Samsung 2024 TV and soundbar lineup: First impressions

We not too long ago had the chance to spend a day with Samsung’s 2024 TV choices, in addition to its up to date HW-990D soundbar and new Music Frame audio system. Overall, the 2024 lineup isn’t a revolution from the 2023 choices, however the firm has positioned a transparent affect on AI capabilities for options like upscaling and analyzing audio as a way to emphasize dialog so it’s simpler to listen to by way of ambient noise. 

To check the TVs to the very best of our skill, we spent a while streaming content material with the built-in Tizen OS good TV apps, together with Netflix and different well-liked streaming companies. We additionally used 4K Blu-ray copies of Alien and Blade Runner 2049 to check Ultra HD playback. 

Here are some first impressions concerning the new gear, with extra in-depth opinions to return down the road:

S95D OLED 4K TV

LG has traditionally dominated the OLED phase of the TV market, however Samsung took an enormous swing with final 12 months’s S90C. It supplied all of the poppy distinction and deep black ranges you’d anticipate from an OLED, including amplified brightness to make it extra watchable in a shiny room. Now, Samsung has launched its successor, and it’s making much more strides to battle again in opposition to shiny environments.

The S95D employs a formidable glare-resistant matte coating to cut back reflections that may wreck your watching expertise. Glare might be particularly problematic for OLEDs since they sometimes can’t obtain the identical brightness ranges QLEDs and even typical LEDs present. During our time with the S95C, we have been very impressed with the brightness, shade gamut, and anti-reflective properties. Shining a lamp straight on the display from only a few ft away created a boring blob of illumination reasonably than a transparent picture of the lamp or a well-defined specular spotlight (a shiny gentle supply reflecting straight again on the viewer from inside the body). 

The demo room the place we watched the TV had ample ambient gentle, however we might nonetheless clearly make out particulars in darkish scenes from most angles. The Pantone-validated display predictably excels with the lights off, however the daylight efficiency was actually spectacular. That doesn’t come as an excessive amount of of a shock as Samsung has been honing its anti-glare display tech for years with its design-oriented Frame-series TVs. 

We spent many of the demo watching 4K Blu-ray content material in Cinema mode. And whereas that’s our most popular mode for many content material, the general image does profit from a little bit little bit of added brightness. If you’re blacking out your room utterly, Cinema mode could also be fantastic, however these darkish OLED blacks everybody loves a lot can nonetheless get a little bit too black with no little tweaking. 

Overall, we have been very impressed with the S95C, and the S95D looks as if a really worthy successor. It maintains the gaming-friendly “Motion Xcelerator” 144Hz most refresh charge with 2.0ms lag (solely obtainable in particular modes); Samsung’s good TV options; help for HDR10, HDR10+ (adaptive and gaming), and hybrid log gamma (HLG) HDR profiles (however nonetheless no Dolby Vision on any Samsung units); and very quick upscaling due to the brand new NQ4 AI Gen2 Processor. 

It’s obtainable in 55-, 65-, and 77-inch fashions and is at the moment up for pre-order.

QN900D Neo QLED 8K TV

While the OLED TV is flashy, the QN900D 8K TV is Samsung’s true flagship and gives the top-end bells and whistles you’d anticipate. Samsung is touting its new AI-based upscaling powered by the NQ8 AI Gen3 Processor. Upscaling acumen is essential on this case because you don’t actually have any native choices for 8K supply materials for the time being. You’ll at all times be upscaling it doesn’t matter what you watch. 

We obtained the prospect to take a look at the 65-inch mode, and the 4K Blu-ray content material appears spectacular, as you may anticipate. From an applicable sofa distance (roughly 6 to eight ft), I don’t suppose the typical individual will discover an considerable distinction from a typical 4K show, due to the algorithm-based upscaling, motion-tracking (significantly helpful for sports activities), “Motion Xcelerator” 240Hz refresh charge, and Auto HDR (with the identical profiles because the S95D). The picture is shiny, the colours are concurrently vivid and correct, and it offers an total glorious image. Is it overkill for most individuals? Sure. But that’s at all times been a part of a flagship expertise. 

The panel itself is without doubt one of the most spectacular components of the entire expertise. All of the HDMI 2.1 ports, and so forth., reside on a distant field linked by a single wire, which is one thing Samsung has been doing with lots of its high-end TVs for some time now. (The S95D above additionally has a “One Connect” field.) Thanks to its flexibility, that makes set up comparatively easy. The panel itself is wildly skinny with a barely noticeable bezel (Samsung calls it the “Infinity Air Design”). In a darkened room, the picture appears prefer it’s floating. 

Despite its diminutive thickness, this flagship TV offers pretty spectacular sound. You’re nonetheless going to desire a soundbar or another dwelling audio setup to do justice to the picture, however the onboard 6.2.4-channel speaker system does an admirable job proper out of the field. The TV helps Dolby Atmos with its built-in sound system. The directional audio is delicate in comparison with a devoted system, however it’s noticeable in the event you’re paying consideration. The TV tracks objects as they transfer throughout the display and tweaks the sound output to imitate the motion. 

