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Samsung KS9000 TV Review

Tested using Methodology v1.0
Review updated Mar 01, 2017 at 06:31 am
Samsung KS9000 Picture
8.2
Mixed Usage
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
8.2
Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
8.1
TV Shows
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.9
Sports
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
8.4
Video Games
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
8.4
HDR Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
8.4
HDR Gaming
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.3
PC Monitor
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
This TV was replaced by the Samsung MU9000

The Samsung KS9000 4k UHD LED TV has a lot to offer. The picture quality is excellent and it handles most content nicely. With the fact it can get very bright and doesn't have much reflections, it is also a good fit for even the brightest living room. Unfortunately, it isn't perfect. Its picture quality diminishes when viewed from the side.

Our Verdict

8.2 Mixed Usage

Great for any usage. Excellent picture quality. Handles motion well and suitable for a dark or bright room. Great HDR performance. Unfortunately the picture quality degrades from the side.

Pros
  • Great TV for watching movies and HDR content.
  • Very low input lag which is great for playing video games.
  • Very bright and not much reflections.
Cons
  • Picture quality deteriorates when viewed from the side.
8.2 Movies

Great for watching movies. Dark scenes appear rich and well defined. Smooth playback from any source.

8.1 TV Shows

Great for watching TV in a bright room. Deals with reflections well and displays a range of resolutions clearly. Very bright to deal with ambient light. Unfortunately the great picture quality diminishes when viewed from the side.

7.9 Sports

Very good for sports. Handles fast motion very well. Uniform screen results in quality playing field.

8.4 Video Games

Excels for video games. Very little input lag which is good. Fast motion remains well defined. Great picture quality.

8.4 HDR Movies

Impressive HDR performance. Deep blacks and rich colors. Very bright highlights on top of an excellent picture quality.

7.3 PC Monitor

Great PC monitor. Handles a wide range of resolutions well. Displays text clearly on all backgrounds. Feels very responsive with little motion blur.

  • 8.2 Mixed Usage
  • 8.2 Movies
  • 8.1 TV Shows
  • 7.9 Sports
  • 8.4 Video Games
  • 8.4 HDR Movies
  • 8.4 HDR Gaming
  • 7.3 PC Monitor
  1. Updated Mar 01, 2017: Review published.
  2. Updated Apr 27, 2016: Our testers have started testing this product.
  3. Updated Apr 26, 2016: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

We tested the 55" (UN55KS9000) version FA01. For the most part, we expect our review to be valid for the 65" version (UN65KS9000) and 75" version (UN75KS9000). If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Samsung KS9000 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review.

Size Model US Canada UK Warehouse Warehouse long
55" UN55KS9000 UN55KS9000FXZA UN55KS9000FXZC UE55KS8000 N/A N/A
65" UN65KS9000 UN65KS9000FXZA UN65KS9000FXZC UE65KS8000 UN65KS900D UN65KS900DFXZA
75" UN75KS9000 UN75KS9000FXZA UN75KS9000FXZC UE75KS8000 N/A N/A

Compared To Other TVs

Comparison picture

Top left: Sony X930D (XBR55X930D). Top middle: Samsung KS9000 (UN55KS9000). Top right: Vizio P Series 2016 (P65-C1). Bottom left: Samsung KS9500 (UN55KS9500). Bottom right: Samsung KS8000 (UN55KS8000). Unlike our other photographs, this picture wasn't taken under a controlled environment, so do not draw conclusions from it.

The KS9000 is definitely the best overall LED TV we tested so far for a mixed usage. However, it is priced very high, so we don't really recommend it.

Test Results

Design
9.5
Design
Style
Curved No

The Samsung KS9000 pleases the eyes with its high end look and thinness. The materials it's made of all seems to be of high quality. From its chrome stand to its thin metal borders and even its textured back, this TV is sure to look great in any room. It has the same overall look as the Samsung KS9500 minus the curved screen. 

