Samsung S95C QD-OLED TV review (QE65S95CAUXUA)

With all their great advantages, OLED panels have one rather significant drawback: their maximum brightness is noticeably lower than that of panels with additional backlighting. Samsung has solved this problem by combining two technologies: OLED panels and Quantum Dot backlighting. Today we’re going to take a look at just such a QD-OLED TV – the 65-inch Samsung S95C (QE65S95CAUXUA).

Specifications of Samsung S95C (QE65S95CAUXUA)

Design

Just like the Samsung Neo QLED 8K QN900C 8K TV we reviewed earlier this year, the S95C is also based on the Infinity One design. The TV has an absolutely minimalist look, with almost no bezels around the image and a minimal body thickness.

The screen is covered with a protective glass, so when it is turned off, it seems that there is only a thin line of metal side edges around it on three sides and a slightly wider one on the bottom. After turning it on, a thin black frame under the protective glass becomes visible – about half a centimeter wide. At such a diagonal, it hardly catches the eye, and from a typical distance from the TV, it seems that the image is framed by a thin black line.

The screen has a very high-quality anti-reflective coating, and there are almost no ambient reflections in dark areas of the image, even in a brightly lit room – only when the screen is turned off can you see minor reflections, and when viewed at a right angle, they are almost imperceptible.

Like the Neo QLED 8K QN900C, the Samsung S95C does not stand on side legs, but on a single central stand with a very small footprint – thanks to this, the TV can be placed even on a small cabinet if desired.

The thickness of the case is the same over the entire screen area and is only 11 mm – given that the case has a VESA-compatible mount (400×300), the S95C can be hung on the wall and turned into a kind of giant “picture” if desired.

We managed to make it as thin as we did before thanks to the use of a separate One Connect module (Y23 4K), which contains all the “electronics” along with the connectors. If the TV is placed on a cabinet, the module can be mounted behind a stand that is just the right size for the TV. If the TV is to be wall-mounted, the module can be mounted next to it.

All the connectors are located on the side of the One Connect module: 4 HDMI 2.1 ports (one of them is eARC-enabled), three USB Type-A ports, an Ethernet port, a digital optical audio output, two antenna connectors (one for terrestrial/cable TV and one for satellite), and a CI slot for conditional access cards.

The S95C belongs to the second generation of Samsung’s QD-OLED TVs and is the senior model in this year’s lineup. The younger one is the S90C, which is very similar in terms of features and design to last year’s S95B and differs from it, among other things, by officially supporting 144Hz refresh rate and newer software.
Unlike the S95B, the new model is now available in three diagonals: this year, a 77-inch model was added to the 55 and 65-inch models.

Remote control

Again, just like the Neo QLED 8K QN900C, Samsung S95C comes with a SolarCell One remote control (model TM2360G). It is compact and quite slim, with a typical set of controls for such remotes: a joystick ring with a confirmation button inside, buttons for navigating menus and controlling content playback, volume control and channel switching that work on up and down bumps, and buttons for launching clients of popular streaming services.

SolarCell One has a built-in microphone for voice control of the TV. Unfortunately, the proprietary voice assistant Bixby does not yet recognize Ukrainian, so you will have to control it in English.

As the name implies, the remote does not use traditional batteries, but charges the battery using a solar panel on the back of the remote, and it can also be charged by room lighting. If you need to charge it faster, you can do so via the USB-C connector.

Features of Samsung S95C (QE65S95CAUXUA)

Samsung TVs traditionally use the latest version of its own Smart TV platform based on the Tizen OS as a “smart system”. We have already met it in the review of the Neo QLED 8K QN900C, and the S95C has the same look.

It has a modern, user-friendly interface optimized for use on a large screen, with a sidebar that contains the main menu icons. In addition to the Privacy Center and system search, you can find the Ambient mode and the main Media item.

The latter shows the app store, all installed clients, recommendations, switching to the latest content source, etc. Of course, the user can customize this feed to their liking.

Ambient mode allows you to display different images on the screen when the TV is not in use. These can be static wallpapers, dynamic screensavers, or your own photos – and if the TV is mounted on a wall, it allows you to turn a giant black rectangle into a spectacular painting.

The menus of connected devices and system parameters are located in the lower part – you can open them without leaving the current screen using the gear button on the remote control.

Thanks to their minimal response time, OLED panels are usually a very good option for use in gaming systems, and Samsung S95C is no exception. If you have a PC or game console connected to the TV, you can activate the game mode with a special “game panel”. It allows you to customize the picture for different game genres and offers a number of other purely gaming parameters.

