Max light output HDR (high dynamic range) while displaying a live scene and white square taking up 10% of the screen (measured in Nits) Percentage Luminance drop at 35 degree horizontal angle from the centre of the screen with 50% white output Max light output HDR (high dynamic range) while displaying small white square taking up 60% of the screen (measured in Nits) The TV’s build quality is pretty respectable for such an affordable TV, too. It’s fair to say that by the time you’ve added to the mix an ultra-trim rear, a super-slim frame around the screen and a cool, minimalist finish, the UE50AU8000 ends up looking like it’s worth comfortably more than it costs. Featuring Dynamic Crystal Colour, all your favourite content will be displayed in crystal clear, lifelike colour. With over one billion shades, which is 64 times more than conventional UHD TVs, you’ll get rich, vibrant pictures for your complete viewing pleasure.

Of course, we don’t all live on a diet of brand-new cutting-edge content - and when it comes to upscaling, the Samsung (mostly) continues its good work. Certainly an HD broadcast of some elite-level tennis suffers hardly at all – colors are confidently described, on-screen movement is stable in almost all circumstances, and detail levels stay high. There’s a little coarsening of skin-tones and a hint of jaggedness to the more difficult edges, but by and large the BU8500 remains eminently watchable.

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Max light output HDR (high dynamic range) while displaying small white square taking up 10% of the screen (measured in Nits)

There are two feet to be screwed to the chassis, and they can be made to look like a single pedestal using a plastic cover that feels rather cheap and fits only approximately. Still, it raises the bottom of the screen sufficiently to comfortably fit a soundbar beneath. Samsung BU8500 review: ValueAccessibility (Enlarge / High Contrast / Multi-output Audio / Color Inversion / Grayscale / Sign Language Zoom / Slow Button Repeat) That’s a positive, though. At a touch over 25mm deep for our 55-inch version, the chassis is enviably slim, and the bezels surrounding the screen are minimal too. It can be wall-mounted, of course. If you don’t fancy that option, though, and would rather stand your new TV on a surface, the Samsung’s feet are usefully close together, so your surface needn’t be as wide as the screen itself. Subtitles and audio description information displayed on electronic programme guide more info panel A sense of value is absolutely critical to the Samsung BU8500. It exists to make sure that you can get lots of the latest features for a low price, or to give you the chance to upgrade to a larger screen while still keeping within your budget.

Samsung Smart Connectivity provides a straightforward but effective smart TV experience. Connect compatible devices or use compatible apps and services to access your favourite games, apps, and services. Keep watching what you're watching or see what's new and on right now. Everything you need is right on your home screen. It’s quite distinct through the mid-range and, again, quite decent levels of detail. Voices project forwards well, and they're actually quite nicely balanced – until they start to nudge into the upper frequency range. Once it reaches the higher frequencies, the BU8500 becomes quite hard and edgy, bringing sibilance and even a hint of coarseness to treble sounds. It’s a trait that’s only exacerbated by volume.Subtitle and audio description information spoken on the electronic programme guide more info panel Here, too, the 50AU8000 flatters to deceive. At first listen it seems to produce a pleasingly wide soundstage, filled busily by lots of subtle detail. Certainly things feel more ‘hi-fi’ than you might typically expect from an affordable 50-inch TV. Discover Samsung’s Crystal UHD display on the UE50BU8000KXXU. With four times more clarity than Full HD TVs, you’ll enjoy image quality so real it will feel like you’re actually there. You may use your voice to ask Bixby, Alexa, or Google Assistant to play your favourite music, get answers, and even manage your TV and other compatible connected devices.

With Samsung's Advanced SolarCell One Remote, you can easily operate all of your compatible devices, including Netflix, YouTube, gaming consoles, and a Soundbar with Smart Hub. The SolarCell One Remote may now be fueled by interior lighting and is partially made of recycled plastic. It's even smart enough to harvest electricity from Wi-Fi network radio frequencies in your home, so you'll never need disposable batteries again. The Samsung BU8500 is impressively slim, but this does limit what its speakers can do. (Image credit: Future) Samsung BU8500 review: Sound quality

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If everything we watched on TV happened to be bright, the 50AU8000 would work just fine. Its pictures skew brighter than usual for such an affordable TV, and this joins forces with some serious colour punch to really sell the HDR dream when you’re watching really light images. Percentage luminance drop at 20 degree vertical angle from the centre of the screen with 100% white output Slim chassis, great spec and very agreeable picture performance is all well and good – but when it comes to audio performance, the Samsung BU8500 sounds like an affordable flatscreen TV of the old school. And that’s not necessarily a good thing.