With its mixture of 8K decision, ground-breaking processing and memorable new backlight controls, the Samsung QE75Q950TS is able to delivering merely the most effective photos ever seen from an LCD tv. Arguably, relying on the place your picture preferences lie, the most effective photos of any TV, interval.
Execs
- Spectacular image high quality with a variety of resolutions
- Stunning, innovative design
- Progressive and efficient object monitoring sound system
Cons
- One or two very uncommon backlight glitches
- It is going to be too costly for many households
- No Dolby Imaginative and prescient help
Key specs
- 75-inch LCD TV with a local 8K decision
- HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG HDR
- Eden/Tizen sensible platform
- Object Monitoring Sound+ audio system
- 8K Quantum AI processing with Deep Studying
The Samsung QE75Q950TS is a 75-inch TV from the model’s 2020 flagship vary of 8K TVs.
It boasts a brand new video processor that features components of deep studying; a brand new audio system that locations sounds precisely on the display screen; and a spectacular new frame-free design. Does it actually have what it takes, although, to justify a £7,999 price ticket?
Worth and availability
On the time of evaluate the QE75Q950TS had an RRP of £7999/€8000/AUD$13499. The 75-inch mannequin is just not accessible within the US (solely the 85-inch is), and the Q950TS is to not be confused with the Q900T, which has an analogous spec however loses the No Hole wall mount and One Join field of the flagship 8K TV. The 75-inch Q950TS might be discovered for a reduced worth of £5999 on-line.
Design and construct high quality
- Display tilts backwards barely
- Comes with One Join field that funnels energy, audio and visuals to TV
- Bit chunky by way of construct
The QE75Q950TS is the proud proprietor of what Samsung likes to name an Infinity design, which suggests it has virtually no bezel across the display screen. The display screen body is so skinny that from typical viewing distances you don’t see it. A minimum of when the display screen is pumping out its gorgeously aggressive photos.
In addition to making the TV look innovative and futuristic, the extremely trim bezel additionally signifies that you are feeling extra immersed within the display screen’s photos.
The display screen leans again barely on its stand, which received’t be to everybody’s tastes. Actually, if you happen to’re placing it on a comparatively excessive little bit of furnishings, the lean again may cause the picture to angle in on the high. That is solely a minor gripe within the grand scheme of issues, although. And also you received’t thoughts the lean again in any respect in case your seating place in all fairness excessive relative to the TV.
A display screen with no body clearly deserves to not have its design integrity compromised by plenty of ugly cabling. So all Q950TS fashions ship with exterior One Join containers that carry all of the TV’s connections and fix to the TV through only a single cable.
The Samsung QE75Q950TS is a bit chunkier across the again than lots of as we speak’s premium TVs. It makes up for this, although, by being the identical depth throughout its total rear, with no unseemly bulges.
Naturally, the QE75Q950TS will get Samsung’s Ambient Mode function. This permits the display screen to indicate (with minimal energy consumption) {a photograph}, paintings or video display screen saver when the TV isn’t getting used, to avoid wasting your front room from having a gaping 75-inch black gap in it.
It ships with two distant controls: a reasonably commonplace (however simple to make use of) button-packed one, and a modern ‘sensible’ one with a metallic end and stripped-back button rely. The sensible distant will get essentially the most use after preliminary arrange – particularly because it carries a mic button for accessing Samsung’s voice recognition system.
Options
- Helps Samsung’s Q-Symphony audio
- Can deal with 4K@120Hz and 8K@60Hz
- New Filmmaker Mode
One of many QE75Q950TS’s most startling new options is hinted at by its beautiful bodywork. In case you look carefully on the set’s sides, you’ll see they’re grilled. It is because they home an array of audio system firing from all 4 of the TV’s sides.
These innovatively built-in audio system are mixed with a minimum of eight bigger drivers on the TV’s rear to ship what Samsung calls Object Monitoring Sound+.
This sees the wealth of audio system working with a proprietary processing system to ship sound results that appear to be coming from precisely the place on the display screen they’re imagined to be coming from. So throughout a demo of a motorboat driving in a circle across the display screen, you possibly can clearly hear the sound monitoring the round movement.
One other new audio function, Q-Symphony, allows the QE75Q950TS’s audio system to work along side Samsung’s 2020 soundbars, slightly than the soundbar merely changing all the TV’s audio system. This may fight the difficulty heard with some soundbars the place sound results may look like coming from under the onscreen motion.
The QE75Q950TS carries a few key new image options. First, the most recent Quantum 8K processor now advantages from a deep studying part. That is predominantly centered on delivering superior upscaling of sub-8K content material, particularly in areas of extraordinarily high-quality element: clothes weaves, brickwork textures, wallpaper designs, that kind of factor.
