Samsung UE55KS9000: the KS8000 in curved version

Presentation

The Samsung UE55KS9000 thus has a 55-inch 10-bit panel displaying an Ultra HD definition, an Edge LED backlight system, a quantum dot filter to cover 96% of the DCI-P3 color space, HDR compatibility and Quad Core processor. The audio system still consists of two 20-watt speakers and a 20-watt subwoofer. It also has a dual HD DVB-T tuner, satellite and cable (to record while watching another channel) and the fluidity index is a little higher (PQI 2400 against PQI 2300 for the KS8000). The Samsung UE55KS9000 is sold for around 2,500 €, which is 100 € more than the 55KS8000 and 600 € more than the 55KS7000. It is also available in 49, 65 and 78 inch versions at the respective prices of € 2,100, € 3,500 and € 6,000.

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Image quality

The PSA type panel - the Samsung equivalent of VA technology - provides excellent contrast, to the detriment of viewing angles which are more reduced than on an IPS or Oled panel. On this model, we noticed a loss of brightness of up to 61% at 45 ° on the sides and between -68 and -77% of brightness at 45 ° above and below. The anti-reflective treatment Moth Eyes (Ultra Black) is still as effective; this coating imitates the structure of the eyes of moths to absorb maximum ambient light. Despite the glossy coating of the screen, the reflections are very limited, which makes it easier to place the TV in the living room.

The contrast (6,780: 1) is excellent. This value is obtained with the adaptive backlight (Smart Led) set to "Low". However, even by disabling the Smart Led function, the TV maintains dynamic contrast which reduces the intensity of the backlight depending on the content. The behavior of the adaptive backlight is good. The television clearly displays a white at 143 cd / m² on the target at 35%. On the 1% white target, the value drops only to 129 cd / m², which translates to an average of 136 cd / m² on white and 0.02 cd / m² on black. This excellent contrast allows you to enjoy deep blacks, perfect for watching a film in the dark. We measured the maximum brightness at 920 cd / m² in HDR + mode.

As often, the "cinema" mode offers the best colorimetry (average delta E measured at 2.5). The colors displayed by this television are therefore considered to be faithful to those of the source - the eye no longer makes the difference when the delta E is less than 3.

As a result of using a dynamic backlight system, the gamma curve lacks stability. Samsung still manages to maintain the gamma between 2.2 and 2.4 across the spectrum (average at 2.3), which is very acceptable.

The average temperature (6,630 K) is close to the expected 6,500 K. Above all, the temperature is fairly stable over the entire spectrum and only the very light grays are slightly under-exposed.

The fluidity index is higher on this model than on the 55KS8000, but by very little. We measured the afterglow time at 11.5 ms on the 55KS8000, a figure very close to the 12 ms noted on the 55KS8000. The panel being identical, Samsung probably played on the overdrive (the speed of rotation of the liquid crystals) to improve the response time. The good reactivity of the screen combined with the powerful AutoMotion Plus motion compensation engine does wonders: the moving image is clear. The rendering with the AutoMotion Plus setting to "automatic" is good, but it is preferable to use the custom settings in order to limit the camcorder effect. As with the KS8000, backlight scanning (Led Clear Motion) causes the screen to flicker clearly and be dim. In addition, activating it disables access to the settings of the other parameters.

In cinema mode, the delay in display is measured at 115 ms, a very average value. Fortunately, the game mode - the best on the market - allows the input lag to drop to only 19.5 ms, less than a frame and a half late. It is one of the best values we have seen on a television. The Samsung UE55KS9000 TV is made for gamers and even for competitors. However, it is always impossible to activate only BFI (Led Clear Motion) in game mode.

The engine for scaling HD content to Ultra HD is not the most efficient on the market. It just smooths out certain details, which generates solid visible effects. In the end, this produces a very soft rendering, all the same close to the original source and without artifact.

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Clouding

The Samsung UE55KS9000 uses an Edge Led backlighting system exploiting a single bar located at the bottom of the panel. The hot spots noted in the center of the panel are due to the presence of the power supply on the left and part of the electronics on the right. Note that the heating of the external box placed at the bottom right is minimal.

In addition, we did not find any clouding problem on the model we tested.

The average difference in uniformity of white over the entire slab is measured at only 14%; an average figure, but which remains below the 20% beyond which the eye perceives a difference.

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3D

Like all 2016 Samsung TVs, this model is not compatible with 3D.

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Ergonomics

The design is quite successful. The chrome edges of the screen are thin and the screen is curved. The logo is backlit, but it is possible to turn off the logo in the settings.

This TV is not necessarily very thin (9.4 cm) and, above all, the size of the foot leads to the depth of the whole. This Y-shaped foot is simply 37.6 cm deep. It is therefore necessary to provide a piece of furniture at least 40 cm deep.

As on the Samsung UE55KS8000, the connections are distributed at the rear and on an external box. Behind the TV, a small hatch provides access to the Ethernet port, the PCMCIA port (CI + Common Interface), a USB 3.0 port and the connector for the external box. On the latter, there are four HDMI 2.0a inputs HDCP 2.2 and HDR compatible, two USB 2.0 ports, an optical digital audio output and the aerials TNT, cable and satellite. The TV also has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (proprietary). Samsung has overlooked the component and composite inputs as well as the headphone output.

The Tizen home operating system provides a smooth and pleasant interface. The setting menus are particularly effective, with no frills. They always have a slightly cold side, less user-friendly than those of WebOS. The SmartHub offers quick access to different sources and applications. There are very few of these in the dedicated store. The most important applications are present, but the catalog has been reduced compared to that of the 2015 SUHD televisions. The media player is doing very well, since it accepts a very large number of file types, including Ultra HD content in H.264, H.265 (HEVC) and VP8 / VP9. We were thus able to read an Ultra HD H264 file with a bit rate of 98 Mb / s without any jerking and an Ultra HD HEVC file at 51 Mb / s, again perfectly smoothly. For their part, ISO files are still not compatible.

This TV comes with two remote controls. The finest, called Samsung Smart Control, has a microphone for voice searches, especially on YouTube or the Internet, which is always more pleasant to use than a virtual keyboard. The more traditional remote control allows access to the settings more directly. These two remote controls do not have backlit buttons.

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Audio

The audio part of the Samsung UE55KS9000 - identical to that of the 55KS8000 - is good. The television offers a very good frequency response between 150 and 2000 Hz. This translates into a good presence of low-mids as well as intelligible voices. Obviously, to get the most out of a film, a clip or a video game, it is better to go through an external sound bar type system, PC speakers, or a Home Cinema system.

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Consumption

The Samsung 55KS9000 equals the record for the low power category set by the Samsung 55KS7000. The 55 inch version tested here consumes 60 Watts on our test pattern, a relative consumption of 72 W / m². Standby consumption is always less than 1 W. Finally, the maximum consumption reaches 140 W (at 920 cd / m²) and drops to 38 W at least.

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Conclusion

The Samsung UE55KS9000 offers a quality image: the colors are faithful, the blacks are deep, the motion compensation system is efficient and the panel reactive. It is handicapped by its Edge Led backlighting system which cannot compete with a Full LED or Oled system. There is sometimes a very unpleasant pumping phenomenon in certain scenes which costs him his fifth star.

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