Samsung UE55MU9000U of MU9000 Series

The MU9000 series from Samsung is the best offer of 2017. Compared to the MU8000 series, it has a wider color gamut, an excellent anti-reflective coating and a "Triple Black Extreme" function. By the way, the ruler MU8000 is capable of giving deep black tones and uniformity of dark details at a sufficient level. But in the considered line of MU9000 these characteristics are even better. We will try to make an overview of the Samsung UE55MU9000 visually for comparison with the representative Samsung UE55MU8000 series MU8000, which is a step below.

Samsung 9 series, including the model in question UE55MU9000U, looks attractive. The black and narrow frame around the screen adds extra grace. Many people like this design. But some buyers tend to purchase a TV series MU8000. Sometimes you can hear customer feedback that it is slightly inconvenient to install the connecting wires. Tastes differ.

The UE55MU9000 screen is curved and therefore has a thickness slightly higher than in the overseas version with a flat screen. The model is equipped with a multiplexer "One Connect Box", where all cables from external devices are connected. Connect-Box can be replaced in the future separately, without replacing the entire TV. But we remember the story, where the manufacturer refused a year later and returned the money to the "deceived" customers ...

A sound system with a total power of 20 W consists of a pair of speakers each of 10 W each. It is not very clear why the manufacturer in the premium segment TV uses such a simple acoustics. Apparently, Samsung considered that an external speaker system would be vital for such a series of TV sets. Conclusion - the sound quality at an average level, without frills.

This year, the Samsung MU9000 series received an easy transformation in design. But according to the functional Samsung almost stayed on the place, except for the new technology names used this time. Some may say that all these innovations are commonplace. In the series specification there are new terms "4K Color Drive Extreme", "4K HDR Extreme", "Triple Black Extreme" and "UHD Remastering Engine" - we have repeatedly mentioned them in our reviews.

All these technologies are branded in a new way because of the use of specific hardware to improve the quality of color reproduction, contrast and image in general. Compared with last year's models of the KS9000 series, there are small improvements in the new series.

Advantages

• Contrast, color, black levels for LED TV are excellent.

• Excellent reproduction of black tones.

• Detailing of black and gray gradations.

• Sharpness with the "Ultra Clear" function.

• Powerful LED backlight provides an excellent light path for dynamic images.

• Excellent HD scaling in 4K.

• Minimum delay time for the input signal in Game Mode.

• Smart Hub and 4-core processor work without delays.

• Operating system Tizen OS as a Smart TV with many additional applications.

• Excellent appearance.

• Smart remote access function works fine, good and fast browsing and content search.

Disadvantages

• Pretty weak viewing angle, inherent in VA matica.

• The "AutoMotion Plus" function can produce an unreal 2D effect.

• An expensive model.

As we see, there is a significant difference in the MU9000 series for the American market and for the European one. The main ones are applied matrices. For Europe, the MU9000 series comes with a curved screen, and for the overseas market - with a flat screen. In addition to the difference in the operating voltage specifications, there is a difference in the installed tuners for receiving terrestrial digital broadcasting.

For the European market, there are three diagonals UE49MU9000, UE55MU9000 and UE65MU9000. For the US market, there are only two diagonals UN55MU9000 and UN65MU9000.

Despite some drawbacks of the LED Edge-Lit backlighting, in some Samsung models we can see the brightest matrices. The entire 9 series was certified by the UHD Alliance, since the peak brightness is not lower than 1000 nits (both in the past and in the new year). The powerful backlight components in the MU9000 series really provide a high level of brightness and contrast.

This plus makes it possible to view the excellent quality even when you install the TV in a well-lit room. The contrast level is able to compete with SUHD (now called Premium UHD) by Samsung TVs. There is an assumption that the MU9000 series can provide more brightness than OLED TVs.

The term "local" Samsung began to apply, even since the 8th series - the technology was called "Precision Black". Local dimming provides increased accuracy (in a certain limit) with respect to contrast, color reproduction, and detail levels required for each part of the screen, as well as for synchronization and, ultimately, for an excellent overall image.

But since the darkening mechanism in the MU9000 series is made using Edge-LED technology, it is not true religion to call it a true local one. This function effectively increases the contrast in various areas of the image. In the UE55MU9000U, it sometimes very darkens the screen, especially at high settings. About the adjustment of the image, we'll talk just below.

Unfortunately, edge illumination is the main obstacle for excellent local dimming of the screen matrix. Edge-Lit backlighting is never capable of such functions. We understand that full-scale blackout will always work better and will have a greater impact on the final contrast of the image.

As practice shows, all settings with edge lighting, as in MU9000, only slightly affect the contrast and do not improve it. The recommendation of experienced users is to set this setting to the minimum value.

The main difference between the TVs of 2017/2018 is the HDR support. Briefly: HDR allows you to extend the color range that the pixel LCD of the TV can display. This applies to the brightness of the picture, the contrast is enhanced by increasing the brightness and deeper black levels.

