Samsung UE55NU7105: an affordable Ultra HD TV

Presentation

The Samsung UE55NU7105 has a 10-inch VA panel (8-bit + FRC) of 55 inches (≈140 cm) displaying an Ultra HD definition of 3 840 x 2 160 px. This model is compatible HLG, HDR10 and HDR10 + (competitor of the Dolby Vision carried by Samsung), but as we will see, it does not have much interest here. Entry-level model requires, the panel is limited to a frequency of 50 Hz. The TV has an audio system composed of two speakers of 10 watts each and the Tizen home operating system still as successful.

Sold around 700 € and sometimes around 500 € on promotion, this Samsung UE55NU7105 is a direct competitor to the Sony Bravia KD-55XF7005, a very good VA 50 Hz TV well calibrated, or even the future TCL U55DC760 (successor to 55C7006).

All the brightness and colorimetric measurements mentioned in this article were carried out with a SpectraCal C6-HDR probe and the CalMAN Ultimate software.

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Image quality

The Samsung UE55NU7105 television uses a VA panel which is logically quite different from that on board the Qled models of 2018. The VA technology offers more limited viewing angles than those of the IPS or Oled models and the angles are particularly narrow on this television. We measured a loss of brightness of 70% at 45 ° while the black contented itself with going from 0.03 cd / m² to 0.04 cd / m². We can clearly see the change in color tones at 45 °.

Cinema mode provides the best rendering. In this mode, we measured an average delta E at 2.1, a value below the threshold of 3 above which the human eye can perceive a difference between the colors displayed and the colors expected. Only the red and cyan shades very slightly exceed a delta E of 3. The colors displayed are therefore considered to be faithful to those sent by the source.

The gamma average is 2.31 - not far from the reference value (2.4) - and the curve shows very good stability over the entire spectrum. The gamma curve is a little above the reference curve at the start of the spectrum, which results in very slightly blocked dark gray.

The average color temperature is very good. Measured at 6,580 K, it is very close to the expected 6,500 K and the curve is stable across the spectrum.

As usual with Samsung, it is impossible to deactivate the dynamic backlight system. The darker the overall image, the lower the brightness. This translates into a blank at 152 cd / m² on the target containing 35% white and at 77 cd / m² on the target containing 1%. In the end, the television displays an average white of 114 cd / m² and a black of 0.03 cd / m². The average contrast ratio is therefore 4,200: 1, a very good value for an LCD television which allows you to enjoy sufficiently deep blacks.

The scaling engine used by Samsung in cinema mode is very smooth. It smoothes out certain details with the effect of flat areas clearly visible. This system does not distort the original source and we have not observed any artifacts, but it does not really exploit the capabilities of the Ultra HD panel. The AutoMotion Plus motion compensation system is not frankly convincing and there is blur behind moving objects. The scanning of the Clear Motion Led backlight always causes the image to flicker, making it almost unusable.

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HDR

The Display Tone Mapping used by Samsung is struggling to properly exploit a maximum HDR signal at 10,000 cd / m². The displayed brightness is systematically below that requested. For example, when the signal requests a brightness of 150 cd / m², the television is content with 50 cd / m². In the end, if the television avoids clipping, the image is systematically too dark. In addition, the light peak measured at only 278 cd / m² does not help anything and does not allow to obtain this famous difference in contrast between very bright areas and darker areas which gives character to an HDR image. In comparison, the best LCD TVs like the Samsung 65Q9FNAT and the Sony 65XF9005 exceed 1,000 cd / m², while the Sony 65ZF9 even offers the luxury of approaching 2,000 cd / m². Some mid-range TVs do much better, such as the Sony KD-49XF8505, which has a bright peak of 460 cd / m². HDR is clearly the weak point of the Samsung TV and we advise you to simply deactivate it on compatible sources.

We also measure color fidelity in HDR mode. We chose HDR Cinema mode, which offers the best - so to speak - color rendering. The average delta E is measured at 10.4, a value far from the recommended ceiling of 3. No mode allows better colorimetry and this confirms that HDR mode should be avoided on this TV.

Regarding the coverage of Rec.2020 and DCI-P3, the Samsung 55NU7105 does not work miracles. It is content with 52% of the BT.2020 space and 64% of the DCI-P3 space. The colorimetric coverage is quite far from that of high-end models like the Q9 or the Oled televisions which reach 75% of Rec. 2020 and more than 95% of DCI-P3. This TV therefore does not allow full use of Ultra HD HDR content.

