Samsung UN55KS9000 vs UN55KS9500 Review

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Overview

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Both the Samsung UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500 are part of Samsung’s HDR SUHD LED TV lineup Series 9 . As the top Samsung series, both have a number Samsung’s most advanced technologies to deliver stunning picture quality with a rich color and strong contrast. They also support HDR (High Dynamic Range) as HDR is the main focus of 4K TVs. Unfortunately there is no 3D technology behind it like its predecessor UN55JS9500 or the UN55JS9000 which will disappoint 3D fans.

For processing HDR Signals, both the Samsung UN55KS9500 and the UN55KS9500 are powered by HDR 1000 technology. BThere is not only their great HDR engine to power them, but there is also quantum dot panel, Supreme UHD Dimming, Precision Black Local Dimming, and Peak Illuminator, and  many other features that make performance great. There’s also the excellent Tizen OS that offers tons of useful and interesting apps. In the market, both of these series are sold with differences in price points of about a couple hundred while the UN55KS9000 is usually more expensive than the UN55KS9000. But of course the price is not fixed and could change at any time as they usually tend to go down as time goes by.

Samsung UN55KS9000 vs UN55KS9500 Key Specs

Specs and Features UN55KS9000 UN55KS9500
Appearance
Size 55 Inch (54.6”) 55 Inch (54.6”)
Resolution 4K (3840 x 2160) 4K (3840 x 2160)
Panel Type Flat Curved
Ultra Clear Panel Ultimate Ultimate
HDR Technology HDR 1000 HDR 1000
Color Technology Quantum Dot 10 Bit Quantum Dot 10 Bit
Local Dimming Supreme UHD Dimming with Precision Black Local Supreme UHD Dimming with Precision Black Local
Ultra Black Yes Yes
Peak Illuminator Pro Pro
Depth Enhancing Technology Contrast Enhancer Auto Depth Enhancer
Motion rate Supreme Motion Rate 240 Supreme Motion Rate 240
CEA 4K UHD Certified Yes Yes
3D Technology No No
Smart TV Platform Tizen OS Tizen OS
Processor Quad Core Quad Core
Audio Channel 2.2 Channel 2.2 Channel
Sound Output 60W (20W x 2, Woofer 10W x 2) 60W (20W x 2, Woofer 10W x 2)
HDMI Port 4 4
USB 3 3
Price See today’s Price See today’s Price

The differences between the Samsung UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500

We can see on the comparison table above, that there is almost no difference between the Samsung UN55KS9500 and the UN55KS9000 except for the type of panel — where the UN55KS9000 comes with a flat panel and the UN55KS9500 comes with a curved panel. Another difference is the depth enhancing technology but basically these technologies have the same function that is to improve contrast. The difference is that the contrast enhancer is designed for the Samsung fat panel while the Auto Depth Enhancer is designed for the Samsung curved panel.

Curved Panel vs Flat Panel

As mentioned above, the major difference is their type of panel where the Samsung UN55KS9000 comes with a flat panel and the UN55KS9500 comes with a curved panel. With this difference, the UN55KS9500 is usually more expensive than the UN55KS9000. According to Samsung, the major advantage of the Samsung UN55KS9500 is it offers a wider viewing angle than the UN55KS9000 with its flat panel. But is it really so? Let’s discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a curved panel to a flat panel.

There are 3 important points that should be considered in buying a curved or a flat panel TV — each has impact on picture quality. First is about the immersiveness and size, the second is about the viewing angle, and the third is about reflection.  Let’s discuss details one by one.

  • Size and immersiveness

With the same screen size, the picture that displayed on a curved panel will look slight larger than the flat panel. This is caused by the angle between the side of the curved panel and line of sight as it is wider than the flat panel.

  • Viewing Angle

When viewed from the center and in front of the panel, the picture displayed by both of these panels looks very similar. Moving to 20 degrees off center where it’s a critical angle, the color and contrast will be degraded; for the curved panel, the nearest panel side looks worse than the flat panel while the farthest panel side will look better on the flat panel.  The wider the viewing angle, the farthest panel side will look better so this will make the picture look clearer. On the other hand, the picture on the nearest panel side will look more compressed. Overall there is a slight improvement in viewing angle on a curved panel, but it is not very significant.

  • Reflections

The reflection on a curved panel and a flat panel is also different. On the curved panel, the reflections will be seen in more areas across the screen than on the curved panel. But because both the  Samsung UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500 are powered by Ultra Clear Panel Ultimate where one of the functions of this technology is for reducing reflections, they can be minimized on the screen of the UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500.

