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2016, 4K UHD, Blu-ray, Display Tech, LCD, Previews, Quantum Dots
2016, 4K UHD, Blu-ray, Display Tech, LCD, Previews, Quantum Dots Entries in Quantum Dots (4)
Best 2016 LCDs: Samsung
Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at 2:00PM Updated March 31, 2016: availability and 3D
Samsung introduced its premium SUHD line of televisions in 2015 that improved the image quality of previous designs with technology to enhance color, increase brightness, and to provide a better-optimized interface for a screen with more than 8-million pixels. Today, Samsung Electronics introduces a flagship TV and Blu-ray player that seek to deliver a best-in-class viewing experience for the maturing ultra-high definition (UHD) video format.
The Flagship - KS9500 Series
The Samsung KS9500 SUHD TV series is the successor to the simply stunning JS9500 that continues to wow our eyes. The design of the KS9500 (pictured above) retains the elegant Y-shaped matte-finished metal base stand, but the screen perched upon it now features a unique "bezel-less curved design" that keeps a viewer's attention firmly on those new pixels. While the top and sides of the KS9500's frame are indeed nearly imperceptible when viewed from the front, the bottom edge is just wide enough to center a Samsung badge.
Interesting specs for the KS9500 include:
- 10-bit VA-type LCD
- Sizes: 55-inches, 65-inches
- 1000-nit minimum (HDR playback)
- Quantum dot color
- Ultra Black anti-reflection tech
- 4200mm radius screen curve (55-inch+)
- HDMI 2.0a/HDCP 2.2
One item conspicuously missing from Samsung's 2016 premium TVs is support for viewing 3D content - the general lack of popularity of this feature and cost savings are the most likely reasons for its abandonment.
The KS9500's enhanced 10-bit panel is aiming for a "1000-nit minimum" of light output - a significant increase compared to Samsung's 2015 edge-lit TVs. This performance is achieved through improved efficiency of the blue LEDs in its backlight unit (BLU) as well as the ability for that light to more easily penetrate the color-enhancing quantum dot-impregnated film. For more information about quantum dot technology, please see this helpful article. These are impressive brightness claims that a Samsung representative said were obtained when displaying a 10% window - I was pressed to measure ~900-nits on the 2015 JS9500 when displaying a smaller, less challenging 2% window.
The Ultra Black technology of the KS9500 is a "moth's eye" layer of film that features nano-scale patterns made of up structures smaller than the wavelength of visible light. This surface structure mimics the characteristics of a moth's eye and enables the screen surface to prevent strong sources of external light from creating harsh reflections. Sharp Electronics has made impressive demonstrations of moth's eye tech since at least 2012, and anything that can help an LCD minimize glare and reflection will improve perceived picture quality and display efficiency.
Curved screen TV designs are about as polarizing of a home theater topic as I've encountered in recent years. Samsung will continue to utilize curved LCDs for its premium offerings. However, it is slightly reducing the radius of the curve for screen sizes 55-inches and larger. The KS9500 Series is available in screen sizes of 55-inches and 65-inches.
2016 Vizio SmartCast P-Series TVs
Review: Samsung's Best 2015 TV
Under the hood, Samsung's TIZEN operating system (OS) has received some upgrades and a new look.
Paired with a new Samsung Smart Control remote that increases the robustness of its universal control features and offers a simplified setup through connected device detection, the 2016 Smart Hub requires less digging to get at frequently viewed content and apps. Other features of the refreshed interface include:
- PlayStation Now - quality gaming without the console
- EXTRA Service - additional content information
- Smart View - upgraded Android/iOS sharing app
- NeuLion-enabled - live UHD sports streaming
- IoT (Internet of Things) hub - connect/control 200+ devices
I appreciated seeing some 2014 and 2015 Samsung UHD TVs receive the PlayStation Now update as it finally delivers a quality gaming experience without the need for console hardware - just add a controller. And live UHD sports streaming via NeuLion?!? I'll take some of that!
