Samsung S95D OLED TV Review | The Most Versatile OLED TV?
Summary
TLDRTech reviewer Caleb Denison presents a detailed review of Samsung's 2024 flagship QD OLED TV, the S95D, addressing its controversial anti-glare technology, which has sparked debates among enthusiasts. He discusses the TV's performance in various lighting conditions, noting its impressive color accuracy, brightness, and audio system. Denison also covers the TV's smart features, remote design, and his personal preferences, concluding that despite some trade-offs, the S95D is a great choice for bright rooms and offers an enjoyable viewing experience.
Takeaways
- 🎥 The video is sponsored by Reolink and features a review of the Samsung S95D QD OLED TV, which has generated controversy among TV enthusiasts.
- 📺 The Samsung S95D is Samsung's flagship OLED TV for 2024 and has a unique anti-glare/anti-reflective technology that has sparked debate.
- 🌞 The TV is designed to perform well in bright rooms with a lot of light, utilizing both high brightness and the anti-glare feature to disperse ambient light.
- 🌈 The S95D uses QD OLED technology, which allows for higher color purity, a wider color gamut, and better saturation in bright colors.
- 🔗 The TV comes with Samsung's One Connect box for a single cable connection, which is convenient but may not suit everyone's needs.
- 🔊 The S95D has a rear-firing speaker system with base transducers that works best when the TV is close to a wall for optimal sound reflection.
- 👎 The reviewer is not a fan of Samsung's Tizen Smart TV operating system, finding it less user-friendly compared to Apple TV.
- 🌡️ The TV's peak brightness is impressive, but it throttles after about 20 seconds under intense test conditions, which can cause the TV to heat up.
- 📐 The S95D's picture quality is generally praised, with excellent color accuracy and grayscale performance, but may not be as inky black as traditional OLEDs in bright rooms.
- 🎮 While the reviewer is not a gaming expert, they mention that the TV's game mode and dashboard are impressive, suggesting it could be a good gaming TV.
- 🙌 The review concludes that the Samsung S95D is a great choice for many consumers, especially in bright rooms, despite its controversial anti-glare feature.
Q & A
What is the main controversial feature of the Samsung S95D QD OLED TV?
-The main controversial feature of the Samsung S95D QD OLED TV is its anti-glare/anti-reflective technology, which some describe as a matte coating or matte finish. This technology is designed to prevent the TV screen from looking like a dark mirror, especially in well-lit rooms.
How does the anti-glare technology on the Samsung S95D affect the viewing experience?
-The anti-glare technology on the Samsung S95D spreads light over a large area of the screen surface, reducing reflections and making the TV more watchable in bright rooms. However, it also disperses ambient light, which some enthusiasts prefer to have concentrated in one part of the screen for better contrast.
What are the advantages of the QD OLED technology in the Samsung S95D?
-QD OLED technology in the Samsung S95D allows for higher color purity, a slightly wider color gamut, and better saturation in very bright colors compared to traditional WRGB OLED TVs. This results in stunning and accurate color reproduction.
How does the Samsung S95D perform in terms of brightness?
-The Samsung S95D can achieve about 200 nits in SDR filmmaker mode and around 1,450 nits from a 10% and 5% white window in HDR. However, it may not maintain peak brightness when the entire screen is lit up, and it throttles brightness after about 20 seconds with an intense test pattern.
What is the Samsung One Connect box and how does it benefit the user?
-The Samsung One Connect box allows for a single cable connection to the TV, simplifying setup and reducing clutter. It is advantageous for those who can hide the box, but it may not always be a big help to everyone.
How does the audio system of the Samsung S95D perform?
-The Samsung S95D has rear-firing speakers with panels lining the edges and eight base transducers. This design works best when the TV is wall-mounted or placed close to the wall, as it relies on the reflection of audio waves to sound its best.
What are the reviewer's thoughts on Samsung's Tizen Smart TV operating system?
