Ever wondered about the future of television technology? Enter the world of QD-OLED, a groundbreaking advancement that blends the best of both worlds: the exceptional contrast control of OLED with the vibrant colours and brilliance of QLED. It's a match made in visual heaven, and the Samsung S95B was just the beginning, impressing audiences with its stunning display and hinting at the untapped potential of this technology.

Indeed, the Samsung S95B was a marvel, earning rave reviews for its dazzling display quality. Yet, it was merely the first step in Samsung's exploration of QD-OLED technology. Fast forward to 2023, and Samsung is diving deeper into these novel waters with its flagship S95C model, alongside the S90C. The S95C harnesses the power of second-generation QD-OLED technology, promising not only enhanced brightness but also improved durability. It's a design marvel too, boasting a sleek style that stands out. Plus, with the ingenious One Connect box, cable clutter becomes a thing of the past.

This is Samsung's bold statement in the evolving landscape of TV technology, striving to elevate the home viewing experience to new heights. While the S95C represents the pinnacle of current television technology, it's an invitation to imagine what's possible in the realms of visual entertainment. It might not claim the title of the absolute best TV on the market when weighing performance against cost, but it's undoubtedly a significant milestone in the journey towards perfecting display technology.

Discovering the Samsung S95C: A Leap Forward in TV Technology

While the model number might hint at a direct succession, the S95C by Samsung embarks on a journey beyond, marking a significant elevation from its predecessor, the S95B. This advancement is strikingly mirrored in its launch price, setting high expectations with the 65-inch model's debut at £3599 / AU$4999. Interestingly, buyers in Australia have already witnessed a delightful dip in its cost.

In the competitive arena of high-end TVs, the Samsung S95C finds itself in a fascinating face-off with the striking LG G3. Priced at £3499 / AU$5295, the LG G3 marries innovation with performance through its pioneering MLA technology, boasting brightness levels that challenge the sun.

When pitted against other OLED contenders, the price tag of Samsung’s S95C and LG’s G3 soars higher than models like the LG C3 and the Sony A80L, as well as Samsung’s own S90C. This positions them as premium offerings that promise unparalleled quality and innovation.

The narrative of pricing in the tech world is always thrilling, with last year’s models like the S95B seeing significant price slashes post-launch. While the future of the S95C’s pricing remains shrouded in mystery, one might speculate whether the S90C will steal the spotlight with tempting discount offers. Only time will unravel these anticipations.

Design

Last year's model was a marvel in slimline aesthetics, and this year's iteration is no exception, with its chassis maintaining a slender profile. It features a section for the hardware innards and connectivity options, streamlined even further than many of its contemporaries.

The latest model, while drawing inspiration from last year's design, charts a different path with a nod to the sleek, gallery-like appearances seen in competitors. Its consistent thickness of 1.1cm enables a snug wall fit, presents a sturdier build, and optimizes speaker placement for superior sound quality.

Achieving this svelte uniformity, the device relocates all connectivity ports to an external 'One Connect' box. This year's model, accompanying only the most elite screens in their lineup, mirrors its predecessor's dimensions but sports a slimmer profile, enhancing aesthetics and functionality alike. This allows for a singular, inconspicuous cable to link the box to the display, ensuring a clean setup for enthusiasts.

Not to be overlooked, this model introduces an innovative anti-reflective coating, significantly minimizing glare and reflections, even under the most intensive lighting conditions. This feature sets it apart from both its predecessors and conventional offerings, ensuring an unparalleled viewing experience.

In essence, this television is a triumph of design, distinctly positioning itself among the upper echelons of modern displays with its blend of form and function.

Features

Meet the S95C, a shining example of Samsung's innovation with its second-generation QD-OLED panel. This marvel not only pushes the boundaries by achieving a brightness level approximately 30% higher than its predecessor, the S95B, but it also sets a new standard for peak brightness, exceeding 2000 nits in its most vibrant picture settings and about 1300 nits in presets optimized for cinematic authenticity.

Comparing brightness across different models can be challenging due to the variety of measurement methods. However, it's safe to say that the brightness of the S95C is on par with the best of them, including the MLA-boosted LG G3, and outshines any OLED TV introduced before 2023.

But there's more to a great picture than just brightness. Samsung's QD-OLED TV technology brings an unparalleled colour vibrancy, setting itself apart from 'WOLED' TVs like the G3. This advantage is especially noticeable in the brightest parts of the image, where Samsung ensures colors pop without the risk of highlights appearing faded or washed out.

To unlock the full potential of the S95C, feeding it a steady stream of HDR content is a must. Although it doesn't support Dolby Vision, it embraces HLG, HDR10, and HDR10+ formats. Despite the widespread availability of Dolby Vision content, Samsung opts to promote its existing formats, offering a solid viewing experience across the board.

For gamers, the S95C is nothing short of a powerhouse, featuring support for 4K/120Hz gaming (144Hz for PC), VRR, and ALLM, across all of its HDMI 2.1 ports. Though it misses out on Dolby Vision gaming, it checks every other box for a premium gaming experience.

