The UN50BU8000 is a 50 inch 4K TV from Samsung, launched in the year 2022. It comes with a 10-bit VA panel. It can display a maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160 with a refresh rate of 60 Hz and pixel density of 89 ppi.
Picture Quality
After screen size and resolution, the next important feature of a display is its Color Reproduction Accuracy, which is defined by its color gamut specification.
This TV doesn't provide a color gamut specification, but don't worry, we have other means to guess that.
Considering the TV features a big 50 inch screen, it won't come with a cheap panel, so here we can assume its equivalent sRGB coverage to be 90-100% or above. Undoubtedly The color quality on this TV should be Lifelike! It will produce accurate colors.
What Color Gamut means ?
Color gamut specification of a display is a measure of the range of colors that it can display.
A panel with poor color accuracy will produce washed out colors that will spoil your immersive experience.
Different manufacturers use different units to specify color gamut. Viz — sRGB, NTSC, DCI P3 Adobe RGB and rec.2020.
But don't worry, below is a chart that will help you choosing a TV with good color accuracy.
After color gamut, the static contrast specification of a TV holds almost equal role in picture quality.
What is Static Contrast ratio ?
A TV with high enough static contrast ratio will produce deep blacks while a TV with low contrast ratio (<1000:1) will produce images that look dusty as shown in the below image.
As you can see, this will impact your experience considerably.
Static contrast ratio and resolution go hand in hand when it comes to details. To put it into perspective, a TV with low contrast ratio will show both dark gray and black as black, thus lesser detail overall.
If given a choice, I will prefer a FHD TV with high contrast ratio over a 4K TV with low contrast ratio.
This TV is rated with a static contrast ratio of 8000:1., good enough to produce deep blacks. For the record, it also comes with local dimming backlight which is a plus.
HDR is also supported on this TV in form of HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma), HDR10+, HDR and HDR10.
As for brightness, it is can achieve a maximum brightness of 250 nits, powered by Edge LED backlight technology.
Gaming Performance
Now if you are planning to use the TV other than watching videos — like as a PC monitor or Gaming, you would want to take a TV with lowest input lag. For gaming, both input lag and response time affects the performance.
The input lag on the Samsung UN50BU8000 is 8 ms and its minimum response time is N/A. For a TV, its the best you can get for gaming.
What is Input Lag and Why it matters ?
This lag is the latency at which your key-presses or mouse movements changes the content of the screen. Though, this won't matter much if you aren't into competitive/FPS games like call of duty.
For best of both worlds, look for a TV that comes with an input lag and response time of < 20ms.
Dimensions and Ergonomics
The TV measures 50 inches vertically and 44 inches horizontally.
It is just 1 inches thick. In total the TV weighs 11.8 KGs including its stand. Without stand, it weighs 11.5 kgs. So plan your space accordingly.
Speaking of ergonomics — VESA mount is supported on this TV with an interface size of 200 x 200 mm. However, there is no Swivel, Tilt or Pivot feature support on this TV.
Hardware and Audio
The chipset of this TV is powered by a Quad Core CPU. There is no mention about the total available RAM on the TV's specsheet.
To power its UI, the TV runs Tizen 6.5 Operating System.
For display connectivity, Samsung has provided three HDMI 2.0 ports on this TV.
To connect USB devices, you will have two USB 2.0 ports. Other connectivity ports include — 1x Cable/Antenna In (F-type female), 1x RS232 (C) and 1x Ethernet RJ45.
For connecting to this TV wirelessly, you will have — a 5Ghz Wi-Fi, 2.5 Ghz Wi-Fi, Wifi-Direct, Bluetooth and DLNA.
Now, speaking of speakers, it is packaged with 2 x 10W speakers.
As for power consumption, the TV consumes 50.4W on average and 0.5W on standby.
It supports a power outlet of 100 V - 120 V/50 Hz - 60 Hz.