In addition, it is worth noting that the Samsung S95C supports 4K@120 gaming mode for consoles (4K@144 for PCs), variable refresh rate (VRR), and automatic low latency mode (ALLM) on all four HDMI 2.1 ports. There is also support for FreeSync Premium Pro technology and HGiG, a standard for game settings from the HDR Gaming Interest Group. The manufacturer notes that the response time in game mode is only 9.2 ms.

The S95C supports three HDR formats: HLG, HDR10 and HDR10+; as is traditional for Samsung TVs, there is no support for Dolby Vision. The Neural Quantum 4K processor uses artificial intelligence to upscale lower-resolution video and recognize and eliminate noise.

Sound quality

Samsung S95C is equipped with a multichannel speaker system made according to the 4.2.2 scheme with a total power of 70 W: it includes eight midrange speakers in the lower part and six high-frequency speakers located along the side edges on the back of the case. This is a very good “upgrade” of last year’s S95B, which had a 60 W 2.2.2 speaker.

Thanks to this scheme, as well as support for Dolby Atmos decoding and the proprietary OTS+ (Object Tracking Sound Plus) system, the TV is able to create a powerful enough soundstage that seems to extend beyond the body, and with the ability to position the sound source quite accurately. OTS+ works especially well with dialogues that sound from the corresponding part of the image.

You shouldn’t expect deep bass from midrange speakers, but they manage to create the impression of their presence just enough to make the sound sound flat, and they don’t distort the sound by trying to play “deeper” than it is possible.

In general, the built-in Samsung S95C speaker system will be quite enough for music videos on YouTube or typical content in streaming services for most users. If its capabilities are not enough, you can improve the sound with a compatible soundbar: thanks to Q-Symphony technology, it will be combined with the built-in speakers into a single speaker system.

Image quality

The Samsung S95C (QE65S95CAUXUA) uses a 65-inch QD-OLED panel with a 4K resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 144 Hz. This is the second generation of QD-OLED, Samsung’s proprietary technology that combines the benefits of an OLED panel with the added brightness of Quantum Dot backlighting.

The manufacturer notes that the second generation has 30% higher maximum brightness compared to the first generation used in the S95B. In HDR on a white square with an area of 10% of the screen, tests show a brightness of 1400 cd/m² and 270 cd/m² on 100% white – this is noticeably brighter than traditional OLED panels without additional backlighting. Thanks to this, the quality of HDR video on Samsung S95C is really impressive: the combination of deep blacks and excellent detail even in very bright areas without “burn-in” creates a very strong effect.

As for SDR content, the maximum brightness can be up to 550 cd/m² in Dynamic mode (with 30% white on the screen). A quick check of the standard settings of different video modes showed that, for example, in the initial “Eco” mode, the maximum brightness is 330 cd/m², and in “Standard” mode – 445 cd/m². The “Movie” mode sets the brightness at 240 cd/m², while the user can manually increase it to 425 cd/m².

Power consumption, of course, depends on the specific image, but for the same frame in Eco mode, the TV consumed 145 watts, in Standard mode – 175 watts, and in Dynamic mode – 275 watts. At the same time, with standard settings in Movie, this figure was only 110 watts, even less than in Eco.

The most accurate in terms of cinematic image quality is the Filmmaker mode: it is very precisely calibrated by the manufacturer (color accuracy ΔE <2, gamma at 2.4) and demonstrates a well-balanced image with deep blacks, high shadow detail, accurately reproduced details and rich natural colors.

Quantum dot backlighting, in addition to increased brightness, also further increases the already wide color gamut (the TV has 100% DCI-P3) and works out bright areas of the image with high quality. At the same time, the TV has the maximum viewing angles traditional for OLED, at which the image practically does not lose any brightness, contrast, or color saturation.

Also, the backlight does not affect the black background, which is typical for OLED panels: in complete darkness, the black areas of the image remain completely black, as if the screen were off, and from any angle.

The updated version of the anti-reflective coating, in addition to eliminating spurious reflections, also effectively absorbs background light and does not make black lighter – so when viewed in bright room lighting, the Samsung S95C almost does not lose high contrast.

Dynamic mode delivers the most vivid and impressive image possible, which is great for showing off all the benefits of QD-OLED in promotional videos. “Standard mode with its dynamic focus on contrast and brightness can be good for a connected PC, but for movie screenings, of course, it’s best to use Movie or Filmmaker modes. They don’t differ too much from each other, and if you find Filmmaker mode too muted and “gloomy” in some HDR movies, you can switch to Movie mode – thanks to slightly different settings, including HDR Tone Mapping, the image in it comes to life.

From left to right: “Dynamic”, “Standard”, “Eco”, “Movie”: