Once upon a time, choosing between OLED and LCD TVs was largely about the setting. If your living room was bathed in sunshine, you'd lean towards the bright prospects of LCDs. Should your cinematic experiences unravel in the cocoon of a dimly lit room, OLEDs were your best bet. Concerns over OLEDs succumbing to screen burn when pushed to match the luminosity of LCDs seemed to validate this divide.

Fast forward to today, OLED technology has leaped forward, embracing brightness without a heightened risk of screen burn. This begs the question: Is there still room on the stage for premium LCD TVs in this evolving landscape?

No product better poised to weigh in on this debate than the 2024 Samsung QN95D QLED, a 65-inch 4K LCD titan. Samsung's newest strategy places its top-tier 4K Mini LED and QD OLED offerings on equal footing, blurring the lines even further between these technologies.

Having had a firsthand look at an early version of the 65-inch QN95D, we're eager to share our initial impressions on what this could mean for the future of television viewing.

Price

The 65-inch QN95D, priced at £3699 in the UK (with US and Australian prices pending), stands as a testament to its high-end status among 65-inch LCD TVs. Importantly, this price point is seen as fairly reasonable, especially considering the recent global inflation trends over the last year. It maintains its position in line with its predecessor, the 2023 QN95C. This consistency in pricing reflects a commitment to offering premium quality without additional inflation pressures.

In comparison, the 65-inch S95D launches at a slightly lower price of £3599, hinting at Samsung's nuanced view of the QN95D as the marginally more upscale option. This strategic pricing showcases Samsung’s efforts to balance quality with affordability, ensuring that their top-tier offerings remain accessible to a broad audience.

Explore the Design of QN95D TV

While the QN95D TV might not capture the ultra-futuristic essence of the S95D QD-OLED or possess the ultra-thin allure of the QN900D 8K TV, it brings its own charm to the table. Sporting a dark grey metallic finish, it doesn't shout for attention but manages to turn heads with its sleek design.

Its robust build and premium feel notwithstanding, the QN95D holds true to what's referred to as the Infinity One design. This design ethos ensures the device maintains a slim profile by LED TV standards, accompanied by a stand that doesn’t demand an expansive surface to rest upon—making it a perfect fit for any living space.

The bezel, slightly wider than that of the QN900D, continues to preserve the aesthetic of minimalism, setting a standard for 65-inch TVs.

Unique to the QN95D is its Ambient mode—a feature designed to keep your living space vibrant with downloadable content ranging from photographs and artistic designs to soothing video loops. This ensures your TV adds to your room's decor, even when it's off.

Included in the box are two remote controls. One follows the traditional design with an extensive set of buttons, while the other adopts a minimalist approach with a solar panel on the back, aiming for a balance between functionality and modern design. However, an improvement like a direct input select button on the smart remote would be welcomed.

Exploring the Innovative QN95D 4K TV: A Tech Marvel for Your Living Room

Welcome to the future of television viewing, featuring the QN95D 4K TV. This incredible device brings forward a mesmerizing visual experience, thanks to its use of Mini LED backlighting combined with a VA type LCD panel. What sets it apart? Enhanced contrast, wider viewing angles courtesy of Samsung’s innovative technology, and a commitment to delivering a viewing experience that mirrors the real world.

Dive deeper into cutting-edge tech with the QN95D’s Mini LED lighting. Imagine a world where your screen lights up with LEDs so minute, they offer unprecedented control over your display's brightness and contrast. Coupled with an advanced local dimming system, especially in the 65-inch model, which boasts an astonishing 1344 separately controllable zones, the precision in lighting is simply unparalleled.

At the heart of these features is the Neo Quantum 4K AI Gen 2 processor. This brain behind the brilliance not only manages local dimming with finesse but also enhances 4K content upscaling, optimizes power, and introduces the Real Depth Enhancer Pro system. This system cleverly highlights the primary subjects in any scene, adding a depth that's as close to real life as possible.

Another highlight is the QN95D’s approach to HDR content. With Auto HDR remastering, this TV can subtly upgrade SDR content to HDR, ensuring your visuals are always at their peak. The Quantum Dot colour system further brings to life a spectrum of colours covering 100% of the DCI-P3 HDR colour range. Enjoy a wide range of supported HDR formats including HDR10, HLG, and HDR10+, ensuring your favorite content shines in full glory.

For the gamers out there, the QN95D is a dream come true. Its four HDMI ports support 4K/120Hz signals, and it's compatible with VRR through HDMI and AMD Freesync Premium Pro. With ALLM for auto-switching to Game mode, where input lag hits an almost instantaneous 9.8ms, your gaming sessions are set for unparalleled immersion. Not to mention, the dedicated Game Hub and Game Bar menu enhance your gaming experience with innovative features tailored for peak performance.

