The Samsung S95B Quantum OLED Smart TV is the first QD-OLED TV I’ve set my eyes on. If you’re like me and you think TVs are beautiful I think you’re going to be just as blown away by it as I was.
It’s the thinnest TV I’ve ever had the pleasure of setting up. Colours and contrast are enhanced to the point it’s better than looking out the window. You also get the Samsung Game Bar and the game-centred tech on this TV that make playing the latest consoles a completely new experience. This is one of the TVs announced at CES 2022 I’ve been waiting to see and it was well worth the wait. Here’s a look at the Samsung S95B Quantum OLED 4K UHD Tizen Smart TV (QN65S95BAFXZC).
Features of the Samsung S95B QD-OLED 4K TV
The Samsung Quantum OLED 4K TV, also known as the Samsung S95B, is available in 65-inch and 55-inch sizes. I set up the 65-inch panel and my first impression was “wow, it’s so thin I can’t believe it’s a TV.” It’s only as thick as a few twoonies stacked on top of each other. The back of the display is the largest part of the TV, and that’s where the TV components and speakers are located.
- New Quantum HDR OLED technology provides spectacular 4K picture quality with true black and brilliant colour representation
- 120Hz refresh reduces motion blur and is great for gaming
- Motion Xcelerator Turbo+ reduces any shaking, motion issues, or lag when gaming
- Game Bar and Game menu turns on when you plug in your console, giving you one central location for all of your favourite games across all platforms you play them
- TV has two USB media ports and four HDMI 2.1 ports. All four can run 4K/120Hz
- 2.2.2CH 60 watt audio with enhanced audio features you can adjust in the TV settings
- Wi-Fi 5, AirPlay 2, and Bluetooth let you share or stream your favourite photos, videos, and music
- PC on TV feature lets you connect your PC to your TV
- Smart TV runs Samsung Tizen operating system with all popular apps and Samsung streaming TV
- Voice control via Google Assistant, Alexa, or Bixby
- Solar-powered remote control
Setting up the Samsung Quantum OLED 4K TV
I’m always extremely careful when unboxing TVs, but the thin panel on the Samsung S95B OLED made me a bit nervous. It’s not flimsy but it’s really thin, and the TV itself is much thinner and lighter than the included stand so you need to set it up a bit differently than you would other TVs.
The stand reminds me a lot of the stand included with Samsung smart monitors. It comes in two pieces that connect together and it’s pretty heavy. Instead of adding the legs while holding the TV upright as I usually do, I needed to lay the panel face down on a table and use a screwdriver to attach it. It was an easy process, and once mounted the TV sits neatly on my entertainment stand. Despite how thin the panel is, the stand makes the TV very sturdy and secure.
If you’d like to mount it on a wall I would recommend a slim fit mount that sits flush with your wall. That way you get to enjoy the slim build of this TV even more.
Testing the Samsung QD-OLED 4K TV
I read about this TV in January and I was pretty excited by the idea of a TV that blends QLED with OLED. I’ve had my own Mini-LED QLED TV for a few years and have always loved the bright, vivid picture quality, but my TV doesn’t hold a candle to the Samsung S95B Quantum OLED.
Samsung S95B picture quality
Adding a quantum dot layer to a TV with OLED backlight boosts brightness, colour, and contrast to levels that are hard to believe. Right out of the box and without any adjustments other than turning on Intelligent Mode, everything we watched or played on the Samsung SB95 was spectacular.
The depth of colour is not just noticeable when watching 4K movies. I plugged my security camera DVR into one of the four HDMI ports and felt like I was looking at someone else’s yard. The grass was impossibly green, the sky a vivid blue. I don’t normally watch my camera DVR unless I’m trying to see something specific, but it’s impossible not to want to keep looking at whatever is on the screen of this TV.
This TV will upscale whatever you’re watching too, so you’ll feel as though everything is in 4K. I watched the sunset via a 1080p Tofino web cam that’s usually pretty grainy in the late evening and I was in awe of the colour of the sun and the waves.
The tech behind this Quantum OLED panel is Samsung’s New Quantum HDR OLED technology. It improves content so areas that would just look dark or light on a 4K LED TV are enhanced and intense detail is more visible. OLED is the only type of TV that can achieve true black, and the black levels on this TV are amazing too. I don’t have a lot of light pollution so I turned the lights off and sat in the pitch black watching a horror movie. When a zombie popped out of a dark room, it looked like he was heading straight to where I was sitting. I may have just been terrified, but in the dark it’s very hard to tell the difference between the TV and the rest of the room.