Review: A Great Bluetooth Speaker
UHD Blu-ray Arrives
The era of the Ultra HD Blu-ray Player has arrived. The Samsung UBD-K8500 is an ideal match for a TV like the company's KS9500. The K8500 is HDR compatible and content will be encoded to take advantage of the gigantic Rec.2020 color space (that a TV will conform to its hardware capabilities.) A prototype unit I previewed featured dual HDMI ports - the additional port for audio-only output to a compatible AV receiver. Visually-speaking, the HDR demo video previewed was a scene from A Million Ways to Die in the West, and the combination of a staggeringly high bitrate, HDR visuals, and wide color gamut were pure eye candy. Twentieth Century Fox, Sony Pictures, and Warner Brothers have all announced plans to release dozens of Ultra HD Blu-ray titles in 2016. The UBD-K8500 is available now.
Robert's Favorite Home Theater Gear
This article will be updated as new information becomes available
Best 2016 LCDs: Sharp
Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at 1:00PM Highlights: 2016 Sharp LCDs feature curved screens, local dimming, and quantum color
Sharp's TV business in the Americas has been acquired by Chinese TV manufacturer Hisense, and Sharp's 2016 TV lineup may represent the last "pure" offering from the company before the brand takes new direction. That said, Sharp's best 2016 televisions will offer the latest in picture quality enhancements and advanced multimedia capabilities.
A new UI
Sharp's 2016 HD and ultra-high definition (UHD) televisions have received a user interface (UI) make over that makes better use of higher screen resolutions. The result appears to provide a cleaner look that finally does away with the clunky retro-looking menus of past designs.
Ideally, the clean interface presented above extends to all sub-menus for a consistent presentation.
The Flagship - AQUOS N9000 Series
The Sharp N9000 series UHD TVs feature the company's SPECTROS quantum dot technology for producing chromatically-rich white light that enables improved brightness efficiency and color saturation. The N9000 series also marks the first time the company has offered HDR compatibility in both flat and curved screen design options.
Other N9000 series features include:
- Full array local dimming backlight
- High-dynamic range (Open HDR spec)
- Quantum dot color (91% Rec.2020)
- 2x2 dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac
- dbx-tv sound
- 8-core processor
- VP9 and HEVC decoding
- 4K media support
- App store + web browser
The 65-inch Sharp AQUOS N9000U (LC-65N9000U - pictured above) is the company's first curved screen TV offering, and the addition of full array local dimming (FALD) should enable brightness and contrast on par with similarly spec'd premium LCD televisions like the Samsung JS9500 (read review). Good FALD isn't cheap or easy to do, but the resulting improvement in picture contrast makes it my favorite LCD feature. The 65-inch N9000U is expected to ship early-to-mid 2016 with a price of $3000 (MSRP).
If you are not a fan of curved TV screens, then the 70-inch Sharp AQUOS N9100 (LC-70N9100U - pictured above) gives you all of the same picture performance and features of the curved N9000 in a flat screen design. The 70-inch N9100U is expected to ship early-to-mid 2016 with price of $3300 (MSRP).
Sharp AQUOS N8000 Series
Bringing more value to increasingly popular large UHD screen sizes, the Sharp AQUOS N8000 series televisions will feature fewer zones of local dimming compared to the company's flagship N9000 series while providing similar core specs and compatibility with HDR video sources. The N8000 (pictured below) achieves its wide color gamut (WCG) support through the use of optimized color filters and polarizers, and I'll be curious to see how the TV's color gamut coverage compares to other LCDs using quantum dot or phosphor-enhanced LED backlight systems. The 70-inch Sharp AQUOS N8100U (LC-70N8100U) has an MSRP of $2300 and is styled similarly to the N9100 pictured above.
The N8100 features a full array local dimming backlight system while its larger sibling, the 75-inch Sharp AQUOS N8000U (LC-75N8000U - pictured above) is edge-lit with local dimming capabilities. The Sharp LC-75N8000U has an MSRP of $3000.
Sharp AQUOS N7000 Series
Sharp's N7000 series of UHD TVs is also HDR-ready but sacrifices wide color gamut support to be an even better value. The N7000 series features similar wireless networking, CPU power, sound, and multimedia support as Sharp's premium models. However, only the larger 70-inch Sharp AQUOS N7100U (LC-70N7100U) will feature full array local dimming while the smaller sized Sharp AQUOS N7000U series (pictured below) lack hardware local dimming altogether.