When it comes to smart features, Samsung’s Tizen OS packs a punch. Overflowing with streaming apps and intuitive ways to browse and watch content, it brings everything you need to the forefront. The addition of a simplified app row and a 'For You' tab makes navigating through the vast content much more manageable. And with built-in voice control options, including Bixby and Amazon Alexa, convenience is at the tip of your tongue.

The Ultimate Viewing Experience: A Closer Look at Samsung's QN95D

Our journey with the Samsung QN95D has been an intriguing adventure, filled with discovery, minor setbacks, and ultimately, a lot of optimism. Let's dive into the heart of this experience.

Initially, we noticed a couple of hiccups with our pre-production model, particularly with the backlight. In certain HDR scenes, the backlight didn't seem to adapt correctly, causing dark areas to appear overly bright. However, after resetting the picture settings, the issue would resolve, at least temporarily. Samsung has reassured us this won't be a problem in the final production units, and we're inclined to believe them.

Once past these early teething problems, the QN95D started to reveal its true potential. Black levels are outstanding, setting a new standard for LCD displays. There's hardly a hint of the wash-out effect that often plagues less capable screens. Furthermore, the Standard picture mode offers a crisp, clear image without any distracting blooming around bright objects on dark backgrounds.

Brightness is another area where the QN95D shines, literally. It outdoes its predecessor, the QN95C, especially in Movie and Filmmaker Mode, pushing into new brightness territories that challenge even the latest OLED displays.

The color accuracy and intensity are what you'd expect from Samsung's top-tier 'QLED' models. The balance of vibrancy and subtlety in the colors brings an astonishing level of depth and realism to the picture, assisted by the Real Depth Enhancer.

Sharpness is unparalleled, turning 4K content into something even more life-like. Samsung's latest upscaling technology also deserves a nod, effortlessly elevating HD content to near-4K quality with natural-looking detail and clarity.

Viewing angles are impressively wide for an LCD panel, maintaining contrast and color integrity from various angles. Motion remains smooth and clear when tweaking the Picture Clarity settings, avoiding the common pitfalls of over-processing.

We encountered a few minor issues, such as the over-zealous dimming of bright objects in dark scenes and occasional brightness shifts. However, switching to Movie mode improves these aspects significantly, although it slightly emphasizes backlight blooming.

Comparatively, the QN95D doesn't quite keep up with the QN900D's brightness advantage over OLED technology, particularly in challenging lighting environments. Nonetheless, it still holds its ground with content that benefits from high brightness levels, despite the fierce competition from OLED TVs that handle bright highlights in dark scenes with more finesse.

Although our experience was slightly hindered by the pre-production model's backlight quirks, the QN95D has shown itself to be a formidable contender in the premium TV market. It's a beacon of what's to come from Samsung, especially as we anticipate the arrival of their new flagship QD-OLED models.

Enhancing Your Viewing Experience with Superior Sound

Right off the bat, the sound quality of the QN95D sets a new standard for enriching your home entertainment. Despite facing certain limitations that are characteristic of Samsung models, such as a slightly restrained forward impact and volume levels that don't quite match its cinematic visuals, this model stands out as a commendable auditory experience.

However, the true allure of the QN95D's audio prowess lies in its bass performance. Deeper and more resonant bass than typically found in sleeker Samsung models provides a robust foundation, ensuring that soundtracks and effects are not only clear but also free of distortions or interruptions. This capability allows the QN95D to elevate and expand its soundscape more effectively than its peers, counteracting the typical compression of dynamic scenes.

One of the QN95D's standout features is Samsung’s Object Tracking Sound system. This innovative technology crafts a spacious audio environment that transcends the physical bounds of the device, offering an immersive Dolby Atmos experience. Additionally, it excels in the precise placement of sound effects within this extended soundstage, achieving remarkable accuracy in tracking multiple auditory elements as they traverse the screen. The result is an enveloping, finely-tuned audio experience that complements the visual splendor of your viewing content.

Early Verdict

Even though we're currently exploring a pre-production model of the QN95D, and it's not entirely stable yet, the glimpses we've caught so far are definitely promising. It seems poised to continue the legacy as a leading Mini LED flagship 4K TV.

However, it's still a bit early to determine if it will hold its ground, especially with the upcoming launch of Samsung's third-generation QD-OLED TVs right around the corner.

Stay tuned, as we'll bring you a detailed and final review once we get our hands on a fully operational production model.