4K TV Reviews

Notes: The 1080p (SDR) settings were obtained with a 1080p, standard dynamic range calibration. The HDR settings used prior to a full UHD HDR calibration are shown in ( ) in the same column, only where they differed from the 1080p result. The UHD/HDR column offers the settings following a UHD/HDR calibration.

Unit-to-unit sample variations, the viewing environment, and the source might render these recommendations less than optimum. They are provided only as a potentially useful starting place.

All the settings here are for controls found in the user menus. Those settings most likely to translate reliably from one sample to another involve specific features with only a few selections, such as Gamma. The ones most likely to be subject to sample variations are video controls offering a wide range of adjustment, such as white balance (grayscale) and color management (called Color Space here). It’s also unknown if different sized sets in a manufacturer’s same model range will perform optimally with these settings.

We strongly recommend that you find the optimum basic video settings for your sample by using one of the many available display setup Blu-ray discs. A full color calibraton, however, is best left to a trained and properly equipped technician such as those certified by the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) or THX.

While the “Full HD” (720p. 1080i, 1080p) results here include a full setup and color calibration, the UHD/HDR settings include only a basic setup with the standard video controls, using a Samsung UHD/HDR Blu-ray test disc and Samsung’s UBD-K8500 Ultra HD Blu-ray player. For reasons discussed in the review, we are not yet performing full color calibrations for UHD/HDR. However, the default settings for our UN65KS9800’s visible color performance gave us little reason for complaint.