There is no doubt in my mind that Samsung manufactures the best TVs; I have owned a few Samsung TVs as well as from other manufacturers, and it’s difficult to beat Samsung in this realm. The new Samsung KS9500 4K TV is just ridiculous in its gorgeousness, provided you have the right content and room space available for this giant 65″ screen.
Curve is the future
People are divisive over curved televisions — are they truly necessary? — and I as a curved TV user can say that they’re absolutely not necessary, but they definitely do provide a different experience. They look gorgeous to begin with — if a little weird at first. The back has a brushed texture gives the TV some class. Once that TV is on, anyone sitting anywhere in the room can view from whichever angle. More importantly, you will not notice the bend.
Streamlined connections
Setting up the TV is a bit of a workout, though, so make sure you have a friend (or two) with you or have the TV delivered and assembled. Once physically set up, you’ll immediately appreciate the One Connect box that comes along — it’s a single unit that connects all your cables to the TV, minimising clutter. It’s got 4 HDMI inputs (equipped for UHD 4K), 3 USB, ethernet, and digital audio. It’s also got its own WiFi should you wish to not connect the ethernet adapter.
Samsung has various partnerships in MENA to bring you video on demand, so you’ll have access to MBC’s “Shahid Plus” with three months free trial. It’s also partnered with STARZ Play Arabia with six months’ free subscription. Additionally, you get your regular apps that are bundled and can be installed like Netflix.
Audio-visual delight
All of this content is isn’t worthwhile if the TV itself rendered the videos poorly, but the KS9500 is a different beast — one armed with “Quantum Dots”. In a nutshell, it’s a technology that will boost the colours up to 64 times more than your other average television. It’s something that has to be seen to be believed. Playing games on my PS4 gave me a whole lot more to appreciate than any other television before it.
There is also HDR support, though you’ll need to have HDR content and games to play this. The results of HDR is a greater visual fidelity where areas cast in shadow are more visible and blend nicely into bright backgrounds, imitating the human eye as closely as possible. Some content on Netflix already comes with 4K HDR support, and the new PS4 Pro will come with 4K as well as HDR that will take full advantage of this TV.
In terms of audio, you get 4.2-channel speakers that are really loud, although of course it’s best to hook it up ith a sound system like a Sonos.
Worthy investment?
The KS9500 comes in 78″, 65″, and 55″ models prices at AED 34,999, AED 14,999 and AED 9,999 respectively. The 55″ model — and most affordable one — will fit perfect for most households I have been to (the 65″ model was too gigantic for my apartment). Given that this is probably the best in class display 4K HDR TV, it’s certainly worth the investment if you’re an avid gamer and/or have a lot of 4K content to consume.
