A couple of weeks ago I was placed under house arrest at Maxim’s
Hotel Resorts World to check out and play with Samsung’s latest Smart TV
for 2012, the humongous 55-inch Samsung ES8000 LED TV.
The Samsung ES8000 LED TV continues with the success of their last
year’s Smart TV model. It still has Smart Hub and the apps that go with
it, 3D viewing, WiFi support, and now they also added voice control and
hand gesture control to the mix, as well as a convenient upgrade path
without having to buy a new TV.
The new Samsung Smart TV retains the almost borderless look of last
year’s model with a narrow chrome frame surrounding it. It’s still slim
as before but Samsung replaced the X-stand with one that looks like a
helicopter’s feet. It’s very sturdy and spreads the weight of the big
screen in two areas for a stable set up for years to come.
Motion Gesture
Motion control is detected by the built-in camera situated on top of
the TV which you also use to video chat via Skype. Unlike other TV’s
with gestures, you don’t need a remote or a wand to control this TV.
Move your arms to control the mouse pointer and close your fist to
click. It was fun at first but it can be tiring to keep your arms up to
navigate the TV.
The camera is also used for facial recognition. You can create a
profile with your face on it and attach it to your Smart Hub account and
social network accounts such as Facebook and Twitter so you don’t have
to input your username and password every time. An ingenious idea
considering there’s typically more than one member in the household that
will be using the TV.
Voice Control
The Samsung ES8000 also comes with two remote controls, a regular one
and special one that has the basic controls and also doubles as a mic
and touchpad, giving you another way to navigate and control the TV.
Although you can control the TV by voicing out your command in the
room (keyword is “Hi TV”), I find it much more responsive to use the
special remote especially when there’s ambient noise. I find this method
better than motion control when changing channels, just say the channel
number. If it’s too loud in the room, there’s still the basic TV
buttons to rely on and since it communicates via WiFi, you don’t have to
be in the line of sight of the TV to use it.
If you rely heavily on keyboard, there’s a Samsung Remote
app for iOS and Android smartphone users. Aside from using your phone’s
touchscreen to tap away on the onscreen keyboard, you can also use the
app to change channels and other basic functions.
But what do you do if you have a separate remote for your cable
channels? Samsung got you covered with this channel booster which is a
wireless receiver connected to your cable box. With this device, you can
still use Samsung’s remote even for cable TV.
3D Viewing
The Samsung ES8000 is also capable of 1080p Full HD 3D viewing. They
redesigned the Active 3D glasses to be lighter and more pleasing to the
eye. It’s still powered though and communicates via Bluetooth so there’s
the likelihood it will stop functioning and interrupt your 3D viewing
experience. I personally like the old design more with the sides covered
to prevent non-3D images from seeping in on your peripheral.
Picture Quality
Nothing has changed with the picture quality compared to last year’s
model. When your basic LED TV has 60Hz or 100Hz refresh rate, the
Samsung ES8000 has a whopping 800MHz clear motion rate for smooth and
fluid video quality. Even when watching non-HD videos, the TV projects
that HD viewing feel having deep contrast and smooth quality.
Smart Hub
Smart Hub is the main center to do “smart” things with your TV. Here
you can visit websites, your social network accounts, watch online
videos, and interact with a number of apps and games pre-installed with
the TV. You can also download apps for free from Samsung through Smart
Hub.
In terms of apps powered by Smart Hub, probably the most interesting
addition is the Fitness app. Using motion gesture, you can stay fit by
following the app, similar to how fitness games work with the Microsoft
Kinect. There are also games for kids that use motion gestures to play.
Evolution Kit
One of the problems consumers encounter when buying high-end TVs is
that every year a new and better model always turn up. The Samsung
ES8000 has what they call an Evolution Kit which allows you to upgrade
your TV’s specs and firmware without you having to replace the whole
thing. Just buy the kit and plug it at the back of the TV to give it the
latest software and hardware when available.
Verdict
The Samsung ES8000 inherited the superb performance from its
predecessor and added new features that make a true Smart TV of the
future. Voice and motion control may not work as fluidly being the first
iteration but given time, Samsung will further improve these functions
and the Evolution Kit will make sure that your TV won’t get outdated.
