The Samsung TU690T is an entry-level Samsung TV released in 2022. It's a variant of the Samsung TU7000, which was originally released in 2020. It's a very basic model with very few extra features. It competes with other entry-level models released in 2022, like the Sony X75K, The Hisense U6/U6H, and the TCL 4 Series/S455 2022. It uses Samsung's Crystal Processor 4K, first introduced in 2020 and designed to provide powerful 4K upscaling. It runs a simplified version of Samsung's 2021 Tizen OS interface, which offers most of the features of more advanced models. It's available in an incredibly wide range of sizes, from 43 to 85 inches, so there's something for everyone.
Our Verdict
The Samsung TU690T is an okay TV overall. It's best suited for watching in a moderately lit room, as it's not a good choice for either a perfectly dark room or a bright room with lots of light. It offers a decent gaming experience, with low input lag and a quick response time, but it lacks any advanced gaming features like VRR or HDMI 2.1 bandwidth. It's alright for watching movies, but even though it technically supports HDR, this adds nothing, as it's very dim in HDR and can't display a wide color gamut.
- Great response time.
- Decent contrast for deep blacks in dark scenes.
- Great selection of streaming apps.
- Can't smooth out low bitrate content.
- Lacks a local dimming feature to improve dark scene performance.
- Not very bright.
- Washed out when viewed at an angle.
- Very limited selection of inputs; only two HDMI ports.
The Samsung TU690T TV is alright for watching shows during the day. It's not bright enough to use in a bright living room with lots of windows or bright lights, so it looks best in a moderately lit room. It also has very limited picture processing capabilities, so it can't do much to smooth out low-quality or low-resolution content. On the other hand, the built-in smart interface has a huge selection of streaming apps, so you can quickly find your favorite shows.
- Great selection of streaming apps.
- Can't smooth out low bitrate content.
- Not very bright.
- Washed out when viewed at an angle.
- Very limited selection of inputs; only two HDMI ports.
The Samsung TU690T is just okay for watching sports during the day. It looks best in a moderately lit room, as it's not bright enough to overcome glare from windows or bright lights. Motion is clear and easy to make out thanks to its quick response time, and there's just a bit of dirty screen effect in the center. It's a poor choice for a wide seating arrangement, though, as the image looks washed out when viewed from the sides.
- Great response time.
- Not very bright.
- Washed out when viewed at an angle.
- Very limited selection of inputs; only two HDMI ports.
The Samsung TU690T is just decent for gaming. It has low input lag and a quick response time, resulting in a smooth, responsive gaming experience with minimal motion blur in bright scenes. Dark scenes don't fare as well, though, as there's significant black smearing in shadows. Unfortunately, it doesn't support any advanced gaming features like VRR, and it's limited to a 60Hz refresh rate.
- Great response time.
- Low input lag for a responsive gaming experience.
- Not very bright.
- Limited to 60Hz and no VRR support.
- Very limited selection of inputs; only two HDMI ports.
The Samsung TU690T is alright for watching movies in a dark room. It has a high native contrast ratio, so blacks are deep and uniform in dim scenes, but it lacks a local dimming feature to improve its dynamic range in more complicated scenes. It supports HDR, but HDR adds nothing to this TV as it's very dim, can't display a wide color gamut, and doesn't track the content creator's intent properly.
- Removes judder from 24p sources.
- Decent contrast for deep blacks in dark scenes.
- Can't smooth out low bitrate content.
- Lacks a local dimming feature to improve dark scene performance.
- Not very bright.
- Can't display a wide color gamut.
- Very limited selection of inputs; only two HDMI ports.
The Samsung TU690T is decent for gaming in HDR. It has low input lag and a quick response time, so games feel responsive, and there's little motion blur in bright scenes. Unfortunately, although it supports gaming in HDR, this adds nothing, as it's not bright enough to bring out bright specular highlights in HDR, and it can't display a wide color gamut. It lacks a local dimming feature, so bright areas of the screen don't stand out at all, and it's so dim that HDR looks dull overall.
- Great response time.
- Low input lag for a responsive gaming experience.
- Decent contrast for deep blacks in dark scenes.
- Lacks a local dimming feature to improve dark scene performance.
