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We not too long ago had the chance to spend a day with Samsung’s 2024 TV choices, in addition to its up to date HW-990D soundbar and new Music Body audio system. General, the 2024 lineup isn’t a revolution from the 2023 choices, however the firm has positioned a transparent affect on AI capabilities for options like upscaling and analyzing audio in an effort to emphasize dialog so it’s simpler to listen to by way of ambient noise.
To check the TVs to the very best of our capacity, we spent a while streaming content material with the built-in Tizen OS good TV apps, together with Netflix and different fashionable streaming providers. We additionally used 4K Blu-ray copies of Alien and Blade Runner 2049 to check Extremely HD playback.
Listed below are some first impressions in regards to the new gear, with extra in-depth evaluations to come back down the road:
S95D OLED 4K TV
LG has traditionally dominated the OLED phase of the TV market, however Samsung took an enormous swing with final 12 months’s S90C. It supplied all of the poppy distinction and deep black ranges you’d anticipate from an OLED, including amplified brightness to make it extra watchable in a vivid room. Now, Samsung has launched its successor, and it’s making much more strides to battle again in opposition to vivid environments.
The S95D employs a formidable glare-resistant matte coating to cut back reflections that may damage your watching expertise. Glare may be particularly problematic for OLEDs since they usually can’t obtain the identical brightness ranges QLEDs and even typical LEDs present. Throughout our time with the S95C, we had been very impressed with the brightness, colour gamut, and anti-reflective properties. Shining a lamp straight on the display screen from only a few toes away created a uninteresting blob of illumination reasonably than a transparent picture of the lamp or a well-defined specular spotlight (a vivid gentle supply reflecting straight again on the viewer from inside the body).
The demo room the place we watched the TV had ample ambient gentle, however we might nonetheless clearly make out particulars in darkish scenes from most angles. The Pantone-validated display screen predictably excels with the lights off, however the daylight efficiency was really spectacular. That doesn’t come as an excessive amount of of a shock as Samsung has been honing its anti-glare display screen tech for years with its design-oriented Frame-series TVs.
We spent a lot of the demo watching 4K Blu-ray content material in Cinema mode. And whereas that’s our most popular mode for many content material, the general image does profit from a bit little bit of added brightness. In the event you’re blacking out your room utterly, Cinema mode could also be superb, however these darkish OLED blacks everybody loves a lot can nonetheless get a bit too black with no little tweaking.
General, we had been very impressed with the S95C, and the S95D looks as if a really worthy successor. It maintains the gaming-friendly “Movement Xcelerator” 144Hz most refresh price with 2.0ms lag (solely out there in particular modes); Samsung’s good TV options; assist for HDR10, HDR10+ (adaptive and gaming), and hybrid log gamma (HLG) HDR profiles (however nonetheless no Dolby Imaginative and prescient on any Samsung units); and really quick upscaling because of the brand new NQ4 AI Gen2 Processor.
It’s out there in 55-, 65-, and 77-inch fashions and is currently up for pre-order.
QN900D Neo QLED 8K TV
Whereas the OLED TV is flashy, the QN900D 8K TV is Samsung’s true flagship and affords the top-end bells and whistles you’d anticipate. Samsung is touting its new AI-based upscaling powered by the NQ8 AI Gen3 Processor. Upscaling acumen is essential on this case because you don’t actually have any native choices for 8K supply materials in the intervening time. You’ll at all times be upscaling it doesn’t matter what you watch.
We received the prospect to take a look at the 65-inch mode, and the 4K Blu-ray content material seems to be spectacular, as you may anticipate. From an acceptable sofa distance (roughly 6 to eight toes), I don’t suppose the common particular person will discover an considerable distinction from a typical 4K show, because of the algorithm-based upscaling, motion-tracking (significantly helpful for sports activities), “Movement Xcelerator” 240Hz refresh price, and Auto HDR (with the identical profiles because the S95D). The picture is vivid, the colours are concurrently vivid and correct, and it gives an general glorious image. Is it overkill for most individuals? Certain. However that’s at all times been a part of a flagship expertise.
The panel itself is likely one of the most spectacular components of the entire expertise. The entire HDMI 2.1 ports, and many others., reside on a distant field related by a single wire, which is one thing Samsung has been doing with a lot of its high-end TVs for some time now. (The S95D above additionally has a “One Join” field.) Because of its flexibility, that makes set up comparatively easy. The panel itself is wildly skinny with a barely noticeable bezel (Samsung calls it the “Infinity Air Design”). In a darkened room, the picture seems to be prefer it’s floating.
Regardless of its diminutive thickness, this flagship TV gives pretty spectacular sound. You’re nonetheless going to desire a soundbar or another residence audio setup to do justice to the picture, however the onboard 6.2.4-channel speaker system does an admirable job proper out of the field. The TV helps Dolby Atmos with its built-in sound system. The directional audio is delicate in comparison with a devoted system, however it’s noticeable in case you’re paying consideration. The TV tracks objects as they transfer throughout the display screen and tweaks the sound output to imitate the motion.
