Samsung PN63C8000 – Problems with Hulu Plus
Samsung PN63C8000 has a good collection of Apps and the options for video streaming are more than other TVs in the market. It looks like Samsung is adding new content from time to time. When I reviewed the UNC6500, Samsung had put in Hulu Plus. There is another free app for video streaming called ‘Explore 3D’ which promises video clips, 3D movie trailers, and also premium videos. When I reviewed the TV, there were just three trailers and not much content but Samsung will be putting in more goodies soon.
Apart from Hulu Plus, this panel has Blockbuster, CinemaNow and Dailymotion. There is also Napster subscription service which is not found on a lot of sets. There are no video services missing here but I would have liked some nonsubscription audio like Last.fm or Slacker radio. Apart from Amazon VOD, all the streaming services are put in Samsung’s main Apps platform.
I didn’t test Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, or Vudu, here because they worked really well in Samsung’s previous panels like the PNC7000 and UNC8000. I did test Hulu though, the video quality was superb but it depends on the source. The navigation was fast and I also like the built-in search function inside (the so-so remote ruined the experience though). The general interface of the App too on the Samsung PN63C8000 was pretty good.
The only problem with Hulu Plus on the Samsung PN63C8000 is that you don’t have much picture control. On Apps like Netflix, we could adjust the basics of the picture parameters and also choose from the picture modes. The MJC dejudeer processing too could be disabled. But Hulu Plus didn’t have any of these options and the picture too looked stuck in default Dynamic setting aka Torch Mode. The highlights were too bright, the colors were inaccurate looked oversaturated too. We expect Samsung to offer an update for the picture controls in the near future but till that happens, I would prefer external sources like TiVo, Roku or a Blu-ray player for Hulu Plus where you do get picture control option.
Samsung got us the Samsung Apps for its TVs earlier this year and it now comes with Google Maps, Facebook and videos having product support and info on the Samsung products. The updates include ESPN Next Level which is a sports widget and is exclusive to this company for a year. There are also some paid Apps like Dibo’s Storybook (for 99 cents each) educational Word Magic, Math Series, (for $2.99 each), Multibits image galleries (for $1.99 each), Push Up Master personal trainer (for 99 cents). There is a full list on the manufacturer’s App Store.
Apart from the Apps in the main interface, you get Yahoo Widgets interface. At the time of writing this review, there were about 24 add-ons. They include weather, sports, news, etc along with bigger widgets like Drivecast, Amazon Video On Demand, Facebook, Flickr, and the big one – “Experience Samsung.” The company must be praised for improving the widget experience, the response and loading times have been made faster. The widget taskbar on the Samsung PN63C8000 turns up very quickly and it is really easy to navigate through the widgets.
