Who will win the TV wars is a question that has dominated tech publications for decades. The rapid evolution of flat-panel displays has seen a massive market for these amazing screens.
The debate now has a new corollary, which is, who will win the streaming wars? That is a topic that is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon.
You’ll notice, though, that the major TV manufacturers never put an Apple TV button on the remote control, like they do Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+. Apple, for its part, won’t let you install a streaming app on its MacBook laptops, only its own TV+.
The last smart TV I bought was clearly from the era where broadcast TV still dominated. It defaulted to HDMI 1, where the TV signal came in. The new interface treats that set-top box as equal to all the other options, with a clear bias to the visually enticing streaming services.
There are big icons for the last few things you watched on Netflix or Showmax (RIP). Click on the DStv icon, and it helpfully wakes the decoder up for you. I can be watching rugby in seconds. Samsung calls this the Media Hub, and it’s slick and simple.
Samsung 65in S95D OLED 4K HDR smart TV
R40,000 | Samsung.com/za
I’ve been testing the Samsung S95D OLED 4K TV, a glorious 65in screen that has decoupled the display from the rest of the operation, as it were. The TV’s brains are a separate smart box with all the HDMI and USB ports, and it runs Samsung’s own Tizen OS. Called the One Connect box, it attaches to the back of the TV (on its stand) or to the wall when wall-mounted.
Given that most households have a teenager or an adult who loves gaming, the TV has a 100Hz refresh rate that can go up to 144Hz. It makes no sense to non-gamers, but it’s the equivalent of using a Lamborghini to pop down to the cafe for a litre of milk. The upshot is that the 4K screen is brilliant and bright, and the fast refresh rate is great for watching rugby or any fast-moving sport.
One new feature on recent Samsung TVs is the ability to mute the commentator. I already do that by just muting the whole audio feed. But then there’s none of the crowd cheering and other stadium noises that I would be happy to hear.
This is part of the new suite of AI-enhanced features that can separate the audio streams for commentary and stadium microphones. It’s a winning feature that you never thought you’d want ― unless, like me, you have never liked the sometimes intrusive, often metronomic repetitiveness of some rugby commentators.
Called Soccer Mode for this month’s FIFA World Cup, it is my favourite new feature on a television. What can I say, I love the game (of rugby), but I often just want to watch the game ― especially given the one-eyed overseas commentators that South African teams so often are assigned.
Samsung Q-series HW-Q800D sound bar
R9,000 | Samsung.com/za
Speaking of good sound, I also tested the Samsung Q-series HW-Q800D sound bar, which pairs with the TV using Bluetooth and has a wireless subwoofer. Current OLED TVs are just too thin to have decent sound, so a soundbar is now an essential accessory. And it adds to the overall experience in ways we never knew before, side-firing speakers and self-calibrating systems.
Buying from the same manufacturer as the TV is another no-brainer.
- This column first appeared in Business Day
