The Samsung QN95B Neo QLED: A Bright Star in the Ultra-HD TV Landscape
With modern flat-panel televisions vying for our attention, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to choose the right one. While LED, QLED, and OLED dominate the market, a new contender – Mini LED – is emerging, offering a compelling blend of affordability and superior picture quality. Samsung, a leader in the television space, has embraced this technology with its flagship QN95B Neo QLED TV, a marvel of engineering that tantalizes with quantum-dot technology, Mini LED backlighting, and a sleek, minimalist design. Priced at Rs. 2,14,990 in India, the 55-inch Samsung QN95B is a strong contender for the best flagship TV available. But does it truly live up to the hype? This review delves deep into its features, performance, and if it’s worth your hard-earned rupees.
The Samsung QN95B: A Look Under the Hood
The Samsung QN95B Neo QLED TV, available in 55-inch and 65-inch models, is firmly positioned as a premium offering, competing with top-tier models from LG and Sony. What sets it apart? It’s the combination of Mini LED backlighting and Samsung’s renowned QLED quantum-dot technology.
Let’s unpack these technologies:
- Mini LED Backlighting: Traditional LED TVs use a handful of large LEDs for backlighting, resulting in uneven light distribution and "blooming" – bright areas spilling light into darker ones. Mini LEDs, significantly smaller in size, allow for a greater density of LEDs, creating more localized dimming zones. This translates to enhanced contrast and more precise black levels with significantly reduced blooming.
- QLED Quantum-Dot Technology: This technology uses quantum dots, microscopic semiconductor crystals, to enhance color accuracy and brightness. The dots emit specific colors when excited by light, allowing for a wider color gamut and more vivid image reproduction.
Design: Elegance and Simplicity
The Samsung QN95B’s design is a testament to minimalist aesthetics. The TV’s body is completely flat, with a uniform thickness that allows it to seamlessly blend with the wall. The back of the TV boasts just two ports: the One Connect cable (more on this later) and a USB Type-C port for an optional webcam (sold separately). The entire 4.2.2-channel speaker system is also housed discreetly at the back.
The QN95B can be either wall-mounted with minimal gaps between the screen and the wall, or table-mounted using the included, heavy, and solidly-built stand. While the screen unit is essentially just the display, the true "brains" of the operation lies in the One Connect Box. This box, tethered to the TV screen with a transparent and thin 1-meter cable, houses all the ports, connections, and processing power. This ensures a clutter-free and sleek viewing experience.
With a native refresh rate of 100Hz and a variable refresh rate of up to 144Hz, the QN95B is ready to tackle the most demanding content. It boasts a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels on its 55-inch screen, utilizing Samsung’s Neural Quantum Processor 4K for optimal image quality. The QN95B supports HDR10+ content for an immersive viewing experience, as well as Dolby Atmos audio. The 4.2.2-channel speaker system features two top-firing speakers for a surround sound experience with a rated output of 70W.
The Remote: More Than Just Buttons
The Samsung QN95B’s remote is a marvel of design and utility. It features a solar panel on the back, capable of charging the internal battery and eliminating the need for frequent recharging. For quick bursts of power, a USB Type-C port is also included.
The remote is compact and minimalist, with a D-pad for navigation, hotkeys for popular streaming services (Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, and Samsung TV Plus), and essential buttons. The remote’s built-in microphone allows for voice control, while the SmartThings integration lets you control compatible smart appliances directly from the TV. Other noteworthy features include:
- EyeComfort Mode: This feature automatically adjusts the screen’s brightness and color temperature based on the time of day and ambient light.
- Multi View: Allows you to mirror your smartphone screen alongside content playing on the TV.
- Apple AirPlay 2: Seamlessly stream content from your Apple devices.
- AMD FreeSync Premium Pro: Ensures smooth and tear-free gaming on compatible devices.
- Object Tracking Sound: Creates a more immersive audio experience by placing sounds on-screen based on where they appear in the content.
- Q-Symphony: Allows the TV’s speakers to work in concert with compatible external sound systems.
The Tizen Interface: Content-Focused and Cluttered
Samsung continues its reliance on the Tizen operating system for its televisions. While the QN95B features a revised user interface compared to previous models, with a heavy emphasis on content recommendations from various apps and streaming services, some users may find the interface cluttered and confusing.