It is available in 65-, 75-, and 85-inch configurations and is at the moment obtainable for pre-order.

QN90D Neo QLED 4K TV

This is Samsung’s bread-and-butter QLED 4K TV. It eschews 8K however is available in a greater diversity of sizes, together with 43, 50, 55, 65, 75, 85, and a large 98 inches.

The backlight contains Quantum Matrix Mini-LED know-how, which permits for hyper-local dimming. It can’t fairly attain OLED ranges of distinction, however it does supply significantly extra brightness, which is essential in the event you’re battling a number of ambient gentle. I did discover that specular highlights typically trigger a curious crimson, inexperienced, and blue halo impact on the display. It’s not an issue in most settings, however it’s noticeable when you have a light-weight straight close to the TV, particularly in the event you’re off the middle axis.

Generally, although, the TV performs excellently. The further brightness from the Mini-LEDs makes the Filmmaker Mode usable in nearly any lighting scenario. I nonetheless desire a little bit little bit of added brightness, however in the event you’re in a pitch-dark room with eyes adjusted to the darkish, you’ll be able to actually admire the subtlety. 

The QN90D’s processing {hardware} isn’t as strong because the flagship’s chip, however it doesn’t should be because it’s not on fixed upscaling duties. You do, nevertheless, nonetheless get the AI-powered options. The voice enhancement tech actually does make it simpler to grasp individuals after they’re talking on-screen. And as soon as once more, the Dolby Atmos efficiency offers noticeable directionality with none further {hardware}. 

We’re wanting ahead to spending extra time with a overview unit, throughout which we will check it in a greater diversity of settings. If you need to strive one earlier than we do, each dimension besides the 98-inch is at the moment obtainable for pre-order.

HW-990D Soundbar

While Samsung’s TVs have obtained noticeable upgrades and enhancements, the corporate’s flagship soundbar for 2024 is analogous in some ways to the 2023 version. But that’s not a nasty factor. This celebrated Dolby Atmos soundbar’s hefty hexagonal {hardware} (say that 5 occasions quick) nonetheless delivers 7.1.2 channels when paired with its wi-fi subwoofer. And that channel rely continues to increase to 11.1.4 while you add within the elective wi-fi rear satellites with their extra upfiring drivers (the configuration we wholeheartedly advocate).

The soundbar stays 48 inches lengthy (becoming between the width of 55- and 65-inch TVs), 2.7 inches tall, and 5.4 inches deep, so measure your credenza/media stand pre-purchase. Within that 17-pound enclosure are 15 front-facing, side-firing, and top-mounted drivers in complete. The sub is comparatively slim for its 26 kilos, housing an 8-inch driver with a rear port and a particular acoustic lens. The two 7-pound satellites, which every require an influence output, share design language with the soundbar’s steel grille. It’s nonetheless a Wi-Fi-enabled setup, with AirPlay 2/Chromecast/TIDAL Connect/Spotify Connect for community music streaming, in addition to help for Bluetooth 5.2 for much less advanced-resolution content material. As for the system’s variations, the 990D’s ports are actually HDMI 2.1 with 4K 120Hz passthrough and VRR, which is nice for players. 

Just as a result of the 990D appears the identical doesn’t imply it sounds the identical, nevertheless. Thanks to AI (the buzzword at CES 2024 in January), the 990D has “SpaceFit Sound Pro,” an auto-calibration system that analyzes room environment for optimum response primarily based on the structure of soundbar, satellites, and sub. In addition, a brand new Game Pro mode guarantees to adapt playback to completely different sport profiles (FPS, racing, RPG, and so forth.). Oh, and a professional tip: Make positive the TV is ready to correctly passthrough bitstream audio in order that the soundbar can correctly decode it (a setting we needed to tweak on the demo unit after an initially complicated, underwhelming minute).

We didn’t get any gaming in, however we did cycle by way of a number of Dolby Atmos albums (Rage Against the Machine’s self-titled debut a pummeling spotlight), in addition to choose scenes from Blade Runner 2049. There’s a sequence within the movie the place automobiles, flying by way of a violent storm, crash land at a seawall. Parts of the motion happen above and under water, that includes immersive, operatic sound design alternating between claustrophobic and crescendo. Our common takeaway was that the 990D extracted much more intent and affect than the already spectacular 990C. Even when the ambiance was meant to be crushing, there was readability—exact imaging and clear dialogue aided by the Q-Symphony synchronization of sound and on-screen motion. The subwoofer, given a thorough exercise, by no means felt overwhelmed. The total expertise was by no means only a case of the whole lot being louder; it was a capability to make the whole lot really feel bigger. From flyovers to drum fills, the 990D deftly rendered a way of spaciousness and dynamic stress.

Sound like one thing you’d like to listen to? The HW-990D is accessible to buy now.