Our Verdict
Great TV for a range of uses. Produces deep blacks, even in a well-lit room due to the excellent anti-reflection coating. Can get bright and product a wide range of colors. Motion handling is great, with only a short trail following fast objects. Unfortunately the image accuracy degrades when viewed at an angle.
- Great dark scene performance
- Feels very responsive
- Can get bright
- Images loses accuracy at an angle
- Poor local dimming
Great for movies in a dark room. Very good picture quality with deep blacks, and uniformity is good. Has a local dimming function, but it doesn't work well and results in vertical blooming. 24p content is smooth.
Good for casual TV watching in a bright room. Deals with reflections well, and can get bright to overcome glare. Unfortunately the image accuracy degrades at an angle.
Good for sports fans. Motion handling is great due to the fast response time. Can get bright to overcome glare, and picture quality is very good. Unfortunately for wide seating the image quickly loses accuracy when viewed at an angle.
Great for gamers. Low input lag and great motion handling so TV feels very responsive. Picture quality is very good.
Great for watching HDR movies in a dark room. Very good picture quality with deep blacks and good uniformity. Can produce a wide range of colors and get bright, but unfortunately the local dimming doesn't work well to improve dark scene performance further.
Great for HDR gaming. Picture quality is very good, and motion handling is great. Feels responsive with low input lag. Can produce bright, vivid highlights.
Decent PC monitor. Very good picture quality, but when close to the screen the edges lose accuracy due to the poor viewing angle. Feels very responsive with low input lag and great motion handling.
Changelog
- Updated Mar 30, 2018: It was discovered that many 2017 Samsung TVs change their BFI frequency to 60 Hz when a lot of 60 Hz motion is detected on screen. The scores have been updated.
- Updated Mar 12, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Jul 17, 2017: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 55" (UN55MU9000) version FA01. For the most part, we expect our review to be valid for the 65" version (UN65MU9000) and 75" version (UN75MU9000). If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Samsung MU9000 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review.
| Size | Model | US | Canada | UK |
| 55" | UN55MU9000 | UN55MU9000FXZA | UN55MU9000FXZC | UE55MU8000 |
| 65" | UN65MU9000 | UN65MU9000FXZA | UN65MU9000FXZC | UE65MU8000 |
| 75" | UN75MU9000 | UN75MU9000FXZA | UN75MU9000FXZC | UE75MU8000 |
Popular TV Comparisons
The MU9000 is a good 4k TV, but it's quite out of place in price point. It tends to perform worse than its competitors. See our recommendations for the best TVs and the best smart TVs.
The Samsung MU9000 is somewhat better than the Samsung NU8500. The Samsung MU9000 has better reflection handling, which is good for a room with many small windows and better native contrast ratio that produces deeper blacks in dark rooms. The Samsung NU8500, on the other hand, has a curvy profile, a lower input lag and supports FreeSync which is great if you play video games.
The Sony X900E is a bit better than the Samsung MU9000. The Sony X900E has a bit better local dimming that delivers deep blacks and this is great if you watch movies in a dark room. The Sony also has a faster response time that leaves a shorter blur trail in fast action. On the other hand, the Samsung MU9000 has lower input lag for those who play video games a better reflection handling so that you can place it a bright room without issues.
The Samsung MU9000 is a bit better than the Samsung MU8000. The Samsung MU9000 has significantly better reflection handling which is evident when you watch TV shows in a brighter room. It also has a slightly better contrast that produces better blacks, which you'll appreciate when watching HDR movies in a dark room. On the other hand, the Samsung MU8000 has a marginally better response time, and this is great if you play a lot of video games.
The LG SJ9500 is a better choice if you have a large room with wide seating due to its wide viewing angles. For a dark room with seating directly in-front, however, the Samsung MU9000 is better. The LG SJ9500 has slightly better input lag both in SDR and HDR and this is great for gaming. On the other hand, the Samsung MU9000 has significantly better contrast ratio and somewhat better black uniformity that looks great in HDR movies in a dark room. Also, it has better SDR peak brightness and reflection handling, making it a better choice for TV shows and sports in a bright room.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
Older Test Bench: This product has been tested using an older TV test methodology, before a major update. Some of the test results below aren't directly comparable with other TVs. Learn more
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