Even although this isn’t the first time we’ve laid eyes on a wafer-thin Samsung edge-lit LED solar panel, the size-zero slenderness from the UE40B8000 still requires our breath apart. Its polished black bezel is encased by a thin strip of translucent plastic extending beyond the borders. And whenever you get into account the sturdy table-top stand sporting a brushed metallic surface, the see-through pedestal stem, and the "deactivatable" (it would still blink in response to any remote keypress even if you elected to switch it off in the user menu) blue LED indicator light peeking through the bottom from the solar panel, it’s hard not to fall in adore with the Samsung UE40B8000’s exquisite style which befits a flagship Television.

Firstly, the main remote for Samsung UE40B8000 sends RF signals instead of the usual infrared. Once "paired" with the UE40B8000, the RF remote manage allows you to operate the Television with out you getting to aim the clicker at the television, as well as be within the same room. Neat!

Samsung has also put a clickable scroll wheel that may be physically rotated (like those found on the first generation of Apple Ipods) on the main remote. Unfortunately this turned out to be more hindrance than help: the slight on-screen navigational delay created it hard for us to judge how far we’ve scrolled along the menu options; yet when we reverted to clicking for manoeuvring the menu, the scroll wheel was nevertheless sensitive sufficient to draw us into generating the occasional mistake (e.g. accidentally scrolling 1 step extra).

Perhaps an unavoidable side impact of its super-slim construct and edge-mounted LED backlighting, the Samsung UE40B8000 flat-panel television evinced slightly worse screen/ backlight uniformity than the latest conventional CCFL-backlit LCD TVs. Even after calibration – and with the aid of auto-dimming – we observed some backlight bleed and clouding especially within the darker (below 20% stimulus) full-field grey check patterns.

In real-life viewing, these screen uniformity issues were not really that noticeable (especially in brighter ambient lighting conditions), but if you’re searching for a large-sized flat panel display with near-perfect display uniformity (and wide watching angles), plasma tv remains the only viable choice to date.

When each aspect of standard-def video processing is taken into account, the Samsungs have outperformed each other brand of HDTVs we’ve tested this year, and this holds accurate for the UE40B8000 as well. The quality of upconversion/scaling was good, capturing sufficiently sharp detail both off-air or from DVDs with out any sign of excessive ringing.

Jaggies in video-based material had been smoothened so successfully that we practically saw no jagged edges either in check patterns or real-world content. And with [Film Mode] engaged, the Samsung UE40B8000 LED-based LCD tv effectively detected and processed the 3:2 cadence assessments in 480i and 1080i, and also the Two:2 cadence tests in 576i (though some moiré was nevertheless visible about the red Coca Cola sign saying "Go Bridget Go" in the notorious check scene from your PAL DVD of Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason).

Coupled with wonderfully rich blacks and precise colours (the green from the snooker table cloth just looked so right), SD seeing was a treat about the Samsung UE40B8000. Auto-dimming did rear its ugly head while switching channels, but otherwise the majority of Television programmes should deliver sufficiently higher APL (Average Image Level) to maintain the light output fluctuations at bay.

Potential owners of the Samsung UE40B8000 shouldn’t anticipate significantly from your Television within the sound department: the physical limitations imposed by the sheer slenderness of the chassis meant that the internal speakers couldn’t muster adequate bass nor audio resolution for critical seeing. It does pass (just barely) for day-to-day Tv viewing though, since it can go fairly loud with reasonably obvious dialogue.

The Samsung UE40B8000 LED-edgelit LCD tv shares the similar pros (superb blacks, precise colours, impressive standard-def processing, stunning design) and cons (low-APL auto-dimming, screen uniformity problems, high-ish input lag, lacklustre sound) as the B7000 series.