Design
Stand

The stand of the TV has a nice chrome finish. It has a fairly large footprint and goes a long way toward the back of the TV. It could not be ideal if you want the TV to lay against a wall.

Footprint of the 55" TV stand: 33.9" x 15"

Design
Back
Wall Mount VESA 400x400

Even the back of the TV is both sleek and attractive with its textured finish. A cover that is included with the TV hides the back inputs that won't be in the way to wall mount the TV.

Design
Borders
Borders 0.39" (1 cm)

The borders of the TV are thin and have a nice metal polish to them.

It is reported that the 75" variant of this TV has thicker borders.

Design
Thickness
Max Thickness 1" (2.6 cm)

Very thin from a 90 degree angle. The bottom part of the TV is thicker. The maximum thickness measurement include the horizontal metal looking plastic border that goes across the back of the TV.

Picture Quality
9.3
Picture Quality
Contrast
Native Contrast
6,820 : 1

Impressive black level and very high native contrast ratio. This result in a picture that pop in most content, even on dark scenes. Top and bottom black bars in movies nearly doesn't emit light which is good.

3.5
Picture Quality
Local Dimming
Local Dimming
Yes
Backlight
Edge

The local dimming feature on the KS9000 doesn't work very well. It does darken the blacks but some small highlights too like the dot in our test video. Although it isn't that much apparent in the video, local dimming sometimes creates big vertical blooming areas on big highlights depending on the scenes. It is more noticeable in person. For this test, we set local dimming ('Smart LED') to 'High'. A TV with a full array backlight can produce much better results.

8.6
Picture Quality
SDR Peak Brightness
SDR Real Scene Peak Brightness
511 cd/m²
SDR Peak 2% Window
1,045 cd/m²
SDR Peak 10% Window
1,486 cd/m²
SDR Peak 25% Window
1,021 cd/m²
SDR Peak 50% Window
556 cd/m²
SDR Peak 100% Window
555 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 2% Window
308 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 10% Window
558 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 25% Window
537 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 50% Window
555 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 100% Window
555 cd/m²

The KS9000, like the curve KS9500 has a good SDR peak brightness performance and is, whit the rest of the KS Series, one of the brightest TV of 2016. Unlike other TV that is less bright when outside of HDR mode, the KS9000 is almost as bright when watching standard content like TV shows.

8.5
Picture Quality
HDR Peak Brightness
HDR Real Scene Peak Brightness
471 cd/m²
HDR Peak 2% Window
1,489 cd/m²
HDR Peak 10% Window
1,473 cd/m²
HDR Peak 25% Window
970 cd/m²
HDR Peak 50% Window
527 cd/m²
HDR Peak 100% Window
525 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 2% Window
515 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 10% Window
565 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 25% Window
523 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 50% Window
536 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 100% Window
536 cd/m²

Very impressive and similar results to the Samsung KS9500. Highlights can get extremely bright and as a whole the screen can also maintain a high level of brightness. As the KS9500, brightness vary on a static screen but is not a problem on regular content. On the downside, very bright highlights can create big blooming areas. We used local dimming ('Smart LED') set to 'High' to get as high peak brightness.
Update: Updated with sustained brightness.

7.8
Picture Quality
Gray Uniformity
50% Std. Dev.
3.194%
50% DSE
0.159%
5% Std. Dev.
1.159%
5% DSE
0.081%

The left and right edges are darker and top and bottom brighter. Compared to most LED TVs, the gray uniformity on the Samsung KS9000 isn't a big issue with no obvious banding problem occurring on camera pans over playing fields of uniform color.

4.6
Picture Quality
Viewing Angle
LCD Type
VA
Color Shift
29°
Brightness
39°
Black Level
15°

At an angle, colors shift and blacks appear less deep. This is a common issue for LED TVs of this type (VA) but we have seen worse viewing angle.

9.7
Picture Quality
Black Uniformity
Native Std. Dev.
0.541%

Very faint clouding spots that won't ruin even the darkest scenes. Good black uniformity performance.