If you’d like to learn more about QLED vs OLED vs Mini-LED, take a look at this article on what they are and the differences between the three.
Gaming on the Samsung QD-OLED TV
The Samsung SB95 QD-OLED TV is a true gamer TV. It has four HDMI ports that run 4K/120Hz so you don’t have to plug into a special port for gaming. We added our PS5 and went through the steps of adjusting HDR and optimizing settings. After the initial setup, every time we tapped the PS5 button on the Samsung Smart Hub screen the console would power on and the Samsung Game Bar would open up.
Multiple ways to game
There are quite a few things I love about the Samsung Game Menu. The menu screen turns purple and it emits a glow so it feels like you’ve just turned on your RGBs. On the screen you’ll see all of your games across all consoles, so you can switch between PS5, XBox, Stadia, and your PC games. You can connect your PC to the TV and use it as a gaming monitor, and you can either use a wired or wireless connection.
The TV has Super Ultrawide Gameview and Motion Xcelerator Turbo+ technology. It reduces screen judder and shake and virtually eliminates lag. You can adjust all of the game settings yourself or the TV will customize your settings for you based on what you’re playing and how you’re playing. We mainly gamed with the PS5 so all of the settings were optimized for that console including VRR and ALLM. You’ll know what the settings are just by looking at the Game Bar at the bottom of the screen.
We played everything from first-person shooter games like Deathloop to cute games like Bugsnax. There was no ghosting, judder, or lag for any PS5 first-person shooter games we played, and having the game bar lets you customize your settings on the fly. With the fast response, true black, and brilliant HDR colour palette, you’ll never want to game on another TV.
Sound quality on the Samsung SB95 Q-OLED TV
It’s rare for a thin flat panel TV to have great audio output. Most people will add a sound bar because they’d like louder audio, but I’d wait a bit before you choose one for the Samsung SB95 Quantum OLED. For how thin the panel is, this TV has absolutely amazing audio. You have to find the sweet spot for your room, but I found anywhere between 25 and 30 was great for watching movies, 35 to 40 if you like it louder, and for really immersive gaming, 45 is the number to turn it up to.
Dialogue is very clearly projecting from a center speaker so it sounds as natural as listening to my sound bar. It doesn’t have a lot of bass, but the TV has a way of amplifying sound effects so you feel as though they are tracking from one side of the screen to the other. I found the best settings by playing with the volume while watching movies and gaming, but if you want to let the TV control audio you can turn on Adaptive Audio in the Intelligent setting and it will keep your dialogue, background sounds, and other audio even.
Tizen operating system on the Samsung Q-OLED
I’ve always been impressed with the Samsung Tizen operating system. Everything is well laid out, it’s easy to add new apps or access your existing apps, and you can use your TV as a smart home hub with voice control too. It’s a very seamless experience overall, and I like how the Smart Hub is a part of all of the latest Samsung displays including Samsung smart monitors.
There are a few perks to having the Tizen operating system. You can log in to your PC or Mac apps like Microsoft 365 and use your TV as a second display for work. You can use a multi-screen or Airplay to stream content from your computer or phone, or login to the web browser and use the Internet on your TV.
The TV uses one of the most unique remote controls too. It’s a solar charging remote that maintains its charge when placed in sunlight. A fully charged remote will last up to 2 years, and you can place it in the sun for a refresh whenever you’re not using it. If the battery gets really low you also have the option of charging it via USB-C.
Should you choose the Samsung QD-OLED 4K TV?
This TV has the best picture quality I’ve ever seen. Once you realize how intense the detail is you’ll look for things you’ve always missed while watching other TVs. It has vibrant colour and the panel intuitively levels out when colours may be too bright, but it always looks true to life and natural. I have beautiful scenery in my yard, but I had a few moments when I watched my security cameras on the TV rather than look outside. Pair that colour boost with the true black of an OLED and you have a TV that you can’t take your eyes off.
For gamers, the Samsung SB95 OLED can go neck to neck with other popular OLED gaming TVs. The gaming settings on this TV let you adjust on the fly, but you really don’t have to do anything as the game will detect what you’re playing and optimize lag, VRR, and more.
If you want the best of the best, the Samsung QD-OLED is the display for you. You can find the Samsung S95B Quantum OLED at Best Buy right now.
