If you are in the market for a TV with budget no bar, most salesmen will convince you to splurge on an OLED TV. OLED TVs are great to look at but they are far from perfect – most panels have that blooming effect and everything looks oversaturated. QLED TVs come across as a better alternative for those wanting a great picture quality but backlight control in most sub- ₹1 lakh TVs are far from acceptable. What’s the solution? Samsung has been doing its Neo QLED TVs for a while with mini LED backlighting and in 2022, we have the Samsung Neo QLED 4K TV that refines the solution.
To be precise, we had the Samsung QN95B Neo QLED 65-inch 4K TV, which is technically the flagship grade 4K TV from Samsung. It costs Rs. 276,490 at the moment and takes on the likes of the recently launched Sony Bravia A80K OLED TV. Samsung promises a great deal with the QN95B QLED TV and in the real world, all of that seems to be largely true. If you have the Samsung QN95B under consideration, you should read this before making your decision.
When it comes to TV design, Samsung has been leading the way with some astonishing looking panel. With the Neo QLED 4K TV, Samsung is sticking to its Infinity One design language – the TV looks less like a flat panel TV and more like an artwork frame. Paired with the zero-gap wall mount, it seems as if the Samsung QN95B is stuck to the wall with adhesive tapes! This zero gap design is achieved due to the separate unit that houses all the computing bits and the I/O ports.
Hence, similar to the Frame series of TVs, the Samsung QN95B looks like a picture frame with an amazing silver frame. Turn on the TV and you are likely to be mesmerized by the lack of bezels. You still have all the necessary ports at your disposal – 4x HDMI ports, all of which support 4K input at 144Hz (perfect for PS5 and Xbox Series X owners). One of the ports supports HDMI eARC and CEC. You also get three USB-A ports, a USB-C port for the camera, an Ethernet port, and an optical port. For wireless connections, there’s Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 5.
Most of you must be wondering what the Neo QLED means. In layman’s English, Samsung is simply using a QLED panel with mini LED backlighting technology. Compared to traditional LED backlit QLED TVs, the mini LED panel provides for far better backlight control, which helps to deliver striking contrasts and colours. Does it work?
After pampering my eyes to the Sony Bravia A80K OLED TV, the Samsung QN95B looks slightly more pleasant and better balanced in most types of content. For a QLED TV itself, the panel is able to exhibit splendid colours with great shadow detailing and minimal blooming. I was also surprised to see the OLED rivaling contrasts and the extremely deep blacks – the backlight control is incredible. In HDR10 supported content on platforms such as Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar, the TV put on a great show with splendid colours and nicely balanced contrasts. For the weekend movie nights, the Samsung QN95B has been nothing short of providing a theater experience, especially with the large 65-inch canvas size.
I was also impressed by the motion blur performance – Samsung’s Neural network processing seems to be doing a good job here. The viewing angles are quite wide; a family movie watching session is easier on the Neo QLED. The upscaling performance has been great too – 1080p videos upscaled to 4K seem to have minimum sharpness loss but 720p upscaled videos on a large 65-inch panel look blurry. There’s an Intelligent Picture mode that keeps the brightness under check based on the ambient lighting. The only sour point here is the lack of Dolby Vision on a TV that has a superb panel – Samsung should adopt the standard to make supported content look even better.
Flat panel TVs often have to compromise with the speakers but Samsung has somehow managed to squeeze a great sounding set of speakers in this astonishing slim panel. Rated at 70W of output, this multi speaker setup with a woofer left me impressed with its vast audio capabilities. There’s ample low-end and bass, while the mids are clear and loud. The highs are free of distortion and dialogues are rendered in utmost clarity. While the standard audio mode is decent, I had it in the “Amplify” mode for a better dynamic range and more energetic volume.
Samsung also bakes in something called Object Tracking Sound (OTS+) that moves the source of the sound based on the subject’s position on the screen. In my time, I barely could see it in action, or was unable to perceive the effects. Moreover, while the speaker system is loud and great for a TV, you still need to invest in a home theatre setup for a greater surround sound experience.
One of the joys with a Samsung TV is the software experience. Unlike most other smart TV brands relying on Android TV/Google TV, Samsung offers its own Tizen OS. Whether you love it or loathe it depends on your preference but Tizen OS is certainly a breath of fresh air. Android TV/Google TV wants to be more like a tablet interface whereas Tizen OS retains the familiarity of a large screen TV. The menus and the carousel-like lists for apps are easier to navigate. Settings menu appears like an overlay, which is a big relief after the fullscreen annoyance on Android TV sets.
However, my favourite feature on Tizen OS is the inclusion of Samsung TV Plus. Same as the service on Samsung phones, the TV Plus apps streams free-to-air channels. Although the resolution is 1080p, it is nice to see something playing in a sort of a “TV channel-like” fashion. Note that this relies on internet connectivity. Being Tizen OS, you get the Apple TV+ and Apple Music apps pre-loaded, which is a boon if you subscribe to these services. The app store also has almost all of the popular OTT apps listed for download.
As for the general performance, I observed no lags or longer loading times for various OTT apps. The TV is quick to respond and the Tizen OS version of the popular streaming apps are eager. You have Samsung’s Bixby available as the standard voice assistant but Indian users also get access to Google Assistant and Alexa. However, the interface is designed in such a way that I seldom found myself relying on voice commands. For those concerned about casting, you can cast both Android and iOS devices. By default, the Samsung QN95B sticks to split screen view, wherein one part shows the casting device and the other one shows the main TV interface.
Lastly, the remote controller unit is a typical Samsung controller but it is such a bliss to live with. Thanks to an in-built battery, you can charge it via a USB-C charger, or rely on its solar panel to let the ambient room light fill up the battery. The button layout is minimalist but cleverly done – you have your standard UI navigation buttons along with dedicated volume and channel change keys. Moreover, you also get shortcut keys to Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar and Prime Video along with Samsung TV Plus. Note that the Mute function is accessible by pressing the volume lever.
When you are splurging a fortune on your next TV, the compromises ought to be minimal; whether it is the TV’s design or the picture performance – everything needs to be almost perfect. The Samsung QN95B Neo QLED 4K TV, in this regard, checks almost all of the core needs and is the closest to the idea of a perfect TV. As a home decor element, the Samsung QN95B looks less like a piece of tech and more like a picture frame hanging on the wall. With its standout design that’s unbelievably slim, it mixes the best with most household setups. Plus, the separate computer unit holding the I/O ports is a great idea.
Then there’s the picture quality, which is simply spectacular. Not only is the colour performance spot-on, it uses the QLED and miniLED combo to look after shadows and manage exceptional backlight control. The audio performance is equally good although enthusiasts should invest in a multi channel soundbar setup. Tizen OS as a smart TV platform is refreshing and is easier to live with than Android TV.
To sum it up then, the Samsung QN95B Neo QLED TV is an easy recommendation if you seek an incredible picture quality fused with great audio performance and a well sorted smart TV interface, and budget is no restriction.
Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.