Samsung UN55C9000 Ultra-Thin 3D HDTV

Product: Samsung UN55C9000 Ultra-Thin 3D HDTV
Provided By: Samsung
Price: Find Lowest Price Online Here

Introduction:

Today we are looking at the latest evolution in flat-panel TVs from Samsung.  This Korean-based company has been of the market leaders in new TV technology and the 9000-Series is just another way that they are showing the world what is possible with technology.  This TV is thinner than an iPhone and as you'll see in the review, while it is small in depth, it certainly has enough features to make it stand out in a room.

We say this TV debuted last January at CES 2010 in Las Vegas and are pleased to see that Samsung was able to bring it to market with all the style, features and curb appeal that we saw almost a year ago.  After taking a look at this TV with our initial impressions, things just got better and better as we used it over the past couple of weeks.  Without further blather, let's jump into the initial impressions.

First Impression:

While the TV is supposed to be very thin, the box certainly isn't.  This box ranks among the largest 55" TV boxes we've see and when you realize how important it is to protect the ultra-thin TV inside - it makes sense.  Also included with the TV are a few extra accessories that typically don't ship with a standard TV.  One of these is a wall-mount that we'll show briefly a little later on.

Box

Protected

Even with the plastic/foam wrap on the TV, you just can't get a good idea of how thin and beautiful this TV is.  Once you take off the protective layer, you see the beauty that is the UN55C9000 in all her glory.

Full Frontal

Backside

Now you can get a better idea of what this TV is about.  At CES 2010 we weren't able to see where the inputs were located.  I assumed they'd be on the back, but as you can see in the image above (right) - there is no place for inputs.  The TV is too thin...  This is interesting for sure.

Before we take a closer look at the TV and some of the accessories, I encourage you to take a quick peak at the Qik video I made when i originally set up the TV.

One thing I noticed when I took the TV out of the box was that it could be a little "flexible".  This is not a great thing and is in fact rather scary when you are bending a 55" panel.  That is partly what the Wall Mount Plate is for on the back.  It also acts as a stiffener plate to keep the screen from flexing and breaking.  Good call.

Wall Mount Plate + Stiffener

Bundled Goodies:

Most of the time a TV bundle includes a remote; and maybe an HDMI cable if you're really lucky.  The UN55C9000 comes with enough goodies to almost be worth buying by themselves.  I'm sure that it's this bundle that adds some cost to the package, but it worth it and enhances the usefulness and features of the TV.

Big Bundle

Wall Mount Kit

The bundle includes an incredible 3" touch-screen remote that could almost feature in its own review.  We'll cover more on that on the next pages, but for now, let's just say...holy cattle.  Also included in the bundle are a couple of USB WiFi dongles as well as a right-angle connector so that if you decide to wall-mount the unit you'll be able to connect it to your network and the internet.  Samsung is very serious about getting this TV on the network and provides several ways to do this - including a wired 10/100 Ethernet jack.

In addition to the network connector, we also find some cable management clips, a 110v to USB adapter and cable to charge the remote and its Lithium-Ion battery. There isn't much place for extra component connections so Samsung included some cables that allow you to connect one Component device.  Other than the above-mentioned hardware, we also find a ton of manuals that will help us setup and figure out how all of this works.

The Wall Mount Kit is another interesting beast and if you plan on mounting this TV to the wall, allow yourself plenty of time to figure it out and follow along in the installation manual.  The end result is elegant, but it is time-consuming.  We were happy to place it on our TV stand in the living room.

On the next page we'll take a closer look at the unit and cover the features before we post up the specs and get into the testing.