MSRP pricing for the Sharp AQUOS N7000 series TVs is as follows:
- 70-inch LC-70N7100U: $1,999.99
- 65-inch LC-65N7000U: $1,499.99
- 60-inch LC-60N7000U: $1,199.99
- 55-inch LC-55N7000U: $799.99
- 50-inch LC-50N7000U: $699.99
- 43-inch LC-43N7000U: $499.99
Review: Great Portable BT Speaker
Sharp N6000 Series
Rounding out Sharp's 2016 UHD TV offerings is the N6000 series. This series delivers many of the same base features of Sharp's premium 2016 TVs including an 8-core CPU, wireless networking, and apps. The N6000 TVs are also compatible with HDR-encoded content albeit without the wide color gamut or local dimming capabilities of more expensive models. The big deal here is attractive pricing for mid-sized UHD resolution LCDs.
- 55-inch LC-55N6000U: $749.99
- 50-inch LC-50N6000U: $599.99
- 43-inch LC-43N6100U: $449.99
Robert's Favorite Home Theater Gear
This article will be updated as new information becomes available
in 2016, 4K UHD, Display Tech, LCD, Previews, Quantum Dots
2016, 4K UHD, Display Tech, LCD, Previews, Quantum Dots Best 2016 LCDs: LG Electronics
Saturday, January 2, 2016 at 5:00PM Updated March 19, 2016: 8K and HDR update
LG Electronics has introduced its premium 2016 lineup of ultra-high definition (UHD) LCDs branded under the moniker "LG SUPER UHD". LG's latest UHD TVs include four distinct series for North American markets with three of them highlighted for preview today. The fourth series is a "production-ready" 98-inch 8K TV - 4x the resolution of a regular UHD TV.
All of LG's 2016 Super UHD TVs will feature the company's latest LCD/LED picture technologies including:
- High-dynamic range (HDR10/PQ Curve compatible)
- Wide color gamut (WCG)
- Updated IPS panel
- 120Hz refresh rate
- HDMI 2.0a/HDCP 2.2
- Flat slim designs
- Edge-lit LED backlight
- SDR-to-HDR conversion engine
- webOS 3.0
One item of note above is HDR10 support: an LG representative stated that all of LG's 2016 OLED 4K TVs and SUPER UHD LCDs will support all current HDR formats including the Dolby Vision format supported by VUDU and soon Netflix. Amazon and YouTube HDR playback compatibility are also arriving in 2016.
Review: LG Portable LED Projector
webOS 3.0
Aiming for an interface that provides the user with "simple connection, simple switching, and simple discovery", LG's webOS 3.0 is paired with an upgraded Magic Remote that adds DVR controls and improved universal control. The webOS 3.0 platform introduces the following new updates and features:
- Magic Zoom - screen magnification without quality degradation
- Magic Mobile Connection - Android/iOS compatible streaming
- My Channels/Live Menu - check favorite channels easily
- Channel Plus - free over-the-top (OTT) content
- Channel Advisor - displays frequently viewed TV shows
- Multi-view - view two sources simultaneously
- Music Player - use TV speakers when display is off
- IoTV app (Internet of Things) - control compatible devices via TV
Among the many new features of webOS 3.0 that are listed above, I'll be looking to see if Multi-view allows for the use of two HDMI-connected source devices - something that most TVs are unable to utilize for picture-in-picture (PiP) or side-by-side simultaneous viewing.
The lineup
LG's 2016 SUPER UHD TVs have transitioned away from the use of quantum dot technology to improve brightness efficiency and color saturation. Instead, these TVs will feature an upgraded phosphor-coated LED backlight system paired with a tighter, thicker color filter layer to expand color coverage for supporting 4K UHD video sources. LG claims this technology dubbed Color Prime Plus achieves 91% coverage of the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) color space that is used in commercial cinema. DCI's enhanced color (compared to HD) has become available via streaming 4K UHD video services as well.
UH9800
There aren't many details available about LG's production-ready 98-inch 8K Super UHD TV (model UH9800). Last year, LG demonstrated a very similar 98-inch 8K LCD that boasted an HDR-benefiting "ultra" luminance algorithm and a wide color palette. However, LG has announced that this TV will feature a superMHL port to wrangle an 8K video signal into this massively detailed screen.
