Samsung 77” S95D Series OLED 4K Smart Tizen TV

I can’t believe how amazing the picture and sound are on this TV. This TV replaces a 7 year old LG OLED, which still works fine. The difference between the picture on this TV vs the LG is night and day. The anti-glare screen works great. I have only had the TV on the wall for a day but it’s hung in a bright living room. Even with the shades wide open, there is no wash out in colors. I have this paired with a SONOS system. Even the sound is better through the SONOS speakers. I just hope it lasts as long as the LG has lasted. It was expensive but that’s what you get being an early adopter.

The S95D is the best TV I’ve ever owned.

I just finished reading a review about it at AVS forums where the vibe was “real TV aficionados” only watch in a light controlled environment and don’t need the anti glare filter. Please. Those of us who are married and have kids live our lives outside the basement. I watch football, movies etc. in my sunroom. Full windows to the south and east and an open door with more light coming from the west.

My LG GX 77′ OLED was essentially unwatchable during the day. The reflections were so bad my 16 year old daughter even refused to use the TV. The upscaling was also meh so I determined it was time for a new TV. After doing a bunch of research I settled on the Sony A95L. I love Sony’s upscaling and ecosystem (the X90L is a superb bedroom TV) and the picture is very well balanced. The plan was to follow another user’s lead and boost the A95 to vivid mode during the day and return to filmaker mode at night.

I ordered the Sony from BB and then did a bit more research. The idea of having to change the settings each time I watch at night / afternoon wasn’t appealing. I learned more about the S95D but was hesitant. I’m more of a Sony / LG guy and don’t have much love for Samsung. But as I did more research the S95D’s potential began to change my mind.

I was and am intrigued by the potential for QD-OLED. The colors on the S95D are stunning. Rich, vibrant and stunning without being cartoony. The comparison in color saturation / brightness between the S95 and the GX is simply night and day. And then there is the anti glare screen. Is it flawless? No. Fomo showed on one of his YouTube videos that direct full afternoon sun can turn part of the screen white and unwatchable. In a perfect (or unperfect) storm I’m sure that’s true. I saw that happen to a small corner of the screen when afternoon sun hit the TV from the west. That happened once for 10 minutes. The rest of the time the filter is just amazing. What was simply unwatchable is now superb. Yes if a ton of light is in the room the blacks get crushed a bit but that effect is minimal and so, so much better than a badly reflected screen. For people like me who watch a bunch of TV in daytime it’s a true game changer.

I’m not a PC gamer and am confident my PS5 / XBox S would work well. The only other unknown was the processing / upscaling. The previous generation (s95c) got poor to middling reviews in this area and I was concerned but decided to take a chance (props to BB which allows you to switch out TV’s within 60 days if you have a Plus Membeship). I cancelled the A95L and ordered the S95D. It arrived 4 days ago and I’m a truly satisfied customer. The processing is very good. Maybe not Sony great but much, much better than the GX.

All in all I’m thrilled. The picture is brilliant. I can watch football and other sports during the day and have an amazing, accurate OLED at night. Highly recommended.

The attached pics contrast the room with the GX and the S95D. Hopefully you can see the difference.

I was set on upgrading my LG CX OLED, but I wasn’t sure between this S95D and the new LG G4. Since they are both brand new, no Best Buy location had them on display. So, I bought both to test them…

Please note that this review is focused around using it for streaming and as a high-end PC monitor (RTX 4090, etc.). I didn’t actually hook a game system up to it, but I assume that would be amazing.

Anyway… the S95D came first, and I was really impressed with the way it looked and I love the little box where all the input plug into. That said, I found out that the box only supports HDMI 2.1 to 40gbps vs the full 48gbps. For most people, that won’t matter. However, if you plan to use it with a PC for gaming, it 100% does matter. The lack of extra bandwidth limits what your PC video card can send to to the TV. For example, I was able to get it to 4k @ 144hz, but was stuck with 8bit color (vs being able to get it to 12-bit color with the G4).

Some other interesting things to note, it was kind of a pain to actually get the TV to register as a PC monitor. In my case it wasn’t just plug-and-play. When I did, I had to adjust a ton of settings to make it look nice. Again, not an issue if you’re not using it for a PC monitor.

The matte screen was cool. It definitely made the screen look a little weird at times, but overall I think the positives outweigh the negatives.

Surprisingly, the brightness was not as high as I expected. It might have been because I didn’t mess with enough of the settings or it might have been just the fact that I was using the PC mode. I’m not entirely sure. All I know for sure is that the G4 is so bright I have to adjust it (which it has settings for that are super easy to find).

That leads me to my next point, though, that the settings menus/etc. are not very intuitive. Honestly, they were kind of a pain. Maybe I’m just spoiled with how awesome LG’s webOS is, but it was pretty annoying to navigate.

Overall, the S95D is a great set for most people. If it was going in my living room for TV and movies and gaming systems, I’d be super happy with it… but it’s not. They really missed the mark with the reduced HDMI 2.1 inputs and their annoying OS UI. That said, I think I’d probably save some $$ and go with the S95C vs the D unless it was going into a super bright room where the matte screen would help.

If you’re going to use the screen as a PC monitor, I HIGHLY recommend you go with the G4. 8 bit vs 12bit color is HUGE. I’ll be writing another review for that one later today.

The panel’s matte finish is an absolute game changer if you are using it in a brightly lit or sunny room. We used to watch our own reflections during dark movie scenes, not anymore, this thing is a black hole when it comes to absorbing light. Colors remain vibrant and the picture quality is fantastic. The TV’s speakers produce adequate sound quality but if you’re buying this TV, you’ll probably want to use a better audio set up.

I was very happy with this product it only has one problem with it. Doesn’t support Dolby vision or any type Dolby vision like every other OLED maker on market.

Terrible TV. Picture is off center and Samsung won’t do anything about it. Had a LG oled before and never had any issues. Buy LG you won’t remit.

Worth the price. Best tv I’ve ever seen. It produces a lot of heat. Not recommended in a small room.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I purchased a 77 inch S95D for my home theater room and I must say the picture quality is amazing! The matte finish really blocks any glare from overhead lights. The screen brightness gives the picture a 3D feel.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] This TV allows you to not only watch movies with your family and enjoy a quality experience. But as your creating memories with your family your not struggling to see the screen. Due to the width and the crystal clear picture . You cam sit back and relax and watch a movie or show in style. Some of my kids that play video games on it rave about it not being laggy and how much better they can play and see and that the definition of the tv for there game is great. And it doesn’t blur or have any glare. You get nothing but a Crystal clear screen and amazing quality.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] When I first got it I was skeptical but this is by far the best tv I have ever had and seen in person. The graphics are crystal clear and the Matte screen makes the colors so vibrant, even in a well lit room with direct light.