It's been about seven years since I purchased my last HDTV - one of the last generation Panasonic plasma televisions that I purchased for my home theater. So when my 10-year-old Sharp Aquos LCD HDTV started giving up the ghost I knew I had some reading up to do on current television technology - from backlighting to SmartTV features a lot has changed in the HDTV landscape.I, of course, ended up selecting this Samsung 50" UN50MU6300 (just '6300' from here on) after comparing several brands including models from LG and Sony. For a time I was considering a much more expensive Sony XBR model but ultimately justifying the expense was difficult for a family room television that spends more time tuned to Disney Junior than anything else. Considering just how much prices of HDTVs have fallen in recent years I felt like the sub-thousand dollar range still provided plenty of features and excellent picture quality without a lot of the extras that my family and I wouldn't really notice a whole lot.--------------------► Unboxing & Setup:I knew the specs of the 6300 before it arrived but it's still impressive how much smaller and lighter HDTVs have gotten. My old Sharp Aquos HDTV was a marvel for its time but the 6300 is inches thinner and a good 20lbs lighter. The box is thin and small enough for a single person to move around without any issues. Samsung gives plenty of interior protection for the TV in the form of molded styrofoam and it's very easy to open the TV and remove it from the box. Initially, I opted to have my wife help me setup the TV but after seeing how light this set is I decided I could just get it setup myself.My biggest advice if you're setting the 6300 up on a wall-mount is to ensure you have the proper size mount and most importantly screws for the job ahead of time. I figured the same screws that worked on my Aquos would suffice with the 6300 and that is not the case. Samsung uses a VESA-standard 400mm x 400mm form factor. My mount was thankfully compatible but not the old screws. Be sure to have size M8 1.25 x 20mm screws on hand! You can pick up a set of these at any local big box home improvement store for about a dollar.I did temporarily test the included stand on the 6300 while I was running to the hardware store and I'm not impressed. For the price of the set I really shouldn't expect too much I suppose but the stand is really poor. It uses thick plastic but it's sort of dull and doesn't seem to fit the TV very well. The stand requires eight (8) small screws (included) to assemble and secure to the TV. My biggest concern with the stand is that it seems to leave the TV pretty wobbly. This was just a temporary solution for me but something to be aware of if you plan on using the stand full-time.--------------------► First Impression:The overall build quality of the materials is definitely a step down from my old Aquos HDTV. The price range for this television seems to leave little left over for upgrades to the exterior and honestly, I'm good with it. The outside plastics are all black matte plastics. Thankfully the bezel is small so the cheap plastics aren't all that apparent anyway.I'm a much bigger fan of the television's picture and performance in menus. To keep it succinct I think the picture is incredible - the television is both bright but manages to produce very nice black levels. Scrolling through the TVs menus is fast, efficient and extremely responsive.--------------------► Picture & Audio Quality:Overall I'm very satisfied with the picture on the 6300. This set is in a bright family room in my home and the picture looks amazing. One, item to consider is the Eco setting which adjusts the brightness of the TV based on ambient lighting. I noticed the TV tended to look too dim and turned this setting off. 1080P and 4K content especially looks stunning. The edge-lit LED technology that this set uses really pushes black levels way down and helps to create a very clean, realistic picture.One area I did notice this TV seems to have difficulty with is very wide viewing angles. Just because of the setup of my room walking in I'm able to see the set from the side and the off-center viewing angle was worse than I expected. I'm not sure what causes that but thankfully our sitting arrangement is dead-center on the 6300 so this isn't an issue when we're actually sitting and watching TV.--------------------► Samsung Smart Remote / One Remote:Since Samsung's remote is a pretty big departure from my other HDTVs remotes I'm throwing in a section for it for review. In short, Samsung has redesigned the TV remote to get rid of the plethora of buttons and large form factor. Instead, you get a very svelte remote with much fewer buttons. The idea is to utilize onscreen menus to do things like change inputs and sources but still retain core features like audio adjustment, mute functions, channel selection and so forth on the physical remote. Another huge feature is the inclusion of a microphone built into the remote that utilizes voice commands for operating the television.The remote seems like one of those areas where people are either going to love it or hate it. Personally, I was uncommitted to either camp until I spent more time with the 6300 and now I love the remote. In fact, going back to my Panasonic plasma's remote just seems so antiquated. In a lot of ways, Samsung's implementation of the Smart Remote/One Remote is very similar to my Roku 3's remote.--------------------► Samsung Apps:By now most people understand the concept of "apps" or applications. In this case, Samsung has their own app environment for their television lineup. A lot of the biggest apps will be readily available in the Samsung Marketplace, however, not every channel you may want is available. For instance, on my old Aquos TV we mostly watched content through our Roku 3 which to my knowledge has one of the largest libraries of applications available. Samsung's marketplace is much smaller so some apps are bound to be missing. Case in point: Disney and Disney Jr. and Nickelodeon apps are nowhere to be found. This can be a major issue depending on your viewing habits. Thankfully, the largest players - Netflix and Amazon are present.So just be aware that your mileage may vary with the SmartTV features here.--------------------► Inputs & Outputs:→ 3 x HDMI inputs including 1 x HDMI ARC (audio return channel)→ 1x Component mini (Pb Pr Y) + analog audio input→ 1x RG6 Antenna input→ 1x RJ45 Ethernet LAN input→ 1x USB 5V at 0.5A→ 1x USB 5V at 1A (compatible with external HDDs)→ 1x Digital Optical audio output--------------------► Closing:All things considered, I feel like the UM6300 was an excellent choice. This TV offers a ton of features, incredible picture quality and 4K resolution for a budget conscious buyer. There are some not so great materials used, especially in components like the stand and off-angle viewing could definitely be better. But for the price, I think this is definitely the TV to go with. Recommended!