The Samsung TU6980 is a decent entry-level 4k TV. It's a variant of the Samsung TU7000, and the 70 inch model we tested is one of two options in Samsung's 6 Series lineup, with the other being an 82 inch model. It has a VA panel with a good contrast ratio, but it's lower than most other VA panel TVs, and there's no local dimming to improve it. It has incredibly low input lag and a quick response time for gaming, and there's a Black Frame Insertion feature to improve the appearance of motion. Sadly, HDR content doesn't look all that different from SDR content because it fails to display a wide color gamut and has disappointing peak brightness. Fortunately, it doesn't have any issues upscaling lower-resolution content, such as from cable boxes or Blu-ray players. Also, the built-in Tizen OS is easy-to-use and there are a ton of apps available to download.
The Samsung 6 Series is a decent TV for most uses. It's good for gaming as it has a quick response time, a Black Frame Insertion feature, and incredibly low input lag. It performs well in dark environments because of its good contrast, but it has only decent black uniformity and lacks local dimming. Sadly, it has narrow viewing angles, so it's not suggested for wide seating arrangements when watching TV or sports with a large group of people.
The Samsung 6 Series is okay for watching movies. It has a good contrast ratio, but it's not as good as some other TVs with a VA panel. Black uniformity is only decent, and there's no local dimming feature. Luckily, it removes judder from native 24p sources, such as Blu-ray players or native apps.
The Samsung 6 Series is decent for watching TV shows. Its peak brightness isn't bad and it has decent reflection handling, but it's best to avoid using it in bright rooms. It upscales lower-resolution content, such as from cable TV, without any issues. Sadly, it has narrow viewing angles, so you quickly lose image accuracy when viewing off-center.
The Samsung 6 Series is decent for sports. It has a good response time and a Black Frame Insertion feature to help improve the appearance of motion. It handles reflections fairly well and its peak brightness isn't bad, but it's not good enough to combat a lot of glare. Also, it's not suggested for wide seating arrangements because it has narrow viewing angles.
The Samsung 6 Series is good for video games. It has incredibly low input lag, a quick response time, and a Black Frame Insertion feature to clear up motion blur. It's good for dark-room gaming because of its good contrast ratio. Sadly, it doesn't have variable refresh rate support and lacks local dimming.
The Samsung 6 Series is mediocre for watching HDR movies. It fails to display a wide color gamut and doesn't get bright enough in HDR to make highlights stand out. It has a good contrast ratio, but the black uniformity is just decent and there's no local dimming feature.
The Samsung 6 Series is decent for HDR gaming, mainly due to its good gaming performance. It has low input lag and a good response time to deliver a responsive gaming experience. It has a good contrast ratio, but HDR content doesn't look good because it can't display a wide color gamut, has disappointing peak brightness, and there's no local dimming feature.
The Samsung 6 Series is a good choice for use as a PC monitor. It displays chroma 4:4:4 at any resolution, which is important for reading fine text. It also has incredibly low input lag and a quick response time. It has decent reflection handling and performs well in a moderately-lit room. Sadly, it has narrow viewing angles, so the edges look washed out if you sit too close.
The Samsung 6 Series is an entry-level 4k TV that Samsung is releasing for Black Friday in 2020. It replaces 2018's Samsung NU6900 and is a variant of the Samsung TU7000. Its main competitors are other large, budget-friendly TVs such as the LG UN8500, Hisense H6570G, and the Vizio V Series 2020.
The Samsung 6 Series has an excellent design. It looks a lot like the Samsung TU7000 with thin borders and a textured finish on the back panel. It has different feet and it's thinner than other entry-level Samsung models in 2020, but sadly, there's no cable management.
The Samsung 6 Series has wide-set feet that support the TV well. The feet are placed more at an angle compared to the Samsung TU7000, and there's enough room to place a soundbar without obstructing the screen. You can't place the feet in a reverse position or move them to accommodate smaller tables.
Footprint of the 70" TV: 49.5" x 13.5"
The back of this TV is plastic with a brushed textured finish. There are tracks at the bottom, but without any clips on the legs, they don't help with cable management.
The Samsung 6 Series is even thinner than the Samsung TU8000 and doesn't stick out when wall-mounted.
The Samsung 6 Series has a decent build quality, much like the Samsung TU7000 and Samsung TU8000. It's made entirely out of plastic and there aren't any obvious issues, but at the same time, there's nothing premium about it.
This TV doesn't have a local dimming feature. The video above is provided for reference only.
