Samsung U8000F Series UN70U8000FFXZC 70"

Huge screen, tiny price, but it skimps everywhere you'll actually notice. Buy it if you just want something big for the living room, otherwise run toward a better picture.

The 120Hz panel is the nice surprise here. Motion is smooth for gaming and sports, and you won't get that at this size from many budget sets. But the Direct LED backlight is pretty dim, and HDR content looks washed out, more like a suggestion of HDR than the real thing. We measured brightness and color volume in our database, and it lands in the bottom third for picture quality. It's not unwatchable, but dark scenes definitely suffer, and the speakers sound like they're playing from a tin can.

The real competition here is the TCL QM8K and Hisense U7 series. For about the same money or slightly more, you can get a 65-inch TCL QM8K that absolutely demolishes this Samsung in brightness, contrast, and HDR. Even the 55-inch LG C5 OLED, though smaller and pricier, is in another league entirely. If you must have 70 inches, this Samsung is one of the few options at this price, but we'd trade those extra inches for a way better picture every time.

At $700, you're getting a lot of diagonal inches for your dollar, and that's the main appeal. It's worth it if your expectations are set to 'big living room TV for casual streaming and cable.' But if you're thinking this is a cinema experience, you'll be disappointed. Spend $100 more on a soundbar immediately, and you'll still come out ahead compared to smaller, better TVs.

A 70-inch Samsung for $700 sounds like you're getting away with something, and honestly, you kind of are. This TV is huge, the smart features are solid, and for casual streaming it'll do the job. But Samsung cut some serious corners to hit this price. The picture quality and HDR are mediocre at best, the built-in audio is laughably bad, and connectivity is about as sparse as it gets. If you just want a big screen to watch the news and Netflix in a bright room, it's fine. If you care even a little about picture quality, you'll notice where they skimped.

If you're looking for deep blacks, real HDR pop, or even decent built-in audio, this isn't it. Go get a TCL QM8K or Hisense U7 instead. You'll sacrifice some screen size but gain a picture that actually looks good.

The Samsung U8000F is the TV you buy when size is your only priority and you just need something that works. It gets the job done for everyday viewing, but anyone with even a passing interest in picture quality should look at the smaller but far superior alternatives. Wait for a sale on a TCL or Hisense and your eyes will thank you.