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Video games

The Samsung UE55NU7105 displays a very average remanence time of 17 ms, quite far from the results of the best LCD on the market like the Samsung 65Q9FN which goes down to 12 ms or the Sony 65XE9005 with its 11.5 ms. This is reflected in the image by a blurring effect behind the moving objects. The Samsung is making up for the delay in display measured at 20 ms, very close to the 15 ms of the new Qled TVs of 2018. At 60 Hz, this Samsung TV shows just a little more than a delay image compared to to the source . There is no lag between an action on the joystick and its impact on the screen. However, competitors will turn to slightly more responsive models, including the Q9F. Unlike the Samsung 75NU8005, this TV is not compatible with FreeSync, which allows you to adapt the refresh rate of the TV to the number of frames per second sent by the graphics card or console to avoid tearing the image (tearing) and micro-slowdowns (stuttering).

We are now evaluating the color fidelity in Game mode. The Delta E measured at 7.8 is a little better than that obtained in HDR mode. To find a faithful display, you have to go to the expert parameters in order to deactivate the enhancement of the contrasts, set the color nuance to "Warm 2" then choose the automatic color space. Using these manual adjustments, the average Delta E drops to 5.2, a value more respectful of the original colors.

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Clouding

The Samsung UE55NU7105 television only has one backlight bar, located at the base of the panel. If we did not find a clouding problem on the model we tested, the risk is present, because the diffusion filter is fragile and can be damaged during transport. This results in the appearance of grayish spots on a uniform background. Finally, we did not notice any light leakage on our test model; on the other hand, vertical blooming is sometimes annoying, especially on the subtitles, and more generally on all light objects on a black background.

The average difference in white homogeneity over the entire slab is measured at only 9% - the eye detects nothing below 20%; this is a good figure for a 55 inch LCD Led Edge model.

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Ergonomics

The Samsung 55NU7105 TV has a fairly classic design and goes everywhere. There is no lack of taste and the finishes are quite good on this entry-level model. This 55 inch TV is comfortable on our test TV stand which measures 160 cm wide by 40 cm deep.

The semi-glossy slab benefits from an ineffective anti-reflective treatment. Avoid placing the TV in front of a window.

The two feet are separated by 97 cm. Overhead, they free up space on the TV stand and allow you to position a sound bar without masking the image.

The Samsung UE55NU7105 TV is only 6 cm thick. As always, the occupation on the TV stand is linked to the depth of the foot which is only 26 cm on this Samsung model. This television is therefore perfectly comfortable on our 40 cm deep piece of furniture.

At the back, we find the connectors on the left and the power supply on the right. Samsung uses a matte black plastic stripe which gives a premium side to this entry-level TV.

Samsung provides clips that sit on each leg and act as a fairly basic, but relatively effective cable management system. It is possible to run two to three cables per foot.

The connection consists of three HDMI 2.0a inputs HDCP 2.2 and HDR compatible, two USB ports, an optical digital audio output, an Ethernet port, a component input via the supplied adapter, a PCMCIA port (Common Interface CI +) and the socket TNT antenna. This TV only has one DVB-T / T2 tuner. It also has Wi-Fi, but ignores Bluetooth. Please note, there is no headphone output.

The Tizen home system is still a model of its kind. The fluid interface is well thought out and above all is quite responsive, even on this entry-level model. The applications launch without slowing down and we find the main players in the world of TV (Netflix, YouTube, myCanal, Prime Video, Rakuten, Google Play Video, SFR Sport, Molotov, etc.). On this point, Samsung TVs clearly do not have to be ashamed of Android TV models and they probably offer the best for an entry-level TV.

It takes about 5 seconds to turn on the TV and less than a second to switch it to standby. Recovery is also almost instantaneous, and above all, the TV consumes less than 1 W when it is in standby.

This Samsung UE55NU7105 TV has a basic, but effective remote control that offers all of the classic shortcuts. On the other hand, it does not carry a microphone and it is therefore necessary to put an end to the voice recognition offered by Tizen. The buttons are still not backlit, which is not surprising for a TV in this range.

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Audio

If the power of the audio system is limited to 20 W, it does pretty well. The frequency response is fairly well managed between 75 and 20,000 Hz. In the end, the audio rendering is in the upper average of televisions.

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Consumption

We measured consumption at 72 W on our target with a white set to 150 cd / m², which translates into a relative consumption of 86 W / m². This value is lower than the average of the TVs tested (around 100 W / m²), but this TV does not do any better than Samsung 55Q6F, the category record holder with its 61 W / m², the Sony KD-65XD9305 (measured at 69 W / m²) and the Samsung UE55KS9000 (72 W / m²). Standby consumption is always less than 1 W.

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Conclusion

The Samsung UE55NU7105 is a very good SDR television. It offers a well-calibrated image and excellent native contrast. On the other hand, it is necessary to make a cross on the HDR contents. This mode is very poorly calibrated and the limited light peak removes all the interest of HDR. For the rest, the Tizen system is still as effective, even if the absence of a microphone on the remote control is felt. To fill this gap, we must turn to the Samsung UE55NU7405.

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