaces a Samsung DLP set so of course this is a vast improvement. Having said that I have a newer plasma in the bedroom and this set looks much better than that. As with all new LED sets with 240 Hz there is a bit of the Spanish Soap Opera/Home Video look to it. Some people really like this some people don't. I really like it. For those of you that don't you can always turn this feature down or off. To me this makes the picture look very clear and it makes it stand out from the other sets.



3D: Along with this TV I purchased the Samsung 3D Bluray player so I can get the 3D startup kit for free. Turning the 3D feature on and connecting the glasses was easy. The intro to Monsters v. Aliens was very cool. The opening scene in outer space looked incredible. The ball tied to a paddle part was funny and kinda made me jump a little. I haven't spent too much time with 3D but I did notice that there were some scenes in the movie that had a double image while wearing the glasses. It doesn't happen a lot but it is noticeable. You can see this right away during the church scene at the beginning of the movie. It was a little annoying. I'm hoping that this is the kind of stuff that gets ironed out with a firmwear update or as more content is released they learn to fix it.



OnlineTV: This is also a very new area for me. I never understood the need for me to want apps on my TV... But its actually kina cool. I've tried a few apps but my favorite by far is the Pandora app. I'm a big fan of Pandora and this app I actually like better on my TV than online or the iPhone. The only thing I hate is that Samsung did not have Wifi built in. I think pricing this set at the $3000+ mark should be enough to include it with the set and not require me to drop another $80 for the USB adapter. I just hardwired it but that's another wire I don't like dealing with.



USB: I wanted to mention that this set allows you to connect a USB external hard drive and play music photo's and movies directly from the HDD. I have a Western Digital 320GB Passport filled with movies and music and I was able to navigate the files structure in the drive using the remote quite easily. And it played all the files formats I threw at it.





Pros:

No corner light!!!

Very dark screen.

Very clear picture

Pandora Samsung App

3D was surprisingly fun

USB external HDD capable

and... NO CORNER LIGHT!



Cons:

Slight double images on 3D.

Wifi requires an $80 USB adaptor.



Overall I am very satisfied with the UN55C8000. Even with the few CONS this set to this average Joe is a definite 5 star! As I spend more time with the set I'll be sure to update this review if I find something worth mentioning.



Please feel free to ask me questions and I'll try my best to answer them. I know how nerve wrecking buying a big ticket item such as this is... So I would be glad to help as much as I can.

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