I lived with Samsung’s S95D QD-OLED TV for a week and it’s a game changer
Despite being in its relative infancy by AV technology standards, Samsung’s Quantum Dot OLED panels are seriously shaking up the already complicated world of TV. The arrival of the first few generations of this pure RGB approach to self-emitting OLED screen technology has already forced its LCD and traditional WRGB OLED rivals (with their extra white element) to improve their games at unprecedented speeds.
But having recently spent a few days with Samsung’s 2024 flagship S95D QD-OLED range, I’d say it threatens to push the TV envelope to places other current TV technologies can’t currently go. From what I’ve seen so far, it’s fair to say that Samsung will continue to shake up the best TVs with its next generation of QD-OLEDs.
Samsung’s S95D takes clarity to a whole new level
The biggest reason I say this is for clarity. The first QD-OLED TVs from a few years ago threatened to shake things up in this area, but the S95D takes things to a whole new level by achieving light peaks on a 10% white HDR test window – not a measly 2% . – of a fraction below 1800 nits.
The 2% measurement can also go up to 2144 nits, but it’s the 10% one that really matters I’d say, as it means the 65S95D is capable of delivering unprecedented amounts of brightness for OLED technology for a very wide range of high resolutions. dynamic range images. To put some perspective on this, the S95D’s predecessor, the Samsung S95C, and LG’s G3 OLED TV with its new-for-2023 microlens array technology both topped out at around 1400 nits on a 10% HDR window.
Achieving a brightness leap as extreme as the S95D’s in one generation has a profound impact on image quality, especially since all that extra light comes with a substantial upgrade in image processing that Samsung is deploying to get the most out of its latest QD to get. -OLED panel.
Inside Samsung’s Neo Quantum Processor 4K brain
The S95D’s boldly named (not) Neo Quantum Processor 4K brain does a much better job of combining the set’s expansive brightness with the exceptional pure RGB color potential of QD-OLED than its predecessor, delivering even more color volume and vibrancy without succumbing to occasional color bleeding. or flattened, cartoonish tones – even in Game mode – that could occasionally creep into the S95C’s visuals.
The resulting images look nothing short of radiant in the S95D’s standard and much-improved movie frame presets. Especially since, thanks to the self-emitting nature of OLED, small bright highlights in otherwise dark areas emerge without sacrificing their brightness and intensity and without the effects of object dimming or backlighting that you would expect with such picture content displayed at premium. LCD screens.
The S95D’s dazzling new brightness has also been found, without any negative impact on the deep blacks that all types of OLED technology are now known for. So all that remarkable new brightness can sit next to all that traditional blackness without any compromise – literally the brightest pixel next to the darkest pixel.
The already strong sharpness that we have come to associate with Samsung’s premium TVs also continues on the S95D. While this is especially true for native 4K sources, using the collective knowledge of two dozen neural networks to develop the S95D’s video processing system has also helped improve the upscaling of sub-4K sources over everything else. what I’ve ever done. seen already.
Samsung’s new anti-reflective filter is a highlight
The S95D’s handling of dark scenes is further enhanced by the on-screen application of a surprisingly effective anti-glare filter. This absorbs reflections from your room, whether from common ‘ambient’ objects or powerful direct light sources, uncannily well, removing almost all traces of the well-known reflection ‘barriers’ to immersion in dark scenes that you would normally expect to see while watching TV. a bright room. The effect feels like you’re looking at a matte painting instead of the usual TV ‘glass’.
There are some negative side effects to this filter. Black colors can take on a slightly grayer appearance in light rooms (also slightly changing color tones in dark areas) than in dark rooms, and it seemed to me as if there was a hint of faint bloom around the most prominent rooms. bright objects at times I don’t remember seeing on previous QD-OLED TVs. These issues are honestly very small prices to pay, but for a filter that I think will benefit the all-round viewing experience of the vast majority of homes the S95D could end up in.
The sound quality is not a complete slam dunk
The sound quality of the Samsung S95D is not as high as the image performance, it must be said. As we often find with Samsung’s high-end TVs, the sound feels a bit stuck behind the screen rather than projecting forward, and can’t reach the kind of room-filling volumes that such bold, cinematic images deserve.
Although Samsung’s object tracking sound system does a good job of making sound effects come from the right part of the screen. Even tracking multiple noisy objects simultaneously as they move through the frame is effective.
Has QD-OLED resolved the LCD vs. OLED debate?
Then there’s the premium LCD TV market to consider. The traditional argument for having both premium LCD TVs and the best OLED TVs on the market is that premium LCD TVs can deliver much more brightness than OLED TVs, making them potentially the better choice for bright rooms. Meanwhile, OLED TVs can offer better local contrast and light controls at the pixel level, making them better suited for dark home theater rooms. But with the S95D entering brightness territory that even many premium LCD TVs will struggle to beat or even match, are premium LCD TVs suddenly running out of space?
Samsung’s own upcoming QN95D flagship 4K LCD TVs could of course have something to say about this when they appear. As does the intriguing new mini-LED screen technology Sony unveiled at this year’s CES, along with the brand’s reports of far more extreme brightness than even the S95D’s 1,800 nits on a 10% window required for possible future creation of HDR content. Even the S95D’s brightness boost runs out compared to premium LCD technologies when it comes to displaying bright full-screen images.
However, the S95D’s status as an even more spectacular pioneer of OLED brightness than we expected has real potential to spark some significant changes in the TV technology landscape in the coming months and years. Changes that will hopefully ultimately benefit us all.