Second, whereas the QE75Q950TS has the standard full array native dimming (FALD) lighting arrange you’d count on on a premium Samsung TV, this time it’s backed up by a brand new energy administration system. This may redirect energy from darkish components of the image to vibrant ones, doubtlessly significantly boosting distinction.
The brand new processor additionally introduces an Adaptive Image mode. This intelligently manipulates the image to compensate for the affect of fixing mild ranges in your room. This new mode combines ambient mild readings with evaluation of the image content material in order that it solely adjusts picture components that want adjusting. So, as an illustration, it could possibly increase the brightness of darkish areas to carry out shadow element with out additionally unnecessarily elevating the brightness of sunshine image areas.
There be audio system below them there grilles.
Samsung’s Eden sensible system is broadly unchanged from what’s gone earlier than, which is not any dangerous factor provided that it matches just about each app identified to man right into a compact, simple to customize interface. Disney+, Apple TV, Netflix, Prime Video, Rakuten TV and all of the UK’s key catch up companies are current and proper. Although the latter don’t come within the handy Freeview Play ‘container’ discovered on most different TVs.
The TV helps 4K (or 8K when it arrives) and HDR from any video streaming app that carries them. Although Samsung nonetheless refuses to help Dolby Imaginative and prescient, so the HDR streams are restricted to both fundamental HDR10, HDR10+ (which, like Dolby Imaginative and prescient, provides further scene by scene information to enhance HDR playback), and the HLG format for broadcasts and dwell streams.
Voice management is feasible through built-in Bixby or Alexa methods, and Google Assistant help goes to be added quickly by a firmware replace.
Filmmaker Mode was created along side Hollywood creatives, this and primarily turns off a lot of the TV’s processing to ship, supposedly, an image that extra carefully resembles the way in which its creators’ meant it to look.
Connections on the exterior One Join field embody 4 HDMIs and three USBs. Solely one of many HDMIs is formally labelled as 2.1, and might deal with 8K at 60Hz and 4K at 120Hz. It’s a pity there aren’t at the least two such HDMIs provided that each the Sony PS5 and Xbox Collection X consoles could have HDMI 2.1 outputs.
Speaking of gaming, Samsung has severely upped its enchantment to players. For starters, enter lag with Sport mode energetic has been decreased to simply 10ms. The bottom determine I’ve seen on a TV to this point. There’s additionally a helpful choice to name in some mild movement processing whereas gaming that will increase enter lag to round 27ms, however delivers a way more comfy look to video games the place you don’t want hair-trigger reflexes. Plus, there’s help for variable refresh charges through the FreeSync platform, and Auto Sport Mode activation when a recreation supply is detected.
Do observe that the Sport mode turns off most of the QE75Q950TS’s backlight controls, lowering black ranges and growing backlight blooming.
Lastly on the function entrance, it’s good to seek out help off the bat this yr for eARC. Which suggests the HDMIs will cross Dolby Atmos or DTS:X lossless sound to exterior audio gadgets.
Arrange
- Default is an efficient mode to start out with
- Dynamic needs to be prevented
- Film mode tracks carefully with mastering requirements
Time was when organising a Samsung TV was an advanced job, due to the model’s behavior of utilizing actually unhelpful presets. This has largely been mounted on the QE75Q950TS.
There are many audio system on the Samsung QE75Q950TS’s rear, too.
The Customary default mode is a good start line for typical front room use, offering sufficient brightness and distinction to counter ambient mild. It additionally will get extra worth from the display screen’s 8K sharpness and QLED (Quantum Dot-based) color options.
Film mode is for individuals who desire a image that tracks near the established mastering requirements. This reins in a lot of the expertise that arguably makes the QE75Q950TS’s image so spectacular, nevertheless it’s way more pleasurable and efficient than any of Samsung’s earlier Film modes particularly because it removes the earlier yellowish tint.
The Pure preset provides you but a 3rd eminently watchable choice proper out of the field. This pushes color more durable than the opposite two helpful modes, however retains brightness ranges low versus the Customary setting. In doing so, it gives an attention-grabbing mid-point between Customary and Film.
The Dynamic mode is greatest prevented since whereas it’s initially spectacular, you quickly begin to see that it causes all kinds of distracting issues. And, fairly presumably, sunburn.
Samsung has dramatically improved its fundamental movement dealing with this yr, so most customers received’t really feel the necessity to activate Samsung’s movement processing. In case you do need to scale back judder with 24 frames-per-second motion pictures, although, select Customized and set judder and blur discount to lower than 5.
