He’s there ! The Samsung-style OLED TV is finally on the market. We had already had a glimpse of the potential of the Samsung panel… at Sony, the A95K being the first model to use QD-OLED. But this time, it’s the Korean TV division’s mission to make the most of the capabilities of the screen developed by Samsung’s Display division. As a reminder, the QD-OLED is a slightly different OLED from what LG offers insofar as Samsung relies on Quantum Dot (quantum dots) to enhance the brightness of the panel.
In other words, QD OLED is both the promise of brightness of QLED and the assurance of an infinite contrast ratio of OLED, in a word, the best of both worlds. Our first test of a QD-OLED panel, the Sony A95K, turned out to be very interesting without being revolutionary from the image point of view. Does the situation change when Samsung is in charge?
You don’t change a design that wins
Samsung’s first QD-OLED does not benefit from a particular design. It is in line with the brand’s latest productions, namely a clever mix of sobriety, efficiency (on the particularly thin edges of the screen) and quality of finish. Thicker than an LG G2, it will probably be a little less becoming than the latter, if it is hung on a wall. On the other hand, despite its imposing size, it remains relatively “discreet” probably due to a very neutral design, including at the place of the foot. This simple square base in brushed metal is enough to hold the 65-inch diagonal, but limits the addition of a sound bar in front of the 65S95B since it only raises the slab very slightly (7cm).
On the other hand, despite many good points on the design aspect, we can only regret the absence of One Connect, the box dear to Samsung which makes it possible to deport the connectors and to refine the television. The Korean manufacturer seems to want to limit this functionality to its most high-end models, but for a noticeable comeback on OLED and on a television set at nearly 3,000 euros, this One Connect would not have been too much.
QD-OLED vs. OLED, Act II
What will the OLED with Samsung sauce be worth in the end? In terms of TV, the justice of the peace is the image quality and that of the S95B is excellent. That’s it for the balance sheet, now let’s get into the details. This begins with the structure of the sub-pixels of the panel. This is quite surprising for an OLED in that only three colors appear (red, green and blue). There is no white sub-pixel and for good reason, the characteristic of QD-OLED is to use Quantum dots to generate white via blue sub-pixels. As for the result: it is excellent since the S95B displays particularly interesting luminosity data. Thus, our 01 Lab measured the light peak at 995 cd/m2, one of the best values in our comparison. For comparison, in cinema mode, Samsung’s QD-OLED is 7% brighter on average than the OLEDs tested by 01net.com for two years. Finally, OLED obliges, the contrast is infinite.
In terms of color fidelity, the Samsung 65S95B also shows excellent results. The DCI-P3 color ratio boasts an average delta E of 2.59, which is simply excellent, as is the color space coverage (98%). Finally, Samsung’s QD-OLED benefits from excellent viewing angles as well as an anti-reflective system which is still a benchmark.
Finally, in terms of motion compensation and content scaling, the S95B again proves to be very efficient. The new processor on board this model, the Neural Quantum Processor 4K, is a good evolution of last year’s Neo Quantum and even works wonders on Full HD content which is upscaled in a very natural way.
In absolute terms, the performance of Samsung’s QD-OLED on our test bench is very advantageous, but to judge the quality of this television, it should be compared to other OLED models on the one hand and especially to the A95K from Sony which uses the same panel. As often, it is on the ability to decode HDR that we recognize the best TVs. The condition for being efficient in HDR is to be bright. In this game, Samsung is on a par with Sony on the QD-OLED and therefore remains at the level of the best OLEDs on the market. Ultimately, the expected superiority of QD-OLED technology over OLED is not proven, regardless of the manufacturer who tries it. Nevertheless, the S95B is at the level of the best OLEDs on the market, which for a “first” is rather remarkable. On the other hand, we can only deplore that Samsung ignores the Dolby Vision format, which is a shame for a television as effective in HDR.
Interface: Tizen struggling
This is a particularity that the S95B shares with the other Samsung TVs of 2022, unfortunately not the best. The new version of its in-house OS, Tizen 6, is set back from previous iterations. It is neither the ergonomics nor the display that are in question, Tizen has not changed enormously from this point of view, but the overall slowness of the system. Tizen is simply slower than in previous years, no doubt the fault of an interface that has become too busy.
In fact, we deplore the appearance of small latency times when changing menus and some somewhat long loading times, the OS needing additional time to display all the thumbnails. Ultimately, Tizen ended up being as messy as a Google or a Web OS, but it’s now slower than its two competitors.
Video games: Samsung master in the matter
Samsung has become a benchmark in video games for several years. The Korean manufacturer has taken the good habit of taking care of its input lag, of opening up its system to the different protocols used by gamers and even of providing tools to improve in-game performance, thanks to a dedicated mode and a gaming bar of the most appreciable.
Unsurprisingly, the 65S95B holds its own by being on par with its predecessors. Our 01net Lab measured its display delay at just 9 ms, the best value recorded to date (1 ms less than the QE65QN95A). For information, for there to be a lag between the action on the controller and its impact on the screen, an input lag greater than 16 ms is required.
Finally, as on these previous high-end models, the S95B is compatible with 4K 120 Hz (VRR and ALLN) but also FreeSync and G-Sync for use with a PC. Finally, we also find on this QD-OLED the famous gaming bar and all the options dedicated to gaming developed by Samsung in recent years, including the incredible “Dynamic Black Equalizer”. This allows you to degrade the blacks on the screen to improve visibility in dark areas, which are, as everyone knows, the favorite places where enemies will hide. The point: supposedly better performance for the most competitive gamers, no matter if image quality takes a back seat.
The only downside on the game part: the default image quality setting. The original colorimetry of the game mode is somewhat exaggerated and you will have to go through the TV options to find colors that are a little more realistic.
One Remote: solar remote control
If Samsung has sometimes been stingy in terms of connectivity, this is not the case with this S95B. The four HDMI ports are in 2.1 format and allow a speed of up to 48 Gbits / s, or Ultra HD at 120 IPS. One of these four ports is also eARC compatible, which is welcome if the user wishes to associate a soundbar with the television for example. Finally, Samsung does not ignore the classics (Ethernet, optical) and even offers two USB-A sockets for those who wish to use their hard drives and other USB keys. Finally, all that’s missing is a headphone jack to achieve the grand slam in connectivity, too bad.
On the remote control side, Samsung takes the model unveiled last year, a small block rather bare in terms of key and equipped with a solar panel on its rear face. This One Remote remains, in our opinion, the best remote control on the market. Not only is it very easy to use, it only has useful shortcuts, it has a microphone to activate the voice assistants, but it also spares the user the tedious task of thinking about batteries. In short, a reference.
Audio: Sony still has room
Samsung has opted for simplicity on the audio part of its QD-OLED. He has equipped his television with a 2.2.2 system with 10W speakers, two of which face upwards to meet the requirements of Dolby Atmos, and two 10W subwoofers as well. Concretely, if its technical sheet does not make it a terror of sound, the reality is still suitable. In addition to the 60 watts of maximum power, the audio quality is honorable and consistent coverage of the audio spectrum. Ultimately, the audio performance of the S95B is decent but still far from market benchmarks on OLED, Sony and Philips.
Finally, and this is a plus from Samsung, the S95B is compatible with Q-Symphony technology which makes it very easy to combine with the manufacturer’s sound bars.