Samsung TV Plus, a free streaming service preinstalled on the TV, takes center stage in the interface and offers a wide selection of linear channels. While this can be a useful feature, the constant presence of a small preview box displaying the most recently viewed channel upon starting the TV can be distracting and annoying, especially if the volume is left high.
Despite these drawbacks, the user interface remains functional and allows for easy access to connected devices and apps. The app marketplace offers a diverse array of streaming services, games, and other applications. However, navigating the settings menu can be cumbersome, even with the many customization options available.
Performance: Brighter, Better, and More Stunning Than Ever
The Samsung QN95B Neo QLED delivers the kind of performance you’d expect from a flagship Ultra-HD television, showcasing the prowess of the Mini LED and quantum-dot technologies. The screen boasts vibrant colors, striking contrast, and exceptional HDR performance, particularly with HDR10+ content.
Watching "Spider-Man: No Way Home" in Ultra-HD HDR with Dolby Atmos on Apple TV was a visual treat, highlighting the QN95B’s strength in handling high-quality content. The sharpness, colors, and detail levels were impressive, but it was the brightness that truly set it apart. The Mini LED technology allowed for exceptional micro-dimming, ensuring precise control of brightness and dark areas. Black levels were almost as impressive as those found on top-tier OLED TVs, with minimal visible blooming or bleed.
The TV’s adaptive brightness feature, which automatically adjusts brightness based on the ambient light, proved particularly useful. It effectively compensated for varying light conditions, allowing for comfortable viewing in both bright and dark rooms. While a dark room offers the optimal viewing experience, the QN95B held its own even with significant light coming in from outside.
While the lack of Dolby Vision support is noteworthy, the QN95B’s capable hardware and adaptive capabilities more than compensate. The TV delivers top-notch HDR performance, rivaling the best on the market, even with HDR10+ content alone. It’s worth noting, however, that the TV seems to rely more on its own internal processing to achieve excellent brightness and deep blacks rather than solely on the metadata provided in HDR10+ content.
Motion and Upscaling: A Mixed Bag
The QN95B’s performance with Ultra-HD HDR content is stellar, but it’s not flawless. While motion handling is generally excellent, scenes with fast or fluid movements can occasionally reveal some artifacts or judder, especially with lower-resolution content. This is a common issue with many televisions, but it was more prominent on the QN95B.
Upscaling is decent, with Full-HD content looking surprisingly good on the large 55-inch screen. However, fast motions during live streaming events, specifically F1 races, exhibited noticeable artifacts and judder. This is an expected limitation of upscaling, but it was noticeable on the QN95B compared to some of its competitors.
Sound: A Disappointing Performance
Despite the QN95B’s boasting a 70W rated output, the sound performance was underwhelming. The speakers, firing towards the back of the TV, lacked the fullness and loudness I expected. Even at lower volumes, the sound felt somewhat muffled. Object Tracking Sound, intended to create a more immersive experience, failed to make a noticeable difference.
While the sound quality wasn’t exceptional overall, the performance with Dolby Atmos content was surprisingly good. Movies such as "Hustle" and "Love, Death & Robots" delivered a more spacious and detailed audio experience. However, reaching a satisfying volume required pushing the volume to around 70 percent, which is quite high. For a truly immersive home theatre experience, a dedicated soundbar or sound system is highly recommended.
Verdict: A Worthy Flagship, but Not Quite Perfect
The Samsung QN95B Neo QLED TV is a worthy flagship, especially for those who prioritize brightness, color accuracy, and exceptional HDR performance. It boasts impressive design, features, and overall performance, especially when displaying high-quality Ultra-HD content. The Mini LED backlighting delivers stunning contrast and black levels, making it a competitor to OLED TVs in terms of picture quality.
However, the QN95B isn’t perfect. The sound quality is somewhat underwhelming, the user interface can feel cluttered and confusing, and there are occasional motion issues with lower-resolution content. These drawbacks may not be dealbreakers for everyone, but they’re worth considering.
Overall, the QN95B is a premium TV that delivers on its promises of top-tier picture quality. Its bright and vibrant image makes it a joy to watch, especially with HDR content. If you’re looking for a flagship TV with stunning visuals, the QN95B is a strong contender, but be prepared to invest in a separate soundbar or speaker system to fully experience its potential.