Noise discount is greatest left off for all native 8K and good high quality 4K sources. It may be helpful, although, for comparatively grubby trying 4K and grainy HD sources.
Usually I’d advocate tinkering round with a mixture of the Distinction Enhancer and Native dimming options on Samsung’s TVs. With the QE75Q950TS, although, the presets talked about above really feel fairly nicely tuned. And the additional backlight energy management system makes it tougher to holding every part in steadiness if you happen to begin altering issues round.
One final tip could be to activate both Samsung’s Clever or Amplify audio settings to make the sound a lot fuller.
Image high quality
- Meets the CTA’s standards for actual 8K image high quality
- Spectacular upscaling
- Wealthy and vibrant colors
Samsung’s new processor and backlight system have a way more important affect on image high quality than I’d anticipated. Particularly whenever you additionally add within the obvious use of a radically completely different panel construction.
This construction reveals itself as quickly as you clock how extremely sharp and detailed the QE75Q950TS’s photos look in contrast with Samsung’s 2019 8K TVs. Edges look cleaner, textures look extra refined, and there’s extra depth of discipline. The entire picture simply appears extra 8K even whenever you’re watching native 8K content material (revealing that we’re not simply speaking right here about the advantages of Samsung’s improved upscaling system).
Be aware that the native 8K content material used for this evaluate was predominantly the identical ‘nature’ footage (performed from USB) that’s additionally accessible in 4K on the Spears & Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark 4K Blu-ray. This – like virtually all 8K content material proper now – is just not at present accessible to most people.
In case you rise up shut and private to the display screen to attempt to clarify the improved sense of sharpness and element, you’ll see that the marginally odd horizontal line construction noticeable in Samsung’s 2019 8K screens has been changed by a a lot cleaner, extra outlined, extra typical particular person sq. pixel construction. This ends in sharper trying edges, and extra color and pixel definition.
Additionally, crucially, it sees the QE75Q950TS assembly the definition of a ‘actual 8K’ TV as outlined by the Shopper Expertise Affiliation within the US. One thing final yr’s Samsung 8K TVs didn’t.
The brains behind the sweetness.
There may be, although, a trade-off for this decision increase: decreased viewing angles. The bizarre construction of the 2019 panels was created to ‘remedy’ LCD’s conventional viewing angle limitations. So strolling this construction again a bit sees the QE75Q950TS dropping a bit of distinction when your viewing angle will get to round 35 levels or extra.
Color, although, retains a lot of its richness from large viewing angles, and total the steadiness Samsung has now struck between higher decision and viewing angles appears to be a really smart compromise.
Samsung’s new upscaling engine, in the meantime, delivers a potent enchancment over any earlier upscaling answer I’ve seen. Element ranges with upscaled 4K photos are phenomenal, delivering photos that look clearly sharper and extra textured than they ever have even on the most effective native 4K TVs.
The Deep Studying part of Samsung’s newest processor is very evident over extraordinarily complicated picture areas. Deep Studying requires a lot energy and analysis to work that it’s just about unimaginable for any shopper TV now to use Deep Studying throughout all the picture. As a substitute, Samsung reserves it only for essentially the most closely textured, finely detailed components of the image. Nevertheless it nonetheless seems to make an unimaginable distinction to the all-round upscaled image high quality, bringing out particulars in 4K sources that I swear I’d by no means felt conscious of earlier than.
It does this, too, with out inflicting or exaggerating video noise. Quite the opposite, its processing is uncannily good at having the ability to inform the distinction between undesirable noise, pure grain, and precise image element.
Even HD sources are upscaled to the QE75Q950TS’s native 8K pixel rely so nicely that you simply get an image that’s truly watch slightly than one thing you simply must tolerate till you will get again to at the least a 4K supply once more.
The Samsung QE75Q950TS sits flat when held on a wall, however leans again barely on its desktop stand.
This ground-breaking upscaling efficiency is vital, given most of us will nonetheless spend our time compelled to observe 4K and HD.
The brand new backlight system has a transformational affect on image high quality, too. Black ranges get deeper than they did on final yr’s Samsung 8K TVs, for starters, but on the similar time sometimes present way more shadow element in darkish areas.
Even higher, black ranges look much more even throughout the display screen. There’s no clouding, even in essentially the most excessive corners or edges. And blooming, the place low-level mild ‘spillage’ spreads out round stand-out vibrant picture components, can also be just about fully eliminated. A minimum of if you happen to’re not watching from an angle. It is a genuinely outstanding achievement for such a vibrant LCD TV.