9.5
Picture Quality
Gradient
Color Depth
10 Bit

Nearly perfect gradient. Some very minor irregularities in the darker red band but nothing that can be seen in regular content. Fine level of colors overall.

9.3
Picture Quality
Pre Calibration
White Balance dE
1.04
Color dE
1.4976
Gamma
2.23

Very low white balance and color dE which results in an excellent out of the box state.

9.8
Picture Quality
Post Calibration
White Balance dE
0.55
Color dE
0.3021
Gamma
2.21

Like other Samsung TVs, calibration went smoothly and helped reduce both white balance and color dE to a very low level.

8.0
Picture Quality
480p Input

The Samsung KS9000 can produces a great picture even with low resolution content like DVDs or SD channels.

8.0
Picture Quality
720p Input

Cable is also looking very sharps on the KS9000.

9.0
Picture Quality
1080p Input

Blu-rays and other 1080p content looks very good once upscaled. No details is lost and the final image looks very good.

10
Picture Quality
4k Input

4k UHD Blu-rays and streaming content looks gorgeous with all its fine details well displayed.

8.2
Picture Quality
Color Gamut
Wide Color Gamut
Yes
DCI P3 xy
91.53%
DCI P3 uv
95.13%
Rec 2020 xy
66.82%
Rec 2020 uv
74.51%

Good coverage of colors in DCI P3 and fair score for the Rec 2020 colorspace. This TV is able to produce very deep colors and HDR content benefit from this.

7.0
Picture Quality
Color Volume
Normalized DCI P3 Coverage
80.732%
10,000 cd/m² DCI P3 Coverage
54.684%
Normalized Rec 2020 Coverage
62.174%
10,000 cd/m² Rec 2020 Coverage
41.337%

The KS9000 has a similar color volume to Samsung's top 2016 models. It can produce very bright saturated colors but performs worse than some other TVs in dark scenes.

10
Picture Quality
Image Retention
IR after 0 min recovery
0%
IR after 2 min recovery
0%
IR after 4 min recovery
0%
IR after 6 min recovery
0%
IR after 8 min recovery
0%
IR after 10 min recovery
0%
9.5
Picture Quality
Reflections
Reflection
0.5%
Screen Finish
Glossy

The screen of the KS9000 does reflect lights but less than most other TVs. Even in a bright room the picture of the KS9000 stays visible.

0
Picture Quality
3D
3D
No
Picture Quality
Pixels
Type LED
Motion
8.1
Motion
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate 120 Hz
Response Time
16.1 ms
Overshoot
0.3 ms

There are TVs with faster response time but there is no big issues with how the KS9000 handles motion. Not much blur can be seen in fast action scenes. In the picture, only a faint trail is following the moving logo.

2.8
Motion
Image Flicker
PWM Dimming Frequency
120 Hz
BFI
No
BFI Frequency
120 Hz
BFI In Game Mode
No
10
Motion
24p Playback
Judder-free 24p
Yes
Judder-free 24p via 60p
Yes
Judder-free 24p via 60i
Yes

No special settings needed to remove judder from 24p sources although to get the same result on 60i and 60p content, 'Auto Motion Plus' has to be set to 'Custom' with both sliders set to 0. This doesn't add the soap opera effect.

10
Motion
Motion Interpolation
Motion Interpolation (30 fps)
Yes
Motion Interpolation (60 fps)
Yes

Motion Interpolation can be activated with the 'Auto Motion Plus' setting. This will work for all sources up to 60 fps.

Inputs
8.2
Inputs
Input Lag
1080p @ 60Hz
20.5 ms
1080p With Interpolation
110.6 ms
1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
124.1 ms
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
37.1 ms
4k @ 60Hz
20.6 ms
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
37.1 ms
4k @ 60Hz + HDR
20.6 ms
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4 + 8 bit HDR
37.1 ms

Very low 1080p input lag which is great. The responsiveness you get from controller inputs nearly can't be felt. Players that like first person shooter, racing or combat games will like gaming on the KS9000. Unfortunately, motion interpolation ('Auto Motion Plus') bring the input lag too high to consider using that option. When sending and HDR signal at 1080p resolution under game mode, the input lag is 22.6ms.