It is available in 65-, 75-, and 85-inch configurations and is currently available for pre-order.
QN90D Neo QLED 4K TV
That is Samsung’s bread-and-butter QLED 4K TV. It eschews 8K however is available in a greater diversity of sizes, together with 43, 50, 55, 65, 75, 85, and an enormous 98 inches.
The backlight contains Quantum Matrix Mini-LED know-how, which permits for hyper-local dimming. It will probably’t fairly attain OLED ranges of distinction, however it does supply significantly extra brightness, which is essential in case you’re battling a number of ambient gentle. I did discover that specular highlights generally trigger a curious crimson, inexperienced, and blue halo impact on the display screen. It’s not an issue in most settings, however it’s noticeable in case you have a light-weight straight close to the TV, particularly in case you’re off the middle axis.
Usually, although, the TV performs excellently. The additional brightness from the Mini-LEDs makes the Filmmaker Mode usable in nearly any lighting scenario. I nonetheless choose a bit little bit of added brightness, however in case you’re in a pitch-dark room with eyes adjusted to the darkish, you may actually respect the subtlety.
The QN90D’s processing {hardware} isn’t as strong because the flagship’s chip, however it doesn’t should be because it’s not on fixed upscaling duties. You do, nonetheless, nonetheless get the AI-powered options. The voice enhancement tech actually does make it simpler to know individuals after they’re talking on-screen. And as soon as once more, the Dolby Atmos efficiency gives noticeable directionality with none additional {hardware}.
We’re wanting ahead to spending extra time with a evaluation unit, throughout which we are able to take a look at it in a greater diversity of settings. If you wish to strive one earlier than we do, each measurement besides the 98-inch is currently available for pre-order.
HW-990D Soundbar
Whereas Samsung’s TVs have obtained noticeable upgrades and enhancements, the corporate’s flagship soundbar for 2024 is comparable in some ways to the 2023 version. However that’s not a foul factor. This celebrated Dolby Atmos soundbar’s hefty hexagonal {hardware} (say that 5 occasions quick) nonetheless delivers 7.1.2 channels when paired with its wi-fi subwoofer. And that channel depend continues to increase to 11.1.4 if you add within the optionally available wi-fi rear satellites with their extra upfiring drivers (the configuration we wholeheartedly advocate).
The soundbar stays 48 inches lengthy (becoming between the width of 55- and 65-inch TVs), 2.7 inches tall, and 5.4 inches deep, so measure your credenza/media stand pre-purchase. Inside that 17-pound enclosure are 15 front-facing, side-firing, and top-mounted drivers in complete. The sub is comparatively slim for its 26 kilos, housing an 8-inch driver with a rear port and a particular acoustic lens. The 2 7-pound satellites, which every require an influence output, share design language with the soundbar’s steel grille. It’s nonetheless a Wi-Fi-enabled setup, with AirPlay 2/Chromecast/TIDAL Join/Spotify Join for community music streaming, in addition to assist for Bluetooth 5.2 for much less advanced-resolution content material. As for the system’s variations, the 990D’s ports at the moment are HDMI 2.1 with 4K 120Hz passthrough and VRR, which is nice for avid gamers.
Simply because the 990D seems to be the identical doesn’t imply it sounds the identical, nonetheless. Because of AI (the buzzword at CES 2024 in January), the 990D has “SpaceFit Sound Professional,” an auto-calibration system that analyzes room environment for optimum response primarily based on the structure of soundbar, satellites, and sub. As well as, a brand new Sport Professional mode guarantees to adapt playback to totally different sport profiles (FPS, racing, RPG, and many others.). Oh, and a professional tip: Be certain the TV is about to correctly passthrough bitstream audio in order that the soundbar can correctly decode it (a setting we needed to tweak on the demo unit after an initially complicated, underwhelming minute).
We didn’t get any gaming in, however we did cycle by way of a number of Dolby Atmos albums (Rage In opposition to the Machine’s self-titled debut a pummeling spotlight), in addition to choose scenes from Blade Runner 2049. There’s a sequence within the movie the place vehicles, flying by way of a violent storm, crash land at a seawall. Components of the motion happen above and under water, that includes immersive, operatic sound design alternating between claustrophobic and crescendo. Our normal takeaway was that the 990D extracted much more intent and influence than the already spectacular 990C. Even when the ambiance was meant to be crushing, there was readability—exact imaging and clear dialogue aided by the Q-Symphony synchronization of sound and on-screen motion. The subwoofer, given a thorough exercise, by no means felt overwhelmed. The general expertise was by no means only a case of all the things being louder; it was a capability to make all the things really feel bigger. From flyovers to drum fills, the 990D deftly rendered a way of spaciousness and dynamic rigidity.
Sound like one thing you’d like to listen to? The HW-990D is obtainable to buy now.
