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Samsung 65JS9500 Review
65" 4K SUHD Curved Smart TV, $4,999
RedLine

Performance

Simply put, the Samsung 65-inch JS9500 SUHD TV exhibits the most consistently spectacular picture quality that I have seen from a 4K TV.

For me, quality in terms of rich, true colors and deep blacks with details in the shadows is the foundation when judging a TV and the JS9500 delivers in splendid Ultra HD resolution.

Samsung UNH8000

But consistency is vital. You don't want to be scrambling to find that little remote every time a new program is on and you feel the need to fine tune the picture.

The JS9500, with all its high tech sounding features such as Peak Illuminator Ultimate and Precision Black Pro, dependably produced top notch images even when upscaling HD content to 4K.

With that said, upscaling can only perform so many miracles on less than stellar standard definition and high definition programs. Don't expect your new SUHD TV to resurrect poor quality content.

I have reviewed a number of curved TVs and I'm beginning to like the design aesthetic of the curve, but I still don't believe that the slight arc improves picture quality. Give me the same TV technology in a 65-inch flat screen and I'll happily pocket the price difference.

(The 65-inch Samsung 4K SUHD JS8500 Series non-curved TV is on sale right now for $2999 compared to the $4999 sale price of the curved JS9500. To be fair, the JS8500 does not quite have all the highest end features of the JS9500.)

(Editor's note: You can read another take on curved screens in a blog from a Samsung Display Executive.)

As for 3D playback, it's great. I wish that the active shutter glasses weren't required, but the Samsung 3D glasses are light and comfortable.

But 3D is like so 2010, even Samsung seems to think so if the fact that they only include one pair of glasses (instead of four) in the JS9500 box is any indication.

The present is 4K, Ultra HD resolution and the JS9500 is a superior example of this step up from HD. And as 2015 progresses, the availability of native 4K material is expanding if not proliferating.

The next step with 4K TVs is the ability to play HDR (High Dynamic Range) content. Basically HDR capable TVs will be able to render a wider range of an image (from darker darks to brighter brights).

When confronted with an HD TV and a UHD TV, many people state that they cannot see a notable difference. But when you show them two UHD TVs, one displaying HDR content and the other the same scenes in non-HDR, they can easily see the difference.

Amazon Prime and Netflix have committed to streaming HDR content, but right now there is almost no HDR programs available to the consumer.

The process of remastering movies to HDR is more art than science and the HDR playback standards have not been finalized.

Be that as it may, TV manufacturers are taking the "if we build it, they will come" stance and HDR capable UHD TVs are stealthily appearing. To be clear, not all UHD TVs are capable of playing HDR content. The Samsung JS9500 is one of the 4K TVs that can display HDR programs.

Samsung has distributed to reviewers a USB drive with HDR and standard non-HDR clips from Life of Pi and Exodus: Gods and Kings. The Life of Pi HDR scenes of the phosphorescent water and the twinkling stars are striking. The HDR future is indeed bright.

As for audio, the addition of two 10W woofers produced a deeper fuller sound then the pair of 10W speakers could normally muster.

Samsung UN65JS9500 Music

But this 65-inch SUHD TV cries out for more. The HW-J450 sound bar that Samsung is currently offering as a bonus is O.K. But this $5000 TV deserves a fully powered surround sound system.

Conclusion

The Samsung has outdone itself with their top of the line JS9500 series of curved 4K SUHD TVs. The nano-crystal technology produces superlative picture quality with a wide sumptuous range of colors. This 65-inch JS9500 Smart TV is well stocked with features and apps, perhaps too many to make it easy to use.

I would love to have the 77 or 88-inch versions of the JS9500 adorn my man cave, but their stratospheric price tags make the $5000 (on sale) 65-inch model seem like a relative bargain.

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