-The reviewer is not a big fan of Samsung's Tizen Smart TV operating system, mainly because it takes too many clicks to access picture settings. However, they acknowledge that Tizen is snappy, with quick boot-up times and an immediately usable smart TV interface.
What are the reviewer's impressions of the Samsung S95D's picture quality in different lighting conditions?
-The reviewer found the Samsung S95D to be an excellent TV for bright rooms, with a great picture quality that impressed everyone who saw it. In dim rooms, the TV looked great in about 70 to 75% of the lighting scenarios tested, with inky blacks and outstanding contrast.
How does the Samsung S95D handle motion resolution and gaming?
-The reviewer did not experience any significant issues with motion resolution on the Samsung S95D, despite some reports of a frame skipping effect. The game mode and game dashboard are also praised as being great, though the reviewer does not claim to be an expert on gaming TVs.
What is the reviewer's final verdict on the Samsung S95D QD OLED TV?
-The reviewer concludes that the Samsung S95D is an excellent TV that is likely to be popular among consumers. While it may not be the reference grade OLED TV of 2024, it offers a beautiful picture and a great viewing experience, especially in bright rooms.
Outlines
📺 Samsung S95D QD OLED TV Review Introduction
The script opens with the acknowledgment of Reolink's sponsorship and introduces the Samsung S95D QD OLED TV as the central subject of the video. Caleb Denison, the tech reviewer, sets the stage for what is anticipated to be a controversial review due to the strong reactions the TV has garnered. The primary focus is on the TV's anti-glare/anti-reflective technology, which has sparked debate among enthusiasts. Denison clarifies that this feature is not a matte finish and discusses Samsung's intention to create an OLED TV that performs well in bright rooms. The script also mentions the TV's bright OLED capabilities and the unique approach to managing ambient light reflections.
🎨 Samsung S95D's Color Performance and Audio System
This paragraph delves into the S95D's color performance, highlighting its QD OLED technology that allows for higher color purity and a wider color gamut. The script discusses the TV's ability to handle reds and the personal preference aspect of color accuracy. It also covers the Samsung one connect box for cable management and the TV's audio system, which relies on rear-firing speakers and base transducers for optimal sound, especially when wall-mounted. Denison shares his experience with Samsung's Dolby Atmos Soundbar, which pairs well with the TV for an immersive audio experience. Additionally, the paragraph touches on the Tizen operating system, the solar rechargeable remote, and the assembly of the TV stand.
🔢 S95D's Technical Measurements and Picture Quality
The script presents a detailed analysis of the S95D's performance in terms of nits, white balance, color accuracy, and grayscale in both SDR and HDR modes. It notes the TV's peak brightness, EOTF tracking, and color gamut measurements, emphasizing the QD OLED technology's contribution to color saturation. The paragraph also addresses the TV's performance under intense test conditions, such as brightness throttling and temperature increase, and mentions the potential for image retention under certain circumstances. The discussion on picture quality includes the impact of the anti-glare treatment on contrast and the overall viewing experience in various lighting conditions.
🏠 Samsung S95D in Real-World Viewing Scenarios
The final paragraph focuses on the real-world viewing experience of the S95D, sharing the reactions of various individuals who have seen the TV, ranging from friends and family to professional videographers. It discusses the TV's performance in both bright and dim rooms, noting the impact of the anti-glare screen on image quality. The script also addresses the motion resolution and the potential for a slight frame skipping effect. The paragraph concludes with the reviewer's overall assessment of the S95D as a reference-grade OLED TV for 2024, acknowledging its strengths and areas for improvement, and calls for Samsung to consider producing a version without the anti-glare treatment to cater to the enthusiast market.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Reolink
💡Samsung S95D QD OLED TV
💡Controversy
💡Anti-glare/Anti-reflective Technology
💡OLED TV
💡QD OLED
💡One Connect Box
💡Dolby Atmos Soundbar
💡Tizen
💡HDR
💡Color Gamut
Highlights
Reolink sponsors a portion of the video, introducing the Samsung S95D QD OLED TV, Samsung's flagship OLED TV for 2024.
The TV has generated controversy, particularly among TV enthusiasts, due to its anti-glare/anti-reflective technology.
The anti-glare technology is not a matte finish but prevents the screen from looking like a dark mirror.
Samsung aimed to create an OLED TV that performs well in brightly lit rooms, addressing typical OLED limitations.
The S95D disperses ambient light to reduce reflections, making it more watchable in bright conditions.
The TV's anti-glare feature has sparked debate among enthusiasts who prefer a more focused reflection.
The S95D is a QD OLED TV, offering higher color purity and a wider color gamut than traditional WRGB OLED TVs.
Samsung's One Connect box allows for a single cable connection, simplifying setup for the TV.
The TV's audio system features rear-firing speakers and base transducers, optimized for wall-mounted setups.
The reviewer prefers using an Apple TV box for a better experience over Samsung's Tizen operating system.
The Samsung solar rechargeable remote is small and convenient but can be easily misplaced.
Reolink Argus 4 Pro is introduced as a 4K all-day color vision battery-powered home security camera.
The S95D's peak brightness is measured at about 1,450 nits in HDR, with excellent color accuracy and grayscale.
The TV's brightness may decrease after about 20 seconds under intense test patterns, causing some image retention.
In dimly lit rooms, the S95D's picture quality is stunning, with inky blacks and outstanding contrast.
The TV's motion resolution and game mode are enjoyable, though the reviewer is not a gaming expert.
The S95D is not the reference grade OLED TV of 2024, but it is an excellent TV that is likely to be popular.
The reviewer calls for Samsung to consider making a version of the S95D without the anti-glare treatment for enthusiasts.
Transcripts
Thanks to Reolink for sponsoring a portion of this video
I have never in all my years as a tech reviewer seen such intense feelings emoted over
a TV that being the case this might be the most controversial TV review I've ever done
I guess that's just how it's going to be are you ready am I ready only one way to find out
welcome back everyone I'm Caleb Denison and this is my review of the Samsung S95D QD OLED
TV Samsung's flagship OLED TV for 2024 and the subject of some controversy albeit mostly among
TV enthusiasts now if you're in the market for a premium TV and you've just come here hoping to
get my take on how well this TV performs worry not I've got you covered however there's just
no reviewing this TV without talking about why it has created something of an uproar in the comments
sections across reviews I mean if you read the comments you'll see what I mean now through an
effort to try to compartmentalize the discussion around this TV's one controversial feature in its
own video I learned well a lot of things chief among them though is that I can't do this TV
review without addressing that one feature again from just about every angle in this review for for
those of you not already aware that uproarious feature to which I'm referring is the S95D's
anti-glare/anti-reflective technology which some like to describe as a matte coating or matte
finish it is not I repeat not a matte finish in the sense that the panel appears to have texture
to it like Samsung's the frame TV does a trick that helps that TV's image really look like art
on canvas no this anti-glare and anti-reflective technology doesn't go that far it does however
keep the TV screen surface from looking like a dark mirror now I think it makes sense that
Samsung would want to offer an OLED TV that could look great in conditions under which OLED
TVs typically suffer namely rooms with a lot of light in them be they natural light sources like
windows with sunlight spilling in or manufactured light sources like bright floor lamps table lamps
overhead lights Etc. part of the solution to that challenge was was to make a bright OLED TV which
Samsung has done here and the other part of that solution was to dissipate ambient light rather
than have it direct reflected by ditching the mirrorlike effect coming on OLED TVs the result is
the following whether the light source is direct and concentrated like a bright light bulb or sun
flooded window sitting right behind you or more generalized room filling light the S95D spreads
that light light out over a large amount of screen surface area the result of that effort is that
instead of getting a reflection in one part of the screen thereby harshing a specific section of the
picture that you're trying to see it disperses that light over a wide area thus having a more
gentle less invasive effect but it occurs over most of the screen my guess is that most folks
will prefer a more diffused light over a more intense focused reflection but from the comments
I've been reading about this TV many enthusiasts would prefer the opposite to have just one part
of the screen impacted leaving the rest of the screen looking better on balance now as many of