There is a difference in characteristics between the flat panel and the curved panel where it becomes the major picture difference between the Samsung UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500, you can consider which you would like between them. This means if you choose cthe urved panel for a significant improvement in picture quality especially around the viewing angle like what claimed, hopefully you will not be disappointed. But if you don’t mind spending about $200 more to get those advantages, then this would not be a problem.

Similarities

HDR Performance

Except for the type of panel and the depth enhancing technology, both of the Samsung UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS95000 offer virtually identical performance and features. Because of both of them support HDR, let’s start with HDR performance that offered by each.

Both the Samsung UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500 are powered by an HDR 1000 engine that supports HDR 10 format. HDR 10 is an open source HDR format fronted by UHD Alliance. There are some certain standardizations of HDR 10 that should be met by HDR TV. About contrast, UHD Alliance set 0.05 nits of black level and 1000 nits of peak brightness that should be reached by a HDR TV, while about color coverage, a HDR should deliver more than 90% DCI of P3 color space and support 10 bit panel.  An HDR TV compliant with all the minimum standardizations of HDR 10 can earn the Ultra HD Premium Certification. So how is the HDR performance of the UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500?

Starting from black level, both the Samsung UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500 can reach about 0.014 nits with a contrast ratio about 6800:1. This course is a great achievement reached by LED TVs and its much lower than 0.05 nits for the standardization of HDR 10 black level.  In terms of peak of brightness, both can reach about 1500 nits of peak brightness while the minimum standardization set by UHD alliance is 1000 nits peak of brightness. With the peak brightness achieved by each, this means they are some of the brightest 4K TVs ever.

Regarding color performance, both the Samsung UN55KS9500 and the UN555KS900 is powered by quantum dot technology where in previous models this technology was called “Nano Crystal Color”. The result is simply amazing. They can deliver more than 95% of DCI P3 Color space that means the color of the picture displayed on their screen will look very accurate. In other hands, UHD alliance set minimum 90% DCI P3 of color space that should be covered by an HDR TV. This means what’s delivered by the Samsung UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500 exceeds the standard set by the UHD Alliance for Ultra HD Premium Certification. Additionally both support 10 bit of panel which can provide more 1 billion shades of color. This makes color gradients of the picture displayed look very smooth without color gradation or banding.

Samsung Quantum dot With 10 Bit Panel

With all the display specs about contrast and color reached by both the UN55KS9500 and the UN55KS9000, this means each is compliant with the standardization of HDR 10 for Ultra HD Premium Certification.  This means you can enjoy HDR picture fully without any issues. Despite the stunning performance of HDR, this also applies for SDR content. So if you are searching for a TV with HDR quality, the UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500 are some of the best options to consider.

Motion Control

When handling videos with fast motion scenes, the Samsung UN55KS9500 and the UN55KS9000 are also powered by the same technology that is Supreme Motion Rate 240 Hz based on a native 120 Hz refresh rate panel. As we know, Samsung is always behind the competitors in term of handling motion blur. But for the UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500, these series have minimal motion blur when used for watching sports program or other fast content. When playing 24p contents like Blu ray movies or streaming 24p contents via 60p or 60i signals, their performance is also excellent. This means there is no judder when they are playing all of these types of content.

UHD Up-scaling

The great performance is also seen by both the Samsung UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500 when  handling video sources with resolution lower than the 4K. This is very important considering there not much native 4K content available in the market or through streaming providers. Moreover with the advent of HDR in the 4K industry, some content creators prefer to master their contents in HDR than 4K. Where it processes DVDs movies with 480p resolution, the picture displayed on a 4K screen looks very clear and detailed in 4K quality. It also does a good job when the source is 720p like Satellite or Cable TV. Moreover if the source is 1080p like Blu Ray movies, the picture produced looks finer and not much different to native 4K sources.

Smart TV

Fast, Responsive, Attractive, and Intuitive, this is the description of Tizen OS as the smart TV platform for the Samsung UN55KS9000 and Uthe N55KS9500. The User Interface is designed to be very simple so easy to use, but this doesn’t mean the apps provided are poor. In the bottom of the home screen, there is a “ribbon” that contains graphical shortcuts to access apps, services, and inputs.  If you access an app, for instance YouTube, a content bar that contains suggestion content will pop out on the top. Another for instance is when you access the Netflix app, a content bar containing the latest movies or latest episodes of any series will pop out on the top as the suggestion content. Of course this will make you more comfortable when searching content than when navigating via the app.