- Not very bright.
- Can't display a wide color gamut.
- Limited to 60Hz and no VRR support.
- Very limited selection of inputs; only two HDMI ports.
The Samsung TU690T is decent for use as a PC monitor. It has very low input lag, so your cursor movements on the desktop feel responsive. It also has a great response time with minimal blur behind fast-moving objects in bright scenes, but shadows look worse with some noticeable black smear. On the other hand, it has a narrow viewing angle, so the sides of the screen fade and look washed out if you're sitting up close.
- Great response time.
- Low input lag for a responsive gaming experience.
- Chroma 4:4:4 is displayed properly for clear text from a PC.
- Not very bright.
- Can't display a wide color gamut.
- Limited to 60Hz and no VRR support.
- Washed out when viewed at an angle.
- Very limited selection of inputs; only two HDMI ports.
Changelog
- Updated Nov 24, 2023: Mentioned the newly reviewed Roku Select Series in the SDR Brightness section of this review.
- Updated Oct 24, 2023: Review published.
- Updated Oct 19, 2023: Early access published.
- Updated Oct 10, 2023: Our testers have started testing this product.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the 65-inch Samsung TU690T, and these results are also valid for the 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, 58-inch, 60-inch, 70-inch, 75-inch, and 85-inch models.
| Size | US Model | CA Model | Short Model Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43" | UN43TU690TFXZA | UN43TU690TFXZC | UN43TU690TF |
| 50" | UN50TU690TFXZA | UN50TU690TFXZC | UN50TU690TF |
| 55" | UN55TU690TFXZA | UN55TU690TFXZC | UN55TU690TF |
| 58" | UN58TU690TFXZA | UN58TU690TFXZC | UN58TU690TF |
| 60" | UN60TU690TFXZA | UN60TU690TFXZC | UN60TU690TF |
| 65" | UN65TU690TFXZA | UN65TU690TFXZC | UN65TU690TF |
| 70" | UN70TU690TFXZA | UN70TU690TFXZC | UN70TU690TF |
| 75" | UN75TU690TFXZA | UN75TU690TFXZC | UN75TU690TF |
| 85" | UN85TU690TFXZA | UN85TU690TFXZC | UN85TU690TF |
Our unit was manufactured in August 2023; you can see the label here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Samsung TU690T is an okay budget TV available in a wide range of sizes. A variant of the Samsung TU7000, but released a year later, it's often available on sale for major events like Black Friday. It's a very basic TV with limited picture processing capabilities and no advanced gaming feature. If you care about picture quality or gaming features, slightly more expensive models from budget brands like the Hisense A6/A65K, Hisense U6/U6K, or the TCL Q6/Q650G QLED offer significantly better performance for just a bit more.
See our recommendations for the best budget TVs, the best smart TVs, and the best 4k TVs.
The LG UR8000 is better than the Samsung TU690T. The LG gets a bit brighter, so it can handle more glare in a bright room, and HDR looks a bit more vivid and realistic than it does on the Samsung. The LG also has better image processing, so low-quality content looks much better. The 86-inch version of the LG is significantly better, as it supports advanced gaming features like VRR and a 120Hz refresh rate.
The Samsung TU690T is a variant of the Samsung TU7000, but there are a few surprising differences between them. The TU690T is a bit better overall and has a faster response time, with significantly less motion blur behind fast-moving objects, especially in bright scenes. The TU690T also offers better accuracy out of the box, and it can remove judder from 24p sources, so motion in movies is smoother.
The TCL Q650G is much better than the Samsung TU690T. The TCL gets a lot brighter, so it can handle more glare in a bright room, and HDR content looks more vivid and punchy. The TCL also supports more advanced gaming features, including support for VRR and 120Hz gaming at 1080p or 1440p, whereas the Samsung is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate.
The Hisense U6K is significantly better than the Samsung TU690T. The Hisense has a full array local dimming feature that delivers a much wider dynamic range, with brighter whites and deeper blacks. The Hisense also gets significantly brighter, so it delivers a better experience in a bright room. Finally, gamers will appreciate the VRR feature on the Hisense, which helps smooth out the frame rate and reduce tearing in games.
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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