With Multi-View, you can stream several video sources at once, which is perfect for fantasy football fans, news junkies, and stock market nerds to keep up with multiple streams of information. The higher-end models from Samsung have top-tier features like variable refresh rate support for smoother video playback while gaming and object tracking sound for room-filling, 3D virtual surround sound without the need for extra speakers or sound bars. Samsung also offers more stripped-back, budget-friendly models that provide key smart features you’ve come to expect for home entertainment at prices that won’t drain your savings. So whether you’re looking to buy a TV with all the bells and whistles to future-proof your home theater or just want a reliable smart TV so you can keep up with the hottest Netflix originals, Samsung has a model to suit your needs. Check out our top picks below to see which is right for you. The screen is treated with an anti-glare and anti-reflection coating to give you ultra-wide viewing angles even with harsh overhead or environmental lighting. The TV itself has an ultra-sleek, minimalist design and is OneConnect compatible, allowing you to use just one cable to connect all your playback and home audio equipment to your new TV for a super-clean looking home theater. For customers who have multiple mobile devices, you can connect them to your new TV via Bluetooth and share your screen with the Multi-View function or Tap View for Samsung smartphone users. The Multi-View feature has been updated for this TV, allowing you to stream up to four videos simultaneously; this is perfect for keeping up with multiple news feeds, stock market activity, or sports stats and scores. The updated Tizen operating system and 4K Lite processor use artificial intelligence and HDR10+ technology to give you the best native 4K picture and better upscaling of non-4K content so everything from classic sitcoms to the hottest blockbuster movies look amazing. You can use the integrated Bixby or Alexa voice controls for hands-free use of your new TV and connected devices or connect your favorite Google Home speaker via Bluetooth. The improved Ambient Mode allows you to choose or upload photos and images to turn your TV into a work of art when not in use or blend into your room’s decor. With the included OneRemote, you don’t need to keep multiple remotes for your home theater; the TV’s remote can control everything from the TV itself to sound bars and Blu-Ray players to help keep your home theater clutter-free. The Tizen operating system has a suite of preloaded, popular apps like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ so you can start streaming your favorite shows and movies right out of the box. For parents, the built-in V-chip lets you set up parental controls, ensuring your little ones aren’t accessing any content that may be inappropriate. With 3 HDMI inputs, 2 USB ports, and Bluetooth connectivity, there are plenty of ways to connect all of your playback and home audio devices for a great home theater configuration. If floor space is at a premium, this TV is VESA wall mount compatible, letting you free up space for things like seating, play areas, or to just make your home feel more open.
What to Look for in a Samsung TV
Samsung has become one of the most trusted brands of smart televisions in recent years. The company offers a wide range of sizes and screen resolutions to suit almost any living room, dorm, or home theater. The variety of screen technologies also give you plenty of choices for picture quality, color range, and contrast. Samsung is one of the few manufacturers that still offers curved televisions alongside their more popular flat screen counterparts. They even have several lines of televisions that double as art pieces to blend into your home decor when they aren’t in use. If you’re a die-hard Samsung customer or just in the market for a decent, affordable new TV, the brand has a lot of options to choose from. We’re going to explain several important factors to consider when shopping for a new Samsung television to help you decide which is right for you.
Screen Resolution and Size
The very first thing you should do when looking to purchase a new TV is to determine what size best fits your space. To do this, pick a spot for a dedicated stand or wall mount and measure the distance to where you are most likely to sit; then divide that measurement in half to get the ideal screen size. For example, if your couch is 10 feet from your TV (120 inches), the ideal TV size is 60 inches. You can go a bit larger or smaller depending on what’s available online and in stores, but having a TV that is too large or too small can cause problems. A screen that is too large not only takes up an unnecessary amount of space and may not even fit your room at all, it can cause motion sickness. A screen that is too small makes it difficult to make out details and colors, and forces everyone to crowd around the television, making a watch party or even watching shows and movies with family after dinner uncomfortable. When you’ve determined the best TV size for your space, it’s time to look at screen resolution. Televisions that provide 4K UHD resolution have become more popular and mainstream in home entertainment. They give you four times the pixels of 1080p full HD, meaning you can get a wider color range and more detailing. Many streaming services offer UHD content so you can take full advantage of your TV’s picture technology. You can still find TV models that use 1080p full HD, and these make excellent secondary TVs in bedrooms, kitchens, or children’s playrooms; especially if you mostly watch broadcast programming and older DVDs. Samsung has also begun to produce a line of 8K televisions. These give you four times the detailing of 4K and 16 times that of 1080p. However, these models are incredibly expensive, and there is a serious lack of 8K content available to stream or watch over broadcast signals. This means that unless you’re looking to future proof your home theater, you’ll be paying a lot of money for a TV that you won’t be able to begin to take advantage of for several years.
HDR Support and Audio
Many of Samsung’s 4K televisions support HDR technology; HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, and it is a technology that analyzes shows and movies scene by scene for optimal color, contrast, and picture quality. The newest line of Samsung TVs uses their proprietary Quantum HDR technology, but others use Dolby Vision. There isn’t much of a difference between the two versions, but Quantum HDR is optimized for use with Samsung’s latest televisions, allowing you to take full advantage of the QLED panel and get images that rival OLED quality. If you’re an audiophile, many of Samsung’s televisions use Dolby Atmos to produce virtual surround sound audio for a more immersive experience. Many TVs also feature Bluetooth connectivity to set up wireless speakers, soundbars, and subwoofers for a custom home theater configuration. With Bluetooth, you can also connect wireless headsets for private listening so you won’t disturb others in your home or dorm while you watch your favorite shows and movies, listen to music, or play video games.
Curved vs Flat
While curved televisions didn’t gain the popularity that Samsung and other manufacturers had hoped for, you can still find great curved TVs at affordable prices. Curved televisions were designed for ultra-wide viewing angles and to reduce glare from natural and overhead lighting, giving you a better movie and show watching experience. The curvature of the screen is meant to give you full color volume at almost any angle, so no matter where you’re sitting in relation to the screen, the picture never looks washed out or dim. The biggest drawback to a curved television is that they require specialized brackets for wall mounting, which can be quite expensive, and curved TVs often don’t look as great as their flat counterparts when mounted. The curved edges can stick out quite a ways from the wall, creating the danger of breakage from accidental bumps. The anti-glare benefit has been exceeded by their flat cousins as well. Many newer flat screen televisions have panels that have been treated with anti-glare coatings or built with anti-reflective glass, giving them better viewing angles and color volume without a curve. However, a curved TV can still find a home in your living room, dorm, or home theater, if you’re looking for a unique aesthetic.
Voice Controls
Samsung’s Bixby is an excellent option for anyone looking to get their first virtual assistant since it is automatically included in the price of your television and quick to set up; it also doesn’t require the purchase of a separate speaker, saving you a bit of money in the long run. Of course, not everyone needs or wants hands-free controls, so Bixby and the other virtual assistants can be disabled in the TV’s menus, making the remote the sole command input for your television.