Audio is no afterthought, with the S95C boasting a 70W 4.2.2 sound system, a notable upgrade over the previous model's capabilities. This enhancement isn't just in the numbers; the redesign allows for a more strategic placement of speakers, ensuring immersive sound quality that complements the stunning visuals.

Samsung's 2023 operating system introduces improvements in responsiveness and user interface, ensuring that your favorite content and features are easily accessible. While navigating the OS is generally smoother, the pursuit of the perfect setting or source can sometimes be a challenge, similar to the experience on other smart TVs.

Every app you could want is available in 4K, HDR10 (with HDR10+ for services like Prime Video and Apple TV), and Dolby Atmos, wherever supported. The S95C also offers exclusive access to Xbox and other cloud gaming services, marking it as a hub for both premium cinematic experiences and cutting-edge gaming.

Revitalizing Your Viewing Experience

Looking for a cinematic experience that pulls you right into the heart of action? Filmmaker Mode on TVs like the S95C strives to deliver the most authentic, unaltered vision straight from the director's chair. However, sometimes what's intended to provide purity can leave a scene feeling a bit under the weather. Take, for instance, the vibrant skies of Top Gun: Maverick's 4K Blu-ray presentation, which rather than exhilarating, come across as subdued in a starless night setting, missing some of its shadowy depth.

Yet, the S95C isn't one to shy away from showcasing its strengths, presenting details with incredible clarity and a sharpness that adds a compelling depth to the overall viewing experience. Even in its quieter moments, it captures attention.

The solution to the muted tones is simpler than you might think, switching from static to active HDR Tone Mapping or opting for the Movie preset kickstarts the TV into vivid life. Suddenly, the screen is ablaze with brightness and contrast that's nothing short of stunning. The colors burst forth with such richness and potency, especially in the brightest segments, anchored by the profound depth of the OLED's signature blacks.

However, while the vibrancy is unmatched, subtlety isn't the S95C's forte. Skin tones and shading don't blend as softly as one might prefer, leading to moments of exaggerated contrast that can momentarily distract.

Shadow details remain a challenge, but by tweaking the Shadow Detail setting, improvement is noticeable, though not without compromise. However, reverting HDR Tone Mapping to its static setting and adjusting the Contrast Enhancer offers a middle ground that brings out the best in the S95C — punchy yet more balanced.

Competition is fierce, with offerings like Sony's A80L bringing to the table a harmony of dynamism and subtlety straight out of the box, a balance the S95C dances around but never quite settles into.

When stepping away from HDR content, Filmmaker Mode finds its groove, rendering movies like Igby Goes Down with a crisp, clean, and lively presentation. Though the TV's approach to shading still leans on the bold side, it's far less distracting.

Motion remains a crucial part of the viewing equation, well-managed across various contents as long as one is willing to navigate the Picture Clarity settings. While default settings might lean too heavily into processing, a touch of manual adjustment can create motion that's smooth without losing touch with reality. Yet, in the realm of managing motion, Sony holds the crown, continuing a legacy of excellence.

Sound Quality Unwrapped

When it comes to the LG G3, its audio performance left a lot to be desired, often coming across as rather uninspiring. Thankfully, shifting our focus to the Samsung S95C, we're met with an auditory experience that's both punchy and dynamic. This leap in quality ensures a much more immersive encounter with the content you love. The Samsung S95C's sound field also deserves praise for its expansiveness, stretching impressively beyond the confines of the screen to create a more enveloping atmosphere.

Despite its strengths, the S95C doesn't completely hit the mark in the bass department, lacking a bit in both weight and depth. This decision appears to be a strategic move to dodge the low-end distortion that's all too common in many of its contemporaries. To draw a comparison, the Sony A80L seems to find a sweet spot, offering not just a more balanced bass but also excelling in delivering a broader and more precise soundstage. Nevertheless, the S95C faces a critique regarding its upper-midrange, which can introduce a harshness to certain sounds, thereby making them overly pronounced.

In its favor, the Samsung S95C does an admirable job at ensuring dialogues remain crystal clear, a testament to its nuanced audio capabilities. However, one can't help but notice that the sound doesn't quite fill the room as it ideally should, occasionally resulting in a sense of detachment from the on-screen action.

Verdict

The Samsung S95C is a spectacular TV that can and will knock your socks off. There's probably never been a consumer TV that's more technically capable or more dynamic in actual use.

Unfortunately, that dynamism doesn't go hand-in-hand with subtlety. To be clear, this is no blunt instrument of a TV, but its shading isn't as nuanced and natural as it could be and, at this price, you are justified in expecting a best-of-both-worlds performance.

It feels as if Samsung is right on the cusp of true greatness here. With a slight rebalancing of its processing or even some greater granularity to some of its currently quite forthright picture settings, the S95C would be almost perfect.