Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this TV for the plethora of glowing reviews it received for its picture performance. I also bought it because it had built-in Wi-Fi. The picture quality is simply amazing! Scenes broadcast in HD look as if they're almost 3D, and by that I mean everything is so clear with unbelievable depth that it makes it look like people and things being broadcast are in the room with you! I previously owned a Panasonic Viera plasma TV, and I can honestly say this Samung LED TV has an even better picture. I didn't think any other current TV technology (except 4K) could touch a plasma. I was wrong. I can't say enough about the picture quality. Now for the bad/sad part. The Samsung SmartHub and its network ruins the total experience of this otherwise fantastic TV. The wifi connected easily and works pretty well for direct Internet surfing. HOWEVER, when you try to use the SmartHub to view streaming content from Netflix, Vudu, Amazon Instant Video, Blockbuster, etc, it is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE! I have upgraded broadband service from my cable provider so my network connection is plenty fast. However, when I tried to use Netflix, Blockbuster and Amazon Instant Video through my new Samsung TV/SmartHub, my streaming video would constantly pause/stop. At first I thought it was my network connection, so I tried to play the exact same HD movie on Netflix through my Wi-Fi enabled LG Blu-Ray player and it streamed perfectly. Let me say that again: The same movie on Netflix - - through Samsung SmartHub = SLOW/PAUSE/STOP; through my LG WiFi Blu-Ray player = SMOOTH, NO HICCUPS (remember, both are using the same WiFi signal being transmitted by my router). PLEASE do your own due diligence before investing in ANY Samsung product that touts its SmartHub if you plan to use it to watch streaming video, whether it's a TV, DVD or Blu-Ray player. There are many web pages, websites and forums which discuss the DISMAL performance of the SmartHub network (should be renamed "SlowHub"!!). There's even one called "OFFICIAL Samsung Smart Hub Fiasco Thread." For as fantastic as 99% of Samsung products are (I currently own/use 9 other Samsung products such as the Galaxy Note and Epic and I love them), I have to think that they have subcontracted their "SlowHub" service to a Third party. If the quality of the network was as good as their hardware/physical products, it would work smoothly and lightning fast. To be fair, if Samsung actually listens to its users/customers and actually fixes/upgrades its SmartHub network to actually make it perform acceptably, then I will update my review to reflect that fact. Lastly, I was on the verge of returning this TV because of SmartHub's atrocious and revolting performance, but my better half and I loved the picture so much AND we had an alternate means to stream videos to the TV (vice using SlowHub) that it we decided to keep it. BOTTOM LINE: If you plan to use this or any other Samsung LED TV to simply watch TV for the superb picture, you'll be happy. BUT, if you plan to use the SmartHub and its "features," you will be SORELY DISAPPOINTED. Picture = 5 stars; SmartHub = 1 star (would give it '0' or '1/2' if Amazon had those as selections). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ UPDATE 11-30-2013 Ok, so I just got home from my business trip. To answer a previous question, the TV does have a LAN port. However, I have not tested it. I don't think I'm going to test it anytime soon as my TV is 50+ feet away from my home computer and router setup (where I have to plug in the LAN cable). If I happen upon a spool of Ethernet cable somewhere for free, I'll connect it. However, I don't really feel like moving either my computer/router setup or my 50" TV just to test the LAN connection. I did check again to see if Samsung released any software updates to the TV, and they did on 27 NOV 2013. They released Firmware ver.1117.4, T-MST12AKUC. I downloaded it directly through the TV's Wi-Fi connection, then installed it. Everything seems to have installed ok. The FIRST thing I checked was the performance of the Amazon Prime Video App through the SmartHub. The time was approximately 09:30 a.m., so I assumed it was off-peak hours for cable bandwidth demand. I was actually surprised as it appeared to be working marginally better. At least this time the HD video ("The Avengers") DID NOT pause or stop. That IS forward progress. HOWEVER, the picture was NOT HD i.e. it was grainy and "blocky" (I believe they call it the `screen door effect'). My next test was to compare the Samsung SmartHub streaming video performance against my Roku 3 Streaming Media Player device. I was hoping that my Roku 3 was going to show similar performance to the SmartHub, BUT it again showed the HD Avengers movie with much better quality. Through my Samsung SmartHub = low resolution/grainy/screen door effect; through my Roku 3 = high quality HD like it was supposed to be. Again, at least the movie DID NOT pause or stop using the SmartHub Amazon Prime Movie App. My second set of tests later in the evening at approximately 08:30 p.m. (which I assumed was a more peak cable bandwidth time on Saturday evening) involved trying the Netflix App through the Samsung SmartHub (using the same movie, The Avengers in HD). When I started the Netflix App through SmartHub, it started a little slow. I started the HD movie and I was again "not surprised" by the low resolution picture. HOWEVER, after about 45 seconds, the picture cleared up SUBSTANTIALLY and it was in HD! No pausing/skipping/stopping. I actually had to stop the movie to double check that I was NOT using my Roku 3, and that I was actually using the Netflix SmartHub App, and I was. Ok, now I was starting to believe that maybe the software/firmware update actually fixed something, OR they improved their SmartHub network performance between SEP '13 and 11-29-2013. So just for S&Gs, I went BACK to the Amazon Prime Video App through the SmartHub, and resumed playing The Avengers where I left off. Again the App started a slowly, but then `booted up' after about 40 seconds (about 30 seconds slower than my Roku 3). Then the movie resumed and lo and behold if it wasn't in HD! I was standing beside myself! Even my better half couldn't believe it (as she saw how horrible it used to be). The last litmus test of the evening (at approximately 09:15 p.m.) was to try to stream an HDX movie through VUDU using the Samsung SmartHub. I started the VUDU App through the SmartHub, and it `booted up' faster than Amazon Prime Video App or Netflix App. I really wasn't looking forward to having to rent a movie just to test the VUDU SmartHub App, but to my surprise they had a sale of HDX movies for $4.99 and $7.99 (must be a Black Friday related sale). My better half hadn't seen Wrath of the Titans and I also thought it might give the SmartHub a good test with its healthy offering of CGI and eye-popping colors. Ok, the movie was pretty entertaining, but the thing I was looking for was how it played and how it looked through the SmartHub VUDU App. We were pleasantly surprised that the movie queued up quickly, didn't pause/skip/stop and looked like it played in the max quality "HDX" mode. BOTTOM LINE: As of today, 11-30-2013, after downloading and installing the Firmware update, the prior issues I was having with the "SlowHub" appear to have been resolved. I haven't drilled down yet on the specifics of what the Firmware update `fixed' and how it did it, but I'm just happy with the outcome at this point. I will continue to test it for several more days to ensure it doesn't revert back to the SlowHub. For now, I have upgraded my rating to 4 Stars from 3. This was a substantial 'fix' in my opinion. However Samsung received its feedback, whether from direct customer complaints, Blogs or product reviews on Amazon, it appears they finally took action to address the 'SlowHub' issues. As I close this reply/update, I am happy to say that I believe the SmartHub is on its way to living up to its name! The only reason I'm not giving a full 5 Stars at this point is I still want to ensure this better performance continues, and it did take several months to fix the issues my TV was having.