The Samsung UE55NU7100W promises a cinema experience in your own living room. Samsung smart TVs are already known for their user-friendliness, but is the rest of this Samsung TV just as good? You can read it in this Samsung UE55NU7100W review.
Samsung UE55NU7100W
Price649 euros
Screen type
LED LCD
Screen diagonal
55 inches, 139 cm
Resolution
3840 x 2160 pixels
HDR
HDR10, HDR10+, HLG standards
Frame rate
100 Hz
Connectivity
3 x HDMI, 2 x USB, optical output, digital optical output, composite, stereo cinch, antenna, WiFi, Ethernet LAN, CI+, HDMI-ARC
Smart TV
Smart Hub
Website
www.samsung.com
To buy
Kieskeurig.nl 8 Score 80
- Pros
- Smart HUB
- Color rendering and contrast
- Image quality
- Negatives
- No live recording to USB possible
- Moderate HDR effect
- No headphone jack
The Samsung U7100W series has a simple, yet neatly finished design. The screen edge is barely 1 cm wide, and the back provides a slim profile thanks to a slight bend. Two separate feet on the left and right ensure a stable setup.
Connections
All connections are placed on the side. You'll find three HDMI connections, and two USB connections, in addition to an older component video input. There is no headphone jack and no Bluetooth.
Image quality
The image processing on this Samsung TV is excellent; all your sources are displayed optimally. In addition to the off and auto mode for 'Clean Digital View' - noise reduction - there is again a low mode (which was not the case on the 2017 models). This mode is ideal if you want to eliminate light noise. Its weak point is motion sharpness, fast moving images have a somewhat blurry or even a double edge. If you want to avoid the slight jerking in images where the camera moves quickly, you can set 'Auto Motion Plus' in auto mode, or manually select position 6 to 8.
This LCD TV uses a VA panel which gives excellent contrast but has a rather weak viewing angle. As soon as you are no longer directly in front of the device, the contrast diminishes, but the impact on color reproduction is fortunately limited. Due to the lack of dimming you can sometimes see the black bands above and below a film, but that is only the case if you completely darken the room. The calibration in film mode is excellent, and can easily compete with a top model thanks to excellent shadow detail and very good color reproduction. Gamers can activate Game Mode for very low input lag.
HDR
You should not expect a flashy HDR performance from an Ultra HD entry-level model, but rather HDR compatibility. The device supports HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG standards. But with a maximum light output of just 257 nits and a very limited color range, HDR images lack impact. The calibration in HDR mode is decent, but the images are too dark.
Smart TV
Samsung's own smart TV system, the Smart Hub, is by far one of our favorite smart TV systems. The interface is compact, very clear, works smoothly, and you can quickly find all functions, apps, live TV, external sources and settings of the television. With a few clicks, you can also put your favorite things first in the list. The device is not equipped with a satellite tuner, but it does have a tuner for cable and antenna. You cannot record to an external USB or other hard drive on this model. So if you want to ditch the set-top box for digital TV, it's better to choose another model.
Remote control
This model is not equipped with the Smart Controller, but with a classic remote control. The rubber keys are large, and easy to press. The layout is fine, only the play keys at the bottom of the remote are very small. This model is not equipped with a microphone, so you cannot use voice commands.
Sound quality
In this price category, the sound quality is generally ok for dialogues, but rather mediocre for music and film. This Samsung is no exception. The bass reproduction in particular is a bit weak and if you ask for too much volume, the quality deteriorates a bit.
Conclusion
This modestly priced Ultra HD TV delivers excellent image quality and modern ease of use. The Samsung should be on your list if you are looking for a solid all-rounder with excellent contrast. It delivers good results for gamers, everyday viewers and movie fans alike.
The Samsung UE55NU7100W is an Ultra HD entry-level model. The main drawbacks are that fast-moving images often have a blurred edge. The device is HDR compatible, but lacks the brightness and color palette to really do justice to HDR images. Apart from that, the image performance is very good.
