Maybe that’s why Samsung’s stubborn Tizen interface is so irritating? The system is pretty easy to set up on the TV (it crashes every time I try to use the mobile setup option). It is aesthetically pleasing and makes connecting and labeling devices easy. However, its sparse layout can make some features seem overly difficult.
Adding the Peacock app, for example, was twice as difficult as it should be. It doesn’t show up in the app store and didn’t register in search until I typed it in completely. Once I found it, as with all new apps, I had to manually add it to the home screen or it was hidden in the “Installed” window like a second-class citizen.
The main settings bar is similarly unintuitive, with various image settings randomly interspersed among other settings. You can rearrange things, but it’s usually easier to click All Settings to access the legacy settings window. I also experienced some strange Tizen quirks during about a week of testing, such as frozen apps and even some audio dropouts. Unplugging and reconnecting the TV seemed to fix things, aside from some minor issues with loading videos.
You have to give credit to Tizen, which is packed with extras, from its wide range of health and fitness apps to split-screen features. There’s even a handy Game Hub with built-in cloud gaming from apps like Xbox Cloud Gaming, NVidia GeForce now, and Amazon Luna. Like most competitors, there’s also a dedicated game bar for on-the-fly adjustments.
A (mostly) loaded package
Samsung’s Gaming Hub complements the S95D’s robust collection of gaming features, including VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and Freesync Pro for smooth, high frame rate gaming, and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) for responsive input. fast. The four HDMI 2.1 inputs support high refresh rates of up to 144Hz to suit high frame rate PC gaming, and there are plenty of gaming-oriented picture modes, making it easy to capture a gorgeous image.
The TV’s 4.2.2 channel audio system provides surprisingly solid sound. There’s moderate power in the lower midrange and fantastic top expansion (especially for such a thin TV), allowing Dolby Atmos effects to be captured from above and from side to side. Adding a newer Samsung soundbar with Q-Symphony allows you to use both devices at the same time.
Other features include options like Amazon Alexa or Samsung Bixby voice control, Apple AirPlay streaming, and support for HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) formats.
What you don’t get here is Dolby Vision HDR or, oddly for a company that makes Android phones, Chromecast streaming support. These omissions are quite common on Samsung devices, but every year I hope that they will eventually relent and add them.
The main advantage of skipping Dolby Vision is one less picture setting to deal with, although you won’t have to do much with the picture settings anyway. The TV looks almost flawless out of the box in Filmmaker mode, requiring only minor adjustments. For those who like a slightly brighter image, Movie mode is also solid, although you may want to turn off settings like motion smoothing. Whatever your settings, you’ll want to make sure the strangely inaccurate Smart Mode is disabled.
inner reflection
Samsung’s new anti-glare screen technology is the most unique feature of the S95D and works phenomenally well compared to other similar options. As teased at Samsung’s TV event in March, the matte surface is incredibly effective at reducing reflections, even with lights pointed directly at the screen just a few meters away.
There is a trade-off for eliminating glare. Part of the beauty of a perfectly black screen where pixels only appear on demand is just that: perfect black. With the matte screen, lights or reflections are not as striking as on traditional screens, but not all of them disappear completely. The screen diffuses but also expands some reflections over a wider area, elevating its background from bright obsidian to lighter charcoal.