The SDR peak brightness isn't bad and it's much better than the Samsung TU7000. It gets bright enough to combat some glare, but it's best to avoid placing it in well-lit rooms. It maintains its brightness consistent for the most part, but small highlights aren't as bright due to the frame dimming.
We measured peak brightness after calibration in the 'Movie' Picture Mode with Gamma set to '2.2', Contrast at its default setting, and Brightness at its max.
If you don't care about image accuracy and want the brightest image possible, set the Picture Mode to 'Movie', Contrast Enhancer to 'High', Color Tone to 'Cool', and Contrast at its max. We achieved 311 cd/mยฒ in the 10% window using these settings.
The Samsung TU6900 has disappointing HDR peak brightness. It only gets a bit brighter than in SDR, and it doesn't get bright enough to bring out highlights. Once again, small highlights aren't as bright due to the frame dimming.
We measured HDR peak brightness in the 'Movie HDR' Picture Mode with Contrast and Brightness at their max. If you want an even brighter image and don't mind losing accuracy, use these settings with Contrast Enhancer on 'High' and ST.2084 set to '+3'. We achieved 320 cd/mยฒ in the 10% window.
Our unit of the Samsung 6 Series has decent gray uniformity, but this may vary between units. The edges of the screen are visibly darker and there's dirty screen effect in the center. The uniformity is much better in near-dark scenes, but there's still some slight backlight bleed along the edges.
The reflection handling is decent, much like the Samsung TU8000. It performs best in moderately-lit rooms, but the reflections may be too distracting if it's placed opposite a window with direct sunlight.
The Samsung 6 Series has very good out-of-the-box accuracy. Most colors and white balance are only slightly inaccurate, and most people shouldn't notice it. Color temperature is almost exactly spot on our 6500K target. Gamma follows the target curve fairly well overall, but dark scenes are too dark and other scenes are too bright.
After calibration, the color accuracy is remarkable. Any remaining inaccuracies with colors and white balance can't be spotted by the naked eye. The color temperature became slightly cooler from before calibration, but it's still extremely close to the target. Gamma follows the target curve almost perfectly, except really dark scenes are still too dark.
See our recommended settings here.
This TV uses a BGR subpixel layout, which can affect the way text is rendered when using it as a PC monitor. You can read about it here.
The Samsung TU6900 has an okay color gamut, but it's not considered a wide color gamut needed for HDR content. It has good coverage of the commonly-used DCI P3 color space, but limited coverage of the wider Rec. 2020.
The EOTF follows the target PQ curve fairly well, but all scenes are darker than they should be. The image in 'Game' mode is brighter, as you can see in this EOTF.
If you find HDR too dim and want a brighter image, set the Contrast Enhancer to 'High', ST.2084 to '+3', Tone Color to 'Cool', and Brightness and Contrast at their max in the 'Movie HDR' Picture Mode. This results in a brighter image, as you can see in this EOTF. You can also adjust Shadow Detail to '+5', as seen in this EOTF, but this results in blacks that look gray and we don't recommend it.
The Samsung 6 Series has a disappointing color volume. It's mainly limited by its lack of a wide color gamut, and it can't display colors at a wide range of luminance levels.
This TV has okay gradient handling. There's banding in all colors, and it's most noticeable with green and gray. The Noise Reduction setting doesn't improve the gradients at all. If gradient handling is important to you, look into the LG NANO80.
We don't expect VA panels to experience burn-in, as the VA panel in our long-term test appears immune.
There's an optional Black Frame Insertion feature to help reduce motion blur. It's called LED Clear Motion, and it flickers at 60Hz outside of 'Game' mode and 120Hz in 'Game' mode.
The Samsung 6 Series has a motion interpolation feature to interpolate lower-frame rate content up to 60fps. It works great on our test pattern, but there are a few artifacts with real content. However, it isn't bad and depends on the content.
See here for the settings that control the feature.
Despite having a quick response time, there's not much stutter with lower-frame rate content. Enabling the motion interpolation feature can help reduce stutter if you notice it.
The Samsung 6 Series automatically removes judder from native 24p sources as long as Picture Clarity is disabled.
This TV doesn't support any variable refresh rate technology.
The Samsung 6 Series has an incredibly low input lag as long as you're in 'Game' mode, and it stays about the same whether you're gaming in 1080p or 4k. You can use the motion interpolation feature in 'Game' mode, but it significantly increases the input lag.
There's an 'Auto Low Latency Mode' that automatically switches the TV into 'Game' mode when a game from a compatible device is launched. For it to work, enable Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC) and set Game Mode to 'Auto'. If you're using this TV as a PC monitor and want the lowest input lag, set the input you're using to 'PC' and enable Game Mode.