8.0
Inputs
Supported Resolutions
Resolution 4k
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes
1080p @ 120Hz
No
4k @ 30Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes
4k @ 60Hz
Yes
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes

Except for 1080p @ 120Hz, the KS9000 doesn't have problems with most PC inputs. To get 4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4, 'HDMI UHD Color' has to be turned on. For 4:4:4 in other resolutions, just edit the HDMI input to 'PC' (hover the current HDMI input used from the input list and press up on the remote, then 'Edit' and select 'PC').

Inputs
Side Inputs
Inputs
Rear Inputs
Inputs
Total Inputs
HDMI 4
USB 2
Digital Optical Audio Out 1
Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 0
Analog Audio Out RCA 0
Component In 0
Composite In 0
Tuner (Cable/Ant) 1
Ethernet 1
DisplayPort 0
IR In 0
SD/SDHC 0
Inputs
Inputs Specifications
HDR10
Yes
5.1 Passthrough ARC Dolby Digital
Yes
Dolby Vision
No
5.1 Passthrough ARC DTS
Yes
5.1 Passthrough Optical Dolby Digital
Yes
5.1 Passthrough Optical DTS
Yes
HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth Yes
ARC Yes (HDMI 4)
USB 3 No
HDCP 2.2 Yes
CEC Yes
MHL No
Variable Analog Audio Out No

The TV supports 5.1 passthrough for Dolby Digital and DTS, but it is necessary to select the correct audio type in the sound settings, since it doesn't change automatically.

Sound Quality
7.5
Sound Quality
Frequency Response
Std. Dev. @ 70
2 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ 80
2.97 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ Max
5.37 dB SPL
Max
86.6 dB SPL
Low-end Cutoff
71.27 Hz

Good frequency response. The low-end cutoff and maximum loudness are decent, for a TV. However, at higher volumes, there is pumping and compression present.

4.5
Sound Quality
Total Harmonic Distortion
Distortion @ 70
0.057
Distortion @ 80
0.296
Distortion @ Max
0.353

Poor distortion results. Although there is no dramatic rise in distortion as the volume increases, but the overall level of distortion at all levels, is elevated.

Smart Features
Smart Features
Apps

YouTube, Netflix and other popular apps are available and menu navigation is straightforward. As a whole, the smart platform presentation is neat compared to what Samsung had to offer in 2015.

8.5
Smart Features
Interface
Smart OS Tizen (2016)

Sporting the new Samsung 2016 smart platform, the Samsung KS9000 offer a good experience with most of the popular apps at the disposal. Menu navigation is straightforward although a remote with a pointer would have helped for text input. The KS9000 offers plenty of inputs, more than enough for most home setups.

When a new device is detected (such as when a computer is woken from sleep while plugged into an HDMI port) the TV automatically switches to this device. This may be an annoyance if you are watching other content at the time.

0
Smart Features
Ads
Ad-free
No
Opt-out
No

Even if it comes at a premium, the KS9000 still has ads on the home screen.

Smart Features
TV Controls

A button that offers basic TV controls such as changing inputs, volume and turning the TV on and off, is located underneath the Samsung logo on the front of the TV. It can be accessed when the TV is wall mounted.

Smart Features
Remote
Remote Smart

For the most part, the minimal remote is sufficient but at times can be hard to use in the dark since not all buttons have tactile feedback. It also doesn't work as a pointer which can make text input a little awkward.

Smart Features
In The Box

- Remote
- Batteries
- Wall mount adapters
- One Connect box with cable
- Cable management accessories
- Manuals

Smart Features
Misc
Power Consumption 53 W
Power Consumption (Max) 142 W
Firmware 1008