That brightness isn’t truly any greater than that of 2019’s Samsung 8K TVs. The dynamic mode measures a severely punchy 3,100 nits when utilizing a white HDR window that covers 10% of the display screen. However this drops to 1700 nits for the Customary mode, 1600 nits in Film mode, and 1149 nits in Pure mode.
Whereas the QE75Q950TS doesn’t measure considerably brighter than the Q950Rs from final yr, although, its photos do look punchier. That is for 2 causes. First, the brand new backlight energy administration allows the display screen to make small, stand-out vibrant components of in any other case darkish photos retain extra brightness than they did on final yr’s Samsung TVs. Second, this further brightness for small mild objects is achieved with out clouds of extraneous mild showing round them.
The additional sense of depth and consistency the brand new degree of native mild management provides to darkish HDR scenes can’t be overstated. It virtually miraculously tackles one in every of LCD expertise’s thorniest points – and targets one in every of OLED expertise’s conventional strengths. All whereas hitting total greater brightness ranges than OLED can.
The Samsung QE75Q950TS unlocks extra of the potential of its Quantum Dot-based color system than final yr’s Q950Rs did, too. Saturations with HDR content material are extra vibrant, particularly within the brightest image areas. And this further richness helps HDR/large color photos look extra constantly balanced and pure. Particularly in relation to pores and skin tones.
On condition that color efficiency slipped again barely with final yr’s Q950Rs from Samsung’s first era of 8K TVs, I assume that the improved color is once more related to the shift again to a extra conventional panel design for the 2020 fashions.
Whereas I’ve centered primarily on HDR efficiency up to now, provided that that is very a lot what the TV is designed for, it additionally adapts itself excellently to SDR. Colors are toned down with out dropping steadiness or naturalism, and the set nonetheless finds loads of nuance and subtlety in SDR’s way more restricted mild vary.
The Customary preset manages to offer SDR a nice distinction and brightness ‘elevate’ I feel many customers will take pleasure in as soon as they’ve been spoiled by the TV’s HDR heroics. However the Film mode is, once more, way more profitable as an ‘correct’ SDR setting out of the field than it has been with earlier Samsung TV generations.
The one important issues I may discover with the QE75Q950TS’s photos have been some backlight flickering and really localised areas of misplaced shadow element. These issues actually do solely seem extraordinarily not often, although, and are restricted to infamously difficult-to-show darkish scenes. However the backlight system is so sometimes immaculate that when the occasional errors do seem, they do type of leap out at you.
Samsung believes it will likely be in a position to type even these small niggles out through a future firmware replace. However I might want to see that replace in motion myself earlier than I can touch upon how profitable it’s.
Audio high quality
- Impressively far-ranging soundstage
- Exact placement of results
- Lacks ahead projection
Turning to the QE75Q950TS’s progressive audio system, in some ways, it really works brilliantly. Its means to place sound on the display screen in precisely the appropriate place to accompany the article within the image that’s making the sound is in contrast to something I’ve heard earlier than. Not even with Sony’s Acoustic Floor TVs. It manages to use this accuracy to a number of onscreen objects directly, too, whereas concurrently producing an impressively far-ranging soundstage. This soundstage extends up in addition to left and proper, too.
The exact placement of so many sound results brings out tons of detailing in even dense mixes, too. And luckily, vocals stay clear and distinct regardless of the specificity and emphasis given to so many different sound results.
There may be, although, room for enchancment with future OTS+ generations. First, when listening to music, the processing tends to depart vocal tracks sounding a bit of too dislocated from different combine components. Second, whereas the sound spreads out sideways from the display screen, it lacks ahead projection. This implies it doesn’t fill the room and might sound a bit oblique and muted when pushed onerous. As famous within the arrange part, although, the TV’s Clever and Amplify sound choices each create a a lot fuller, louder sound.
You can purchase it if…
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You want vibrant HDR efficiency.
So if you happen to like the additional brightness LCD can provide you for HDR viewing, that just about makes it essentially the most all-round engaging TV ever, full cease.
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You’re seeking to future-proof your TV
The Q950TS has all of the options that make it a viable alternative if you happen to’re seeking to get into 8K on the floor flooring.
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You’re seeking to recreation in 8K
Whereas the brand new PlayStation and Xbox can’t strictly output in 8K, the Q950TS upscaling talents will give impression of what it will likely be like
You shouldn’t purchase it if…
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You don’t have £7999 within the piggy financial institution
Its £7,999 worth will put it past the monetary attain of many households.
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75-inch TV is simply too large in your room
If a 75-inch set is an excessive amount of, you’ll both have to take a look at a smaller 65-inch display screen, the place the affect of 8K shall be decreased (although not, I’d say, rendered completely redundant)
