Samsung KU7500: 2016 4k UHD Smart Curved LED TV Series (UN49KU7500,UN55KU7500)

Samsung KU7500: 2016 4k UHD Smart Curved LED TV Series (UN49KU7500, UN55KU7500) reviewed

Samsung KU7500: 2016 4k UHD Smart Curved LED TV Series

The KU7500 represents the “top-shelf” TV among the KU-series models and is similar in many ways to 2015’s JU7100 or JU7500 4K UHD TV models. The TV offers an excellent picture (with some slight drawbacks) and the design looks nice and refined. This is a curved TV, slim and elegant with narrow display bezels. Some consumers do prefer the curved display style and hope to get ‘greater immersion’, however it’s questionable whether or not you get any positive quality difference or not and the price is significantly higher than the respective flat screen option.

Specifications
Screen size	54.6’’ for the UN55KU7500 and 49’’ for the UN49KU7500
Screen lighting	Edge-lit LED backlighting with UHD Dimming
Refresh rate	60Hz
Resolution	3,840 x 2,160 pixels UHD
Contrast Ratio	3,600:1
Other display features	Curved display, Auto Depth Enhancer and Ultra Clear Panel technology
Smart TV	Tizen OS, Smart Hub, Smart TV with Apps and Full Web Browser
HEVC (H.265) included	Yes
VP9 included	Yes
HD to UHD upscaling	Yes
HDCP 2.2 compliance	Yes
Wireless connectivity	Yes, includes both built-in WiFi and Ethernet port
Remotes	Samsung smart button remote
Connectivity	3 HDMI 2.0a, 2 USB, 1 Ethernet, 1 Component, 1 composite, 1 Audio Out, 1 Digital Audio Out
Sound	60W (20W x 2, Woofer 10W x 2) Down Firing Down Firing w/Tweeter (4.1CH) speakers with Dolby Digital Plus
Processor	Quad-core
Weight	19.68 kg (55 inch model)
Dimensions	123.4 x 33.27 x 78.74 cm (55 inch model)

Pros	Cons
•             Great display brightness •             Excellent upscaling engine •             Good contrast •             Vibrant colors and realism •             Great looking TV	•             No full HDR •             Lacks Wide Color Gamut •             Fewer connectivity ports •             Contrast could be better •             Curvature adds pointless $$ to price

Key Features:

Active Crystal Color: This is similar to the quantum dot technology of Samsung’s SUHD TVs but with a slightly different name and more or less the same function. Using this technology, KU7500 and the other 2016 KU TVs deliver a broader range of color values and greater color accuracy than their 2015 non-SUHD cousins. As a result, realism and vibrancy look better in this 4K TV and its new companions.

HDR: The KU7500 doesn’t offer the same full range of 4K HDR technology as the 2016 SUHD TVs do. We don’t have the extremely high peak luminance of the HDR1000 as in the SUHD TVs. Also, there is no inclusion of Wide Color Gamut technology for HDR standards and so the black levels are a bit weaker than in the SUHD TVs. Nonetheless, the KU7500 does offer Samsung’s “HDR Premium” spec and this means a level of high dynamic range mostly comparable to that offered by the lower-end 2015 SUHD TVs or the top shelf 2015 JU-Series models like the JU7500. This isn’t true standardized HDR but it does impart a level of overall dynamic range and contrast which is superior to what you’d see in an ordinary SDR 4K TV.

Tizen & Smart Hub: The new refinements and extra features of Tizen for 2016 definitely improve its usability, with additional console-free gaming ability, the ability to play games right from the cloud and a newly improved and simplified capacity for connecting your TV to mobile devices and streaming online content.

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Picture Quality:

The KU7500 and its 2016 KU UHD TV cousins don’t quite match the picture quality of the SUHD TVs from this year but they do deliver a good display quality compared to any mid-range 4K TV on the market. Contrast is great, colors look robust and technologies like Ultra Clear Panel and Auto Depth Enhancer from Samsung enhance both the depth and clarity of content on the screen in the KU7500.

The Vertical Alignment (VA) panel technology delivers excellent contrast by the standards of mid-range 4K TVs without full-blown robust HDR specs. The black uniformity of the KU7500 is also excellent, with rich uniform blacks across the full display space.

Overall contrast in the KU7500 is well below that of the SUHD’s with a contrast ratio about 3,600:1. The Wide Color Gamut technology isn’t found in the KU7500 so the model doesn’t offer the smooth gradients and colour space coverage of Wide Colour Gamut. However, the LED backlights are exceptionally bright which makes for a good level of peak brightness in the KU7500.

Furthermore, we have the same excellent upscaling as in other Samsung 4K TVs which superb upscaling in Full HD and 720p and some very decent 480p SD upscaling as well. The motion control is also good for the most part, including the judder control and excellent motion with a motion rate of 120Hz, over a native refresh rate of a decent 60Hz.

Connectivity

This model offers only 3 HDMI 2.0a ports, 2 USB ports and the usual accompaniment of Ethernet, Audio, Digital Optical Audio and Component/composite ports.  This can however be fixed with the purchase of Samsung’s One Connect external connectivity box. There is also built-in WiFi and the Tizen Smart OS offers both full web browsing and access to a broad range of 4K content streaming and other media apps.