Black Level & Contrast Performance
After pegging peak luminance to our usual target of 120 cd/m2, the native black level (i.e. with [Smart LED] disabled) on our Samsung UE55HU8500 review unit measured 0.069 cd/m2 on both a full-field video black signal with auto-dimming defeated by pressing the [INFO] button, and a 4×4 ANSI checkerboard pattern. While higher than the circa-0.05 cd/m2 we’ve seen on Samsung’s SPVA panels in recent years, the slightly brighter blacks were perhaps understandable given the complicated warping process needed to produce a curved screen, and in any case bettered every IPS LCD television we’ve reviewed.
[Smart LED] activates the pseudo-local dimming system (we use the prefix “pseudo” because technically true local dimming is only possible on full-array, direct-lit LED LCDs) on the HU8500 edge LED TV, which comes in 3 strengths: “Low“, “Standard” and “High“. All three deepened ANSI black level to 0.041 cd/m2; and full-screen black (auto-dimming defeated) to 0.008 cd/m2, 0.002 cd/m2 and 0.0017 cd/m2 respectively (from the “Low” to “High” settings).
The [Smart LED] “Standard” and “High” positions obscured shadow detail and altered gamma too much for our liking, leaving [Smart LED] “Low” as our preferred option. Some luminance fluctuations remained visible during challenging low-APL scenes (for example as Batman emerges from the shadows to meet Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises – timecode 01:10:04), but they were infrequent and worth the compromise to improve black-level response.
For some strange reason, engaging [Cinema Black] darkened ONLY the bottom letterbox bar in scope ratio films on our review unit – we’re not sure if it’s a sample-specific quirk or a model-wide phenomenon. In any case, we detected no global luminance shifts (unlike certain iterations of [Cinema Black]), so we’d happily leave the option enabled to not only better blend the black letterbox bars to the bezel, but also conceal any backlight unevenness.