Remember HDR standards for a better understanding of this term. The MU9000 series was tested with an average HDR quality. This series is inferior to Samsung's Q7F TVs, but gets the "B" letter of performance among HDR TVs.

To be honest, the MU9000U series has the usual viewing angles inherent in VA matrices. Levels of black and color saturation disappears at an excessive viewing angle, all this is due to the backlight and the matrix of the screen. An excellent picture in the 9 series will not look as good as the models with IPS panels. We recommend choosing the correct position in front of the screen and everything will be in order. Do not complain about the matrix used in the UE55MU9000 VA and compare it with IPS models, for example, from LG.

Have you ever wondered when the same image quality on a 4K UHD TV: with SD or HD signal at the input? The answer can be unambiguous: only when there is an excellent scaling function. The MU9000 series uses the UHD Remastering engine, which easily copes with any source content.

It analyzes the incoming signal, applies methods to reduce the noise of the video signal and scales the lower resolution to the required 4K. Improving the details of the image is an important factor of an excellent picture. We would note that the 55MU9000U does an excellent job of this task. This is one of the significant differences in the TVs of the highest class.

Improved processing ensures excellent image quality even when streaming video. The "Digital Clean View" function is designed to clean the edges of the image outlines and creates a clearer picture in general, even with a low-resolution source. You can disable this feature if the input content is HD or 4K.

Let's touch the term "Premium UHD TV". There was a new color coating system (we know it for a long time), called DCI P3, which has a wider color gamut or a spectrum of reproducible colors. The range of Premium UHD TVs has a brighter backlight. The value of peak brightness is stated by the manufacturer in 1000 nits.

All TVs from the Premium UHD segment from Samsung are equipped with the latest version of the Samsung Tizen OS 3.0 operating system as a Smart TV platform, although as we well know, the latter fact is not a requirement of Premium UHD TV. Premium UHD is the "internal" standard of the manufacturer, when the image quality functions are improved, the color scheme is expanded and deeper black tones and contrasts are provided.

In this paragraph it is worth noting that the frequency of the screen update in the native mode is 120 Hz for TVs. Delay of the input signal at the level of 20 ms when using the Game Mode. Dynamic scenes on the 55MU9000U screen are perfectly reproduced. The quality of sports programs or computer games is excellent. The interpolation of frames for the European model is determined by the PQI indicator of 2700, for the US market it is MR 240 (due to the type of screen applied).

The Samsung UE55MU9000 TV comes with five image presets: Movie, Natural, Standard, Vivid and separate Game Mode. Obviously, if you select Game Mode, the delay time of the video signal will be the least.

Instant calibration. The following settings and settings are designed to adjust to lighting the room from a light room to darkness. Since the calibration may vary for different TVs even in the same series, it is recommended to set values greater than 10 to calibrate the white balance.

The manufacturer must optimize these settings in the factory, so before setting, turn on any preset mode and check the picture quality. If you do not like it, then proceed with the settings. The settings shown in the table below will help you to create the best image faster.

Setting Backlight should be selected from the room lighting. For light rooms increase, for dark rooms - reduce.

The Game Mode is included in the "Special Viewing Mode" menu.

The "Digital Clean View" mode can be used to view low-level content of 480p DVD, "not HD" cable TV, streaming and other "non-HD" sources.

The "Auto Motion Plus" mode is still that frozen function ... By default it is permanently on the factory for any mode. Most likely, you'll want to turn it off when streaming content or when playing DVD, Blu-ray discs or simple TV. This function gives you the "Telenovela" effect, making the image not realistic and eliminating too much natural blur of the background. Turn it off in Expert settings and forget it.

For dynamic scenes or sports programs, it is recommended that this mode be included, although you will understand when it is necessary. Another experiment you can do is use this mode when watching DVDs. This allows you to "revive" old movies on DVD media.

Just do not forget to turn this setting on or off in time. Another possible way to use this function is to include the "De-Blur" together with the user settings. To go to the setup, press "Menu", go to the "Image" tab, scroll down to "Expert settings" and scroll down to "AutoMotion Plus").

This Samsung-reworked operating system is available in the Premium UHD TV segment. It works significantly better, apparently due to the more powerful hardware. Instant response to commands from the remote control surprised users. In addition to the responsiveness to the commands, an excellent feature was noticed - the TV remembers the place where you stopped the preview instead of rewinding from the very beginning of the video.

The Smart Hub menu has been updated and simplified for organizing content. In general, the Tizen 3.0 system is quite powerful, but not as "user-friendly" as the familiar Android TV system used by Sony and Sharp. The supplied remote control comes with a black touch panel. The remote is easy and simple to operate the TV 55MU9000, thanks to the menu system Tizen Smart Hub. The voice command function works perfectly.

In conclusion, the review of the UE55MU9000 from Samsung, we note that the entire MU9000 series compared with the Q7F series offers a good value for money. The line is, of course, more expensive than the MU8000 among the Samsung LED / LCD TVs of 2017. The image quality is excellent, as is the design of the entire series.