you correctly pointed out in that anti-glare video I didn't talk about how the TV looked in those dim
light controlled conditions and perhaps that was a mistake so please forgive me I wanted to talk
about the S95D's merits as a bright-room TV on its own figure and I would and I will I'm about to get
to the dim or dark room performance in this very review video and I hope you're going to get what
you need out of this review video Lord knows I'm going to do my best because I have indeed lost
sleep putting this review together so you can bet I'm doing everything I can to get it right so with
my personal opinion that the S95D is going to be a great bright room OLED TV choice for many people
let's talk more generally about its performance and about how it is looked to me over the last few
weeks because due to all kinds of circumstances This TV has ended up as my daily driver so to
speak for a few weeks now before I get into picture quality let's cover some Basics the S95D
is a QD OLED TV which means it can fundamentally produce higher color Purity and a slightly wider
color gamut with better saturation in very bright colors than a WRGB OLED TV does that enhanced
performance is not something so easily seen in a vacuum but if you put this TV next to say an
LG G4 as I will in our next video you can see the difference in some cases especially in the way it
handles Reds whether you like that is going to be up to personal preference but from a measurements
perspective this TV tech does have the ability to produce stunning and accurate color the S95D
comes with Samsung's one connect box which longed the bane of many custom installation professionals
does allow a single cable connection to the TV which can be advantageous so long as you can
hide the one connect box and I will freely admit that I've been a fan of the one connect box for
some time and I will now also freely admit that it isn't always a big help to everyone but that's
how this TV comes so there it is a quick word about the TV's audio system the speakers are rear
firing you got panels of speakers lining the edges here and you have eight of these base transducers
I think this kind of speaker system design is going to work best if this TV is wall mounted
I have heard it that way and it is impressive but it can also work well if the TV is stand mounted
too it just helps if the TV is placed in close proximity to the wall behind it because it relies
a great deal on reflection of the Audio Waves to sound its best unfortunately for me I have sound
absorbing slat wall material in the studio here so I did not get the best sound out of this TV
fortunately for me though I still have Samsung's flagship Dolby Atmos Soundbar which remains one
of the best Soundbar systems you can buy and it along with Samsung's Q Symphony sound utilizing
the TV speakers as enhancement provides one hell of an Atmos cinematic experience I mean really
it's an awesome pairing guys lest you think I'm just going to Fanboy all over this TV I am not
I'm not the biggest fan of Tizen Samsung Smart TV operating system now to be fair some of the
the reason I don't care for it is because it takes too many clicks to get to picture settings and
such which is a problem suffered more by reviewers than by the average user also to be fair Tizen
is pretty freaking Snappy I mean the TV boots up really quickly when you turn it on and the smart
TV interface is immediately usable which is more than I can say for the experience you get from the
LG G4 running web OS But ultimately I'm going to and I did put an Apple TV box on this thing even
if the TV does not support Dolby Vision I just prefer the experience on the Apple TV
over what's built into Samsung's TVs which sorry Samsung that's just how it is for me Samsung solar
rechargeable remote is kind of small but never having to worry about batteries not taking up a
huge amount of space anywhere that's pretty great but also a little easier to misplace and not back
lit though they're really aren't that many buttons to try to keep track of anyway oh one more thing I
don't enjoy assembling the stand that comes with this TV but there's no denying that once you've
jumped through those hurdles it is extremely solid and supports the TV really well oddly enough
though it does have just the slightest little lean back at least this test unit does introducing the
Reolink Argus 4 Pro built as the world's first 4K all day color vision battery powered home
security camera with blind spot free 180° view a lot of the innovation in this security camera l
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but also the lens's large f1.0 aperture combined with an oversized sensor allow The Argus 4 Pro
to deliver all day color fidelity and super crisp night vision without any need for infrared lights
which dramatically improves battery life a battery which by the way can be charged from 0 to 100%
capacity in as little as 10 minutes it's got Wi-Fi six on board flexible and easy installation and
setup Reolinks great smart detection with accurate alerts diverse local video storage and anywhere
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charges it but Digital Trends viewers can save 10% by using this code if you order between June
10 and June 16th plus Reolink has its 15th anniversary sale running June 177 through June
23 so you can save on all of real link great gear don't miss out on the Argus 4 Pro thanks again to
Reolink for sponsoring this portion of our video now I've got some surprises for you in a segment
I call Numbers for Nit Nerds the S95D measured really well I did need to change the color temp
setting in filmmaker mode to warm two to get the best white balance so I suggest you do the same
if you want the most accurate picture but in SDR filmmaker mode I got about 200 nits and of course
you can seriously brighten that up up if you want right around 200 should be pretty accurate
for SDR content white balance is acceptable a little heavy on the blue so a bit cool but
no outrageous errors as you can see in this chart color accuracy was excellent too and grayscale on
the whole was quite good in HDR again dark room for measuring I got about 1,450 nits from a 10%
and 5% white window that's a little lower than some of the of the measurements I've seen from
other Publications but more on that in a moment EOTF tracking was solid top to bottom under normal
testing conditions HDR color accuracy was great and the gray scale was very good if not the best
we've seen from an OLED TV color gamut in HDR was outstanding 100% of DCI P3 and about 90% of
bt2020 and the color volume was super impressive even the brightest colors remain really saturated
that's the QD OLED Tech at work filmmaker mode in both SDR and HDR put up great results can be
refined even more with a professional calibration if you want as well another thing I noticed is
that when testing this TV's Peak brightness yeah the TV maxes out its capabilities when it sees a
test pattern window but when the whole screen is lit up doing its thing I don't think you're going
to be getting 1,400 nit Peak highlights that's actually pretty typical also the TV does throttle
the brightness after about 20 seconds with an excruciating test pattern like this you can see
it dimming aggressively if you push it too hard and you can see that it does get hot when pushed
hard I measured a temperature increase of about 50° fah before the TV started to force a dimming
down and this intense test window also caused a bit of image retention though it goes away pretty
quickly and again real content is is not likely to cause this this is a torture test but if you watch
say hockey with the TV set to be the brightest it can be so the APL is super high and you pause
it or the image lingers a bit you might catch a little auto brightness limiter coming in briefly
until the picture starts moving again for the more Discerning viewers among you there are a couple of
things to consider when the lights are up really up you may notice that black areas aren't as Inky
as old TVs made with WRGB type OLED panels frankly it's never bothered me once the screen is lit up
with content the contrast is still so good that I can look past large sads of dark areas not being
as Inky the advantage of pixel level dimming is still quite evident making it a more contrasty
picture on the whole than most LCD based TVs with backlights now for my take on this TV's picture
quality let me start with a little summary that I think is going to help a lot of you
most of you out every single person I have brought into this room to see This TV has been
nothing short of Gob smacked just smacked all up in their Gob at how gorgeous the picture quality
is I brought in friends family neighbors and professional videographers and Imaging
Professionals and they all every single one of them were like damn that TV looks amazing with
the lights on in total darkness everyone saids says this TV is just straight fire I think that
fairly represents what most folks are going to think of this TV the S95D tends to be a
bit brighter than what's considered accurate in SDR even in its filmmaker mode picture preset
and then of course you can really juice up the brightness by picking a brighter picture mode
or just turning up the OLED light level Samsung has also introduced a new color booster setting
which again strays from accuracy by juicing up color saturation but that's a look that
a lot of folks like so it's nice to have the option available and as a bonus it doesn't just
completely toss accuracy to the wind it's just a little extra oomph that is likely to Delight a lot
of viewers in really bright rooms the anti-glare treatment makes the image more watchable than with
glossy screens I think but there's no denying that the TV will lose some of its contrast as the light
is scattered across the screen but I maintain that in harsh lighting conditions this is still
the most watchable OLED TV on the market in dim rooms with I'd say about 70 to 75% of the lighting
scenarios that I tried that's moving light sources around to various places in the room and varying