Review: Vizio 5.1 Sound Bar System
UH9500
The flagship UH9500 series TVs feature LG's latest display improvements and design concepts. The 9500's bezel is a sliver-thin strip of trim with slightly rounded corners leaving the eyes to focus on its triple-filtered 10-bit screen that reduces glare and reflections by a claimed 50% better than last year's tech. Compared to LCD panels that operate at 8-bits per color channel or less, a 10-bit LCD should better reduce the appearance of banding and posterization artifacts.
Other noteworthy features of the UH9500 include:
- 10-bit panel/10-bit processing
- Color Prime Plus
- Ultra-thin chassis (6.6mm/0.22in)
- harman/kardon-enhanced audio
- "Magic Sound Tuning" room audio analyzer
- "Near invisible bezels"
- Screen sizes: 55- to 86-inches
- Triple layer anti-glare/low-reflection film
The "sound tuning" room audio analyzer has my attention - I'm hoping it uses the microphone on the remote to listen for setup tones (stay tuned!)
UH8500
The LG UH8500 also features the company's Color Prime Plus technology for a greater range of color saturation. However, instead of the UH9500's triple layer of anti-glare/low-reflection film, the UH8500 gets a double layer that LG claims provides a 40% improvement over 2015 TVs. Like the flagship UH9500, the UH8500 also features a 10-bit panel. Screen sizes for the UH8500 series are 55-inches and 60-inches. Note: the UH8500 was originally described as an 8-bit LCD - LG has since clarified that it is in-fact a 10-bit LCD.
Review: Samsung's Best 2015 TV
UH7700
Rounding out LG's Super UHD TV lineup is the UH7700 series that features the company's Color Prime technology (not Plus) that will presumably be slightly less colorful compared to the UH9500/UH8500 TVs. The UH7700 also features an 8-bit IPS panel with improved dithering to minimize artifacts like banding in fine gradients. Screen sizes for the UH7700 series are 49- to 65-inches.
Robert's Favorite Home Theater Gear
This article will be updated as new information becomes available
Review: Samsung JS9500 SUHD TV
Thursday, July 2, 2015 at 9:11PM 
The promise of 4K ultra high definition (UHD) video is about more than an increased number of video pixels. The UHD format also offers a color palette that extends far beyond the ubiquitous HD standard with richer, deeper hues - fully saturated reds being a particularly obvious color difference between the HD and UHD standards. UHD video can also deliver a greater range of luminance information that compatible TVs can use to render eye-catching high dynamic range (HDR) imagery.
The flagship Samsung JS9500 Series 4K SUHD TV beautifully presents today's best HD video sources and its forward looking technical features make it one of a handful of premium 2015 models that approaches the full potential of the 4K UHD format.
Design
The style and design of Samsung's most advanced TV for 2015 is imbued with well-engineered character. Walking around the TV, its chamfered brushed metal bezel adds a silvery thin bit of contrast to the inky dark curved screen surface. The brushed theme extends to the TV's curved plastic-clad backside and its Y-shaped metal base stand. I was less enamored with the moderate flexing of my 65-inch review unit when perched upon its stand, but parents are always advised to secure any large TV to prevent potential tip over. Included spacers allow for the use of standard wall mount hardware.
Display tech
The JS9500's UHD screen has 3840x2160 pixel resolution and is a 10-bit VA type panel that provides good black level performance with the trade off being a narrower viewing sweet spot compared to IPS panel technology with its brighter black levels and correspondingly reduced picture contrast. Compared to the other SUHD Series TVs (JS7000, JS8500, JS8600, JS9000, and JS9100), the JS9500 is the only one to feature a full array LED backlight with "many" zones of local dimming that enables inky dark black levels and superb brightness throughout the picture. The other SUHD models feature edge-lit backlight systems with local dimming, and all produce expanded color palettes using "Nano crystal color" technology otherwise known as quantum dots - learn more about how LCDs and quantum dot materials work in this article.