The Tizen OS provides tons of useful and interesting apps. There is a Web browser with a TV friendly interface, a number of Premium video on demand services that allow you to stream HDR contents like Netflix and Amazon Prime, and much more. A new app that is not as attractive is about Cloud Gaming and allows you to play tons of games via streaming. This means it not only supports one game streaming service but two: Sony’s Play Station Now and GameFly. Of course it requires a monthly subscription to be able play the games streaming from them. And for the controller, you can use a game controller designed special for Tizen OS or most standard USB remotes, and you can even use the Sony Dual Shock Controller for the Play Station Now app.

Samsung’s new Smart Touch Remote for the controller is designed to be more convenient to use. The navigation pad is placed precisely where your thumb comes to rest. It has a functional “point and click” mouse like what you would see on your laptop or notebook. Additionally there is a Voice Navigation function with built in microphone which can be used to alter the volume, change input, channels, search on the web, launch an app, and many more.

Audio Performance

Both the Samsung UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500 are equipped with a 2.2 channel speaker system and powered by a 60 watts power amplifier. This means power output for each channel of standard speakers is 20 watts while power output for each channel of th woofer is 10 watts. For a slim TV like this, its sound quality can be said to be very good. Mid range and high frequency sound is heard cleanly with very noticeable stereo sound separation between the channels. Additionally with 2 built in subwoofers, the low frequency or bass sounds steady. This doesn’t mean it will offer you the best experience sound quality on a TV, but compared to a standalone sound bar, its sound quality is still pretty good. So to get the best experience in sound quality, the addition of an external sound bar is still suggested for the Samsung UN55KS9500 and the UN55KS9000.

Connectivity

For their major connectivity, the Samsung UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500 are equipped with 4 HDMI Ports and 3 USB Ports. Additionally there is 1 RF (Terrestrial) port, Digital Audio Out (optical), and a RS 232. There is no Composite In or Component In for both series. Unlike most TVs where the ports are installed on the rear or side panel of the TV, on the UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS900, there is only 1 UDB Port, RS232, and Optical installed on the panel.  All the HDMI Ports, 2 USB Ports and RF ports are installed on a Once Connect Box. The benefit is if there is an upgraded version or functionality to these ports, you just need to upgrade or change your box without changing your TV. This certainly is a brilliant idea.

>> Please click here to see today’s price for the UN55KS9000 <<

>> Please click here to see today’s price for the UN55KS9500 <<

Summary

Performance UN55KS9000 UN55KU9500
Color Gamut (4.1/5) (4.1/5)
Contrast (4.6/5) (4.7/5)
HDR (4.2/5) (4.2/5)
Viewing Angle (2.4/5) (2.4/5)
Motion Control (4/5) (4.1/5)
UHD Up-scaling (4.4/5) (4.4/5)
Smart TV (4.5/5) (4.5/5)
Audio Performance (3.6/5) (3.3/5)

Conclusion

As discussed above, the display panel is the main difference between the Samsung UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500. This makes the UN55KS9500 with the curved panel to be more expensive than the UN55KS9000 with the flat panel. But as discussed above, the use of the curved panel does not provide a significant benefit to overall picture quality.

Both the Samsung UN55KS9000 and the UN55KS9500 offer a stunning picture quality in HDR or SDR with a deep black level, bright peak white, and a wide color gamut. They’re even compliant with all standardization of the HDR 10 format set by the UHD alliance for Ultra HD Premium Certification. In addition to stunning picture quality, both also offer great performance in motion handling and in UHD Up-scaling. The other highlight of both is the Tizen OS where it’s one of most attractive and responsive Smart TV platforms with lots of interesting and useful apps.

So which is a better choice for you? As described above, the UN55KS9500 is usually more expensive than the UN55KS9000. In return it comes with a curved panel. With no significant improvement on picture quality that offered, in my personal opinion, the Samsung UN55KS9000 is a better choice. But if you don’t mind spend around $200 more to get a curved TV with virtually identical performance, of course it’s your choice and preference. If your main consideration in choosing the Samsung UN55KS9500 is that you expect much better performance especially about the claimed viewing angle, you might feel disappointed. Now the decision is yours.

>> Please click here to see today’s price for the Samsung UN55KS9000 <<

>> Please click here to see today’s price for the Samsung UN55KS9500 <<

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