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Usability
Samsung seems to provide more and more ways of controlling its screens, with varying levels of success. Despite refining voice and gesture controls, neither system is foolproof, and when a screen asks you to confirm a command such as powering off it undermines its own case for being quicker and more efficient.
Less of a gimmick is the secondary, pebble sized 'smart' remote, which also contains the microphone for voice control. It boasts a laser-style pointer that makes it quicker to navigate many menus, especially web surfing and filling in forms, but Samsung has not quite nailed it in terms of accuracy and stability.
The UE55HU8500 is bestowed with the best of Samsung's latest Smart TV and wireless networking skills. Thanks to a 1.8GHz, quad-core processor you can zip about the screen's various menus and even watch four Full HD channels at once thanks to the multi-screen feature. Screen mirroring meanwhile lets you wirelessly watch what's on your smart phone or tablet screen, and the Smart View app turns the tables and lets you watch broadcast TV on a portable device.
Samsung has made it quick and easy to navigate the Smart Hub panels, with no shortage of on-demand and catch-up services.
Sound
Considering the overall dimensions of the UE55HU8500 its built-in speakers don't do too bad a job. Watching a movie with a good multi-channel soundtrack in movie mode the screen delivers plenty of punch, with obvious panning of zooming F1 cars during the Blu-ray of Rush.
Dialogue is reasonable, although the screen (understandably) does struggle to make the drivers voices intelligible during Rush. There are a number of modes to play around with and for general daytime use the screen's speakers are fine (although a soundbar would certainly improve the screen's sonics massively).
Value
Unless you're on a footballer's wage the UE55HU8500 represents a serious investment at £2,700. But of course, it is a cutting-edge model, and protected against (known) future technological developments thanks to the external connections box and Samsung's Evolution Kit. It's also comparable with other similar-sized 4K screens so looks to be reasonably priced.