The HDR advantage
An advantage of the JS9500's full array backlight is that it generates a lot of light. When displaying a relatively small white window test pattern, the JS9500 produced about 930 nits in its brightest picture mode - two or three times the light output of most LCD televisions. However, a possible heat-related issue causes the JS9500's peak light output to decreases slightly over time, and I'm consulting with Samsung for further clarification and will update this article with any new findings. All of that eye-melting brightness from a dark colored screen is optimal for producing a well-contrasted picture even in rooms with lots of ambient light. However, high dynamic range (HDR) video is what the JS9500's impressive light output was meant to showcase. All Samsung SUHD TVs decode the metadata embedded within HDR-authored video content enabling the accurate depiction of an increased range of luminance information. In addition, the quantum dot enhancement of the SUHD series allows it to produce an expanded color palette that measured impressively close to the DCI color specification used extensively in commercial cinema.
Samsung provided a few curated clips to show off the JS9500's HDR and expanded color capabilities, and Amazon recently updated its video streaming app for the SUHD platform to add HDR support. Amazon's HDR-enhanced content selection includes a remastered season of Mozart in the Jungle, the pilot episode of Red Oaks, and more "coming soon". Examining episodes of Mozart before and after the HDR update, light sources in many scenes became more impactful without sacrificing dark details and superb black levels. Sunlit outdoor scenes appeared more natural with touches of brilliant intensity. The polished metal parts of instruments gleamed in a more realistic fashion. A lighter igniting in a dimly lit smoke filled room popped with colorful contrast, and lamp lighting in otherwise dimly lit rooms was almost too bright to gaze upon directly. The dynamic range within these scenes exceeded anything I've seen in an LCD television to date, and I look forward to seeing the selection of HDR content grow.
HDR video support is the primary feature of the upcoming Ultra HD Blu-ray players due later this year. These players will require an HDMI port that's been upgraded to the new 2.0a standard, and Samsung indicated that this update for its SUHD TVs would be forthcoming but provided no further details. The recently finalized Ultra HD Blu-ray specification also incorporates expanded color palette support that greatly exceeds the HD palette in use today. With streaming and physical UHD video options quickly maturing, it won't be much longer before we'll be able to gaze upon popular content with expanded color and HDR on a capable TV like the JS9500.
Vizio 5.1 Sound Bar System Review
2015 Vizio M-Series 4K UHD TV Preview
Remote
The curved and contoured shape of the new baton-style Bluetooth/IR remote feels terrific in the hand, but I did miss the larger combination directional pad/cursor control button of the 2014 Smart Remote (view my video demo). Also, the directional pad on the 2014 remote provided more tactile feedback with raised sections that were easier to locate without glancing down, but the new remote adds backlighting to most of its buttons. The Wiimote-like cursor control offered by the new remote maintained the smooth precision I've come to appreciate in Samsung's premium designs although a few software-related hiccups were observed when transitioning between apps and menus.
Ports
The JS9500 has two ports on the rear of its curved chassis: one for connecting the power cord and the other for attaching a custom 2-meter cable that connects the One Connect input box. The 78-inch and 88-inch models include a 3-meter One Connect cable, but this may still restrict wall mounting options where routing the cable in-wall is desired. All four HDMI ports on the One Connect box were HDCP 2.2 enabled for use with protected source devices like the Sony 4K Media Player (read my review), and a check with the DVDO AVLab TPG (read my review) showed all HDMI ports accepted 4K60 input with 4:2:0 color sub-sampling as well as 4K24/30 with 4:4:4 sub-sampling. An included dongle provides legacy analog AV input options.
Apps
Samsung's 2015 flagship TV features the company's new Linux-based operating system dubbed Tizen. The new interface makes better use of a 4K UHD display with larger and more detailed app icons and increased resolution of the app interface compared to Samsung's 2014 Smart TVs. I was also please to see the TV's on-screen cursor now functions with Netflix but this control feature is unavailable with most other apps. A new OS takes time to mature, and the SUHDs are awaiting the arrival of popular app options like HBO Go and MLB.tv. A recent update added Sony's PlayStation Now game streaming service and it most welcome as the other game app options proved unremarkable and unwieldy. PlayStation Now on the JS9500 requries a DualShock 4 controller as I was unable to pair a DualShock 3 controller I used when originally testing the service on the Sony XBR-X900B UHD TV (read my review). UHD streaming options continue to grow, and the JS9500 goes beyond the ever-present Amazon and Netflix with YouTube, UltraFlix, M-Go, and more in the works.
