The Samsung The Sero is a decent 4k TV with a unique feature that allows you to watch vertically-filmed content on a big screen. The rotating IPS screen has borders that make it look like a beautiful piece of art, and it's mounted on a stand that looks like a futuristic easel. It has decent reflection handling, and it gets bright enough to combat glare in well-lit rooms. However, it doesn't perform well in dark rooms due to its low contrast ratio and bad black uniformity. Its fast response time and low input lag make it a good option for gaming, but sadly, it has a 60Hz panel and doesn't support variable refresh rate (VRR). Also, it runs on a simplified version of Tizen OS that isn't well-optimized for portrait mode. On the bright side, it has excellent color accuracy and decent front-firing speakers. Overall, although this TV's novelty feature might not be to everyone's liking, it undoubtedly turns heads.
Our Verdict
The Samsung Sero is a decent TV for most uses. It has good visibility in bright rooms, decent viewing angles, and it upscales lower resolution content like cable TV and videos from social media sites well. It has a fast response time and low input lag, making it a good option for gaming and use as a PC monitor. Unfortunately, its low contrast ratio and bad black uniformity make it less ideal for watching movies. Also, it can't deliver a satisfying HDR experience due to its low HDR peak brightness and lack of local dimming.
- Good SDR peak brightness.
- Decent viewing angles.
- Can rotate to portrait mode.
- Mediocre contrast ratio.
- Bad black uniformity.
The Samsung Sero is mediocre for watching movies. It upscales lower resolution movies well and can remove judder from all sources. However, its low contrast ratio and bad black uniformity make blacks look grayish in the dark, and it doesn't have a local dimming feature.
- Can remove judder from all sources.
- Doesn't stutter much in low frame rate content.
- Mediocre contrast ratio.
- No local dimming.
- Bad black uniformity.
The Samsung Sero is good for watching TV shows. It gets bright enough to fight glare for watching daytime TV, and its IPS panel has decent viewing angles, so you can get good picture quality even when you're walking around. It upscales lower resolution content from cable TV well, and there's no risk of permanent burn-in if you leave it on the same news channel all day.
- Good SDR peak brightness.
- Decent viewing angles.
- Doesn't handle direct reflections well.
The Samsung Sero is good for watching sports. It has a fast response time that results in minimal motion blur and a Black Frame Insertion Feature to further improve clarity. Visibility in bright rooms is good as it's able to overcome glare easily, and its decent viewing angles allow you to watch a big game with a group of people. Unfortunately, its backlight flicker causes image duplication in fast-moving scenes, which can be distracting for some.
- Good SDR peak brightness.
- Good response time.
- Decent viewing angles.
- Doesn't handle direct reflections well.
The Samsung Sero is good for playing video games. It has exceptionally low input lag and fast response time; however, it lacks VRR support, and the refresh rate is limited to 60Hz. Also, it isn't well-suited for dark room gaming due to its low contrast ratio and bad black uniformity.
- Low input lag.
- Good response time.
- Mediocre contrast ratio.
- No VRR support.
The Samsung Sero is sub-par for watching movies in HDR. Its IPS panel has a low contrast ratio and bad black uniformity, making it less ideal for dark room viewing. Also, even though it has an impressive color gamut, it lacks local dimming and can't get bright enough to make highlights pop.
- Impressive HDR color gamut.
- Can remove judder from all sources.
- Doesn't stutter much in low frame rate content.
- Mediocre contrast ratio.
- No local dimming.
- Mediocre HDR peak brightness.
- Bad black uniformity.
The Samsung Sero is decent for gaming in HDR. It has a fast response time, and its input lag is extremely low even when playing in 4k @ 60Hz with 10-bit HDR. Sadly, its HDR performance is limited by a low contrast ratio, mediocre peak brightness, and lack of local dimming. Also, it doesn't have any VRR support.
- Low input lag.
- Good response time.
- Impressive HDR color gamut.
- Mediocre contrast ratio.
- No local dimming.
- No VRR support.
- Mediocre HDR peak brightness.
The Samsung Sero is a good TV for use as a PC monitor. It supports most common resolutions and can display proper chroma 4:4:4. It has low input lag, fast response time, and no risk of permanent burn-in with its IPS panel. Its portrait mode allows you to use it as a second screen to keep track of important information or for those who need more vertical space.
- Low input lag.
- Good response time.
- Decent viewing angles.
- Doesn't handle direct reflections well.
Changelog
- Updated Nov 16, 2022: Added the 2022 model number to the Differences Between Sizes And Variants section of the review.
- Updated Mar 08, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.6.
- Updated Sep 28, 2020: We've added a video of the TV rotating from portrait to landscape mode.
- Updated Aug 27, 2020: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Samsung Sero (QN43LS05TAFXZA), and it's only available in a 43 inch size. The Samsung The Sero 2022 is known as the QN43LS05BAFXZA. It's more or less the same TV, but with a new matte finish with better reflection handling.
| Size | US | Canada | UK | Italy | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43" | QN43LS05TAFXZA | QN43LS05TAFXZC | QE43LS05TAUXXU | QE43LS05TAUXZT | GQ43LS05TAUXZG |
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Samsung Sero doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, such as gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.
Our unit of The Sero was manufactured in April 2020; you can see the label here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Samsung Sero is an overall decent TV designed for those who want to view vertically-filmed content on a large screen TV. However, this unique feature comes at a pretty steep price, and you can get a similar or better TV for much less, such as the Sony X800H. For other options, check out our recommendations for the best TVs, the best 4k HDR TVs, and the best 40-42-43 inch TVs.
The Samsung The Sero and the Samsung TU8000 score similarly overall; however, they're very different TVs. The Sero is a TV with a unique mechanism that allows it to rotate into portrait mode. It has an IPS panel with wider viewing angles, higher peak brightness, and better color accuracy. It also has a faster response time and much better gradient handling. On the other hand, the TU8000 has a VA panel that can produce deeper blacks, making it a better choice for dark rooms.
The Samsung The Sero and the LG NANO81 perform similarly for most uses. The Samsung can get a lot brighter, and it has better color accuracy and faster response time. On the other hand, the LG has better viewing angles and reflection handling.
Overall, the Samsung The Sero is marginally better than the LG UN7300. The Samsung has a higher peak brightness, better color accuracy, and a much better HDR color gamut. However, the LG has significantly better reflection handling and black uniformity.
Even though the Samsung The Sero and the Sony X750H have similar overall performance, they're quite different TVs. The Sony has a VA panel that can produce deeper blacks, while the Samsung has an IPS panel with wider viewing angles and better color accuracy. The Samsung also has a higher peak brightness and can display proper chroma 4:4:4.
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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