"James O. Thach "@JamesOtisThach" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Samsung UN85S9 85-Inch 4K Ultra HD 120Hz 3D Smart LED TV (Electronics)
My wife and I bought this after selling our daughter Amanda into white slavery. We actually got a refurbished. It's missing the remote, but oh well-- for $10K off, I can afford a universal, right? The picture is amazing. I've never seen the world with such clarity.

Amanda, if you're reading this, hang in there, honey! We'll see you in a year.

*****

I just wanted to add an addendum to my review. Since posting it, we have received a flood of responses. People have said some pretty hurtful things--even questioning our values. Let me assure you, this was not an easy decision to make, and we made it as a family. Obviously, it's very personal. But in light of all the second-guessing, I wanted to explain our thinking.

First and foremost, screen size. I really think you can't go too big. 85" may seem huge, but you get used to it fast. Second, resolution. Is 4K overkill? Please, that's what they said about 1080P! More dots = better. Period. And as far as this being a $40,000 "dumb" TV, people need to re-read my initial post: WE BOUGHT IT REFURBISHED. It was only $30,000.

Some of you may think I'm avoiding the "elephant in the room"-the real reason why this was such a heart-wrenching choice. So let's just get it out there. Yes, the 120 Hz refresh rate is a disappointment, especially on a 4K. But life is full of compromises. And frankly, we hardly notice. All in all, no regrets.

P.S., as for our daughter, NO ONE has the right to question our parenting. Totally out of bounds. Amanda was going into 7th grade, so it was going to be a transitional year anyway. Now she gets to see the world. How many kids her age get to go to Bahrain? I sure as heck didn't, but you don't hear me screaming "child abuse." Bottom line: MYOB! Seriously.

*****

Has it been a year already? Wow! I guess that's what 8 hours a day of immersive TV will do for you! Many of you have expressed your eagerness for an update. Well, here goes.

Generally, the Samsung has held up beautifully. We have noticed a little bit of lag, mostly in multi-player gaming--but not enough to cost us any firefights. There have been some issues up-imaging low rez content, but that's to be expected when you early-adopt--we're still "waiting on the world to change," as John Mayer would say (gosh he's talented.) On the plus side, we feel like we are now officially part of the cast of GOT. The other night Peg almost had to open a window to let Daenerys' dragons fly out!

And you'll all be happy to know our darling Amanda is back with us, safe and sound. She has changed a little. She's less talkative than before (though she had some choice words for me when I asked her to clean her room). And she's started wearing eye make-up, which has Peg a bit concerned. But welcome to thirteen, I guess. We're just glad to have her home. And she loves the TV. That's the main thing. In fact, she spends so much time in front of it lately, you'd swear she owns it."

There are a whole bunch of those reviews I read this morning. This was my favorite-


"It's difficult to know precisely how to judge an item such as this. On the one hand, it is massive, as advertised, and it is Ultra HD, as advertised. But the other night, when watching my beloved Knicks lose yet again, when I noticed the high definition forlornness of Carmelo Anthony, erstwhile hope of New York. He shook his (life size) head, disappointed in his team’s performance, fighting back tears. He was falling apart.

He was literally falling apart, at the molecular level. Thanks to the unbounded resolution offered by the Samsung UN85S9, I could see deeper and more clearly into the picture than ever before. I could see the electrochemical reactions taking place in his eyes as he watched the clock tick down on yet another defeat. I could see the spaces and synapses between his cells opening up as he slumped further into his courtside seat. I could see these cells more clearly by the second as I focused, as if I were gazing deeply into a magic eye picture, only the magic eye picture revealed not a boat or a car but the very essence of humanity: that we are nothing more than an amalgamation of independently functioning cells struggling to survive and make sense of a cruel, cruel universe.

I shouted at the voice-controlled television “Obscure again the truth, foul mirror! Conceal from me the doom of my organic being!” The TV responded by microdimming the picture, but the truth, the horrible horrible truth, remained dazzlingly clear."


This one was good too-


"I am coming back from the future to write this review, and to let everyone know you can buy this TV for $699 in 2015. It still looks great though.

I bought it just to watch the garbage man struggle pitifully as he attempted to fit the box into the back of his recycling truck. Worth it.

When I watched Chuck Norris on this TV it cured me of Cancer. It also got my pit bull pregnant (which I thought was a coincidence until all the puppies were born with mullets). "

I read that for the second time and I ask still laughing.


"Maroon bag of agony"