The JS9500's built-in 1080p camera retracts flush into the frame when not needed and laser-cut ports for stereo microphones blend seamlessly into the upper bezel. The good AV quality of the camera setup had me appreciating the JS9500 as a couch-friendly Skype machine.
My Favorite Dual-Tuner OTA DVR
OTA
Free HD television is always a good thing (ask a cord cutter), and the over-the-air (OTA) tuner built into the JS9500 made short work out of scanning for local channels. The quick guide that appears on the right side of the screen made it easy to scroll to the desired channel, but the grid style channel guide remains as sluggish as last year's version and is best avoided.
Uniformity and viewing angles
The JS9500's curved screen exhibited very good uniformity when displaying a full screen dark gray test pattern that makes anomalies easy to spot. Interestingly, disabling the TV's local dimming feature (aka Smart LED) significantly degraded uniformity with glowing cloudy spots noted across the screen. However, it's unlikely that a JS9500 owner would disable a key visual feature of the TV so this observation is largely a non-issue.
Viewing angle performance with the JS9500 was typically narrow for VA panel technology. In a dimly lit viewing environment with a calibrated picture setup, color saturation and contrast decreased dramatically when viewed anywhere besides front and center. Slight off-axis viewing also revealed increased halos around bright objects on dark backgrounds.
Calibration
My experience calibrating the JS9500 for optimal HD performance was similar to what I've found with last year's premium Samsung models: the factory calibration (Movie picture preset) was very good and it was easy to improve upon the results with careful white balance setup using the 2-point and 10-point controls. Looking into the 4K future, the JS9500 delivered impressive accuracy when targeting the expanded DCI color space (Auto color space enabled), but it will be a few more years before we see a TV come close to covering UHD's gigantic Rec. 2020 color space.
Video processing
Samsung TVs offer some of the best video processing capabilities of any brand, and the JS9500 exhibited very good performance with the variety tests I fed it. High frequency signal results were some of the best I've seen with only a slight chroma roll off that appeared similar to the performance of the 2014 Sony X900B (read my review) and X950B. The JS9500 breezed through the classic 1080i HQV benchmark including a superb diagonal edge filtering result that Sony TVs never seem to get right. Video lag testing using the Leo Bodnar meter saw a reduction to 24.7ms with the TV's Game Mode enabled - less than 2 video frames with 60Hz input making the JS9500 a very good option for gamers.
Robert's Favorite Home Theater Gear
Eyes on
Loading up the 1080p masterpiece Samsara, I found the Sony X950B was slightly better at revealing the darkest details while the JS9500 excelled at maintaining darker letterboxed bars. The movie's many sky and desert panning shots revealed no signs of dirty screen effect (DSE), and the wide variety of skin tones were fantastically represented. I set the TV's custom dejudder setting to off for the most part, but a setting of 1 or 2 (out of 10) did a good job of minimizing this artifact without making it look like a soap opera. Samsara's military parade scene showed that increasing the dejudder setting to 6 or 7 dramatically improved motion resolution at the expense of an unnaturally smoothed presentation.
The Batman classic The Dark Knight is another reference title in my Blu-ray library, and the JS9500's precise white balance setup produced impressively consistent colors and detail throughout the luminance range. Fair skin tones like that of Bruce Wayne highlighted the JS9500's viewing angle limitations as there was noticeable washout with a single step left or right off-center. The Sony X950B exhibited similar artifacts but at slightly wider off-axis angles.
Bottom line
I'm convinced that the Samsung JS9500 Series will rank as one of the very best LCDs of 2015 with its main competition being Sony's new flagship X940C that also features a full array LED backlight system with local dimming. LG's quantum dot-enhanced UF9500 is an edge-lit LCD that likely won't come close to the light output of Samsung or Sony's best LCDs but it costs significantly less. When seated in its viewing sweet spot, the JS9500 delivered a superb HD viewing experience with epic contrast and sublimely accurate color across all luminance levels. During the few weeks I've spent examining the JS9500 it has received several software updates that have improved its performance and fixed minor glitches. I'm pleased to see the UHD format moving beyond simply more pixels, and I'm even more delighted to see capable TVs like the Samsung JS9500 standing ready to deliver a superb presentation of today's and tomorrow's best video content.