the intensity by three different levels I found the s905d looked great we'll investigate how it
looks compared to an OLED TV like the LG G4 In the comparison video which I'm doing next but blacks
looked Inky contrast was outstanding and guys I'm telling you that image has luster is that luster
slightly marginally less than competing glossy OLED TVs yes it is observable in a comparison but
in isolation guys I think the S95D looks excellent on the whole in most scenarios it may not be the
brightest OLED TV on average I think that award will have to go to the lg4 but it is more than
sufficiently bright for dim room applications HDR highlights have pop colors are bright and well
saturated more to the point most of the time I watched this TV I did not see an obvious hazy
smearing effect even though the measurements show objectively that it is happening you know what
else I'm going to keep watching and testing but the motion resolution on this TV hasn't bothered
me yet I mean I'm about 3 weeks into watching this TV and I've just enjoyed it a bunch I do
think it may be doing a weird frame skipping thing because there have been a couple of times
I noticed a weird it's almost like a skip in the video content but that hasn't happened off enough
for me to say guys we have a problem and honestly it could be streaming content that's doing it the
game mode on this TV the picture may be a little over brightened but again it's super enjoyable
on balance y'all know I'm not a big gamer and I'm not going to pretend to be qualified to say that
it is an excellent gaming TV but I'll say I'll be surprised if more gaming Savvy reviewers end
up marking it down for something I think the game mode and game Dash dashboard is pretty
freaking great so is the S95D the reference grade OLED TV of 2024 no is this TV going to
summarily win shootout matches with other OLED TVs under the most Ardent of expert scrutiny probably
not but is it an excellent TV that is likely to land in more homes than other similarly priced
OLED TVs yeah I think it will look guys we're talking about Samsung's flagship QD OLED TV here
it starts at a baseline of awesome after that the scrutiny has to go deep to find its flaws
and I'll do my best to show you those when I put this TV against the G4 and perhaps some other
OLED TVs on the whole though it is beautiful I I think it's yummy I think a lot of you really
want me to admit that I was wrong about this TV because I said I was willing to be proved wrong
so how about I meet you halfway I was wrong if I ever said that the anti-glare screen on this
TV was going to be virtually indistinguishable from a glossy OLED TV in most conditions in a
totally dark room I think most people would have a hard time identifying it but when light is
involved in the room you can see a difference if you have a Keen Eye which several of you awesome
nit nerds out there do have so I admit it the anti-glare screen does visibly alter the image
in many different viewing scenarios with that said I stand by my take that the anti-glare is is a net
positive for most situations and it's going to be a benefit to the most amount of customers still I
hear you guys out there who want an S95D without this particular anti-glare treatment and I agree
with you on this point I have a certain level of influence in this market and not only do I have
all of you to thank for that but I agree with you that the influence comes with a certain level of
responsibility so I want you and I especially want the decision makers at Samsung to hear me loud and
clear on this Samsung great job making an OLED TV that will serve an audience that hasn't been
served before keep making a TV like this however there is a voracious knit nerd fan base out there
that for their enthusiastic engagement in forums and comment sections and through their purchasing
power deserves credit for helping to propel your brand and has influence on the sales of your
products those folks want to Flagship QD OLED TV from Samsung with the one connect box and all the
other cool stuff with a more traditional screen I think you should give it to them I know you
probably can't just wave a magic wand and whip up a new production line or convert an existing one
I realize that the ROI on such a move is probably not going to pay immediate financial dividends and
I realize that we may not see such fan service from you until the 2025 product year but look
the fans want it so to whatever degree I can lend weight to that ask I'm doing it here and I'll be
doing it face to face the next time we meet that's my review I hope you got what you needed out of it
I hope you know I put more heart and soul into this review than I have any other in a long time
I did it for you and I appreciate you thanks so much for watching everyone let me know what you
think down in the comments I know you will be nice if you can but be authentic above all else
I hope to see you on the next one and until then here's two other videos I think you might like
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