VRavichandar
Well-Known Member
Just a day's research and my son bought this Samsung Serif ‘QA43LS01T’ TV. We have been enjoying it for a week now. It is supposed to be a lifestyle product.
Reason for urgency: After 10 years of Panasonic flat screen TVs - the first one L42E30D gave a life of nearly 7 years and the second one Shinobi pro DS630D just three years. As both gave out within days of each other had to find a replacement
Decided to switch brands.
Selection process!
Due to space constraints we can’t go more than 49 inches. High Command did not want anything larger than 43. Son felt QLED is cutting edge and wanted that. Had drooled at the picture quality of a Samsung QLED in a show room about a year earlier. It was priced way out of budget. I started with a 40k budget and had a look at some of the 4k TVs in that budget range nothing appealed. He came up with this model at 64k and a QLED at that and the temptation set in.
Next to no reviews for this model and most reviewers talked about Apple like design (anything white = apple design?) and the wow factor for them was it did not look like a traditional flat screen TV - rarely anything technical like contrast ratio, brightness, panel technology et al in any of the reviews! Everyone did mention awesome picture quality. So we were guided mostly by the Samsung given specifications.
Ordering delivery & Installation:
Ordered from Amazon. Delivery was swift - on the second day. This was because we ordered late in the day. Opted for open box inspection delivery. Confirmed that the TV is intact and the mentioned accessories are in the box. +1 for Amazon. The box contained the TV, the power cord, smart remote, batteries for the remote, user manual and regulatory guide. & cable organiser.
For those who like legs – this has a leggy floor stand (4 legs and a conduit to hide the cable), This TV cannot be wall mounted. Have never wall mounted any of my TVs so it is not a factor for me. Stand is screwed on to the base - so no requirement for an installation. The leggy stand rather than invoking a lifestyle feeling, it just reminded my of the first black and white dyanora televisions in a shuttered wooden stand from the dinosaur era.
(For those who have never seen one https://image.shutterstock.com/imag...on-isolated-clipping-path-600w-1664191957.jpg)
We decided to opt for the Samsung install, just to make sure everything is fine with the product. Samsung person turned up a few hours later. He mentioned that very few people buy this model and rest go with 'bigger the better' for the same price. He initially seemed not well versed, but appearances can be deceptive. He was just thorough! I appreciated that he asked for the manual and went through it quickly before doing anything. He set up the connections – just the power cable and a hdmi cable from AVR - HDMI 3 is the ARC port here. If you are interested in eARC - read on! A plate is provided for covering the back panel. Clean lines, no wires jutting out except from one place in the bottom of the TV. If you were using a floor stand, the wires would pass through a conduit along the legs. He paired the smart Remote control and the TV is ready. The tv is kept on a table top – it sits well – but a minimal wobble at the top – only if you test it. Played some 4k content, HDR content, tested sound, everything is fine. Signed him off and started exploring by ourselves. +1 for Samsung installation service.
Viewing experience:
In anticipation of the TV’s arrival - had downloaded some 4k & HDR content. My main source is a dedicated 8th gen i5 laptop with 1050ti gfx card. Making HDR work is a process! Not as easy as audio pass through! -1 for Windows10
Decided to test with preinstalled apps - Netflix, Amazon prime and Zee5 have dedicated buttons on the remote. Played some 4k+HDR10 videos from Youtube. Yet to figure out if the TV is playing HDR10+ or not! Minimalistic remote control and GUI on the TV. Truly Apple class! If you want to tweak anything - well NO - I mean you can't! There is no backlight adjustment.
There is one black level adjustment buried under external devices - but has three settings - low, normal & auto. A quick check showed that the auto defaults to normal and the screen is a wee bit washed out. Low was kind of enhancing the black level, but an explanation in a Samsung site says: Low sets the HDMI Black Level enhancement for deeper black level range. This seems counter-intuitive!
The remote has just about 12 buttons and a central circular selector and an OK/Enter button in the centre. It also has a mic and a button to activate it for voice controls. To its credit bixby is comfortable with my ‘ayyayyo’ accent!
For the past week we have been watching and enjoying this TV in daylight and night. Very happy with our choice. The picture quality is excellent. Happy with the natural skin tones, brightness, clarity and level of detail displayed. No judder, stutter, or uneven motion. Fast action scenes played out well and seemed natural – but need to test this with some action clips! The colour is DCI – P3 – 100%. (Flagship phones and laptops like Samsung Galaxy note, iPhone and Surface displays ship with this standard for the past 3-4 years it seems). Some people talk about the viewing angle for the 2019 model – but no issues at 4 o clock position.
Son played some recent demanding games. He is impressed with the ease with which the TV handled and displayed details and colours at 60 Hz.
TV’s sound is good – 4 speakers rated at 40w. Sound is not tinny, but not booming bassy either. Does not matter to me as all sound is routed through an AVR anyway. TV also has some Dolby modes I guess, did not try that though.
Specifications:
Quantum LED – HDR 10+, HLG,
Motion rate 100+, PQI 2800 (samsung’s marketing bs!)
OS: Tizen
4 hdmi inputs, 2 USB inputs, 1 composite, 1 optical out, 1 RF
eARC on HDMI 3
5GHz wireless connectivity
Sound output 40w 4 speakers
HDMI quick switch – yet to figure out what this means – I have a single HDMI connection to the TV at present
Anynet HDMI – CEC (while this switches off my AVR when powering down, it does not switch it on when powering up – yet to figure out this quirk)
Bluetooth 4.2 – (have not connected a BT headphone to see if the TV outputs audio)
NFC – two phones with NFC paired easily – for music playback only
WiFi Direct – yet to test this, but a screen mirroring was done by the Samsung tech to demonstrate.
DVB -2 digital and an analog tuner is also available – not tested
Alexa, Google Asst, Bixby compatible – the first two is mentioned as India only
Samsung Smart things and apps compatible – naturally!
There are a load of other features that I have not used / may not use at all!
e.g. tapview – tap your mobile to view pictures on your TV (delete those ahem… pics before you try this)
Multi-view: picture in picture! One picture has to be your phone? Yet to test
It has this ambient mode that displays “art” when chosen – no more just black screen – you can have art of your choice (limited to what Samsung provides?) – am not an artsy type and do not like to add to my power bill! Those who like this “life style” stuff can enjoy!
https://www.samsung.com/in/lifestyl...serif-4k-smart-tv-cloud-white-qa43ls01takxxl/
Pros
Extremely happy with the picture quality - even in a bright well lit (natural sunlight room) - clear pictures, excellent colours and quality. Skin tones are natural. Does not require tweaking for each source / content. Only when playing HDR – the picture has to be set to dynamic for better brightness. This is easily achieved through the voice control enabled remote rather than navigating through a multitude of buttons!
Darker rooms – the colours, picture quality, brightness, contrast everything is perfect and all of us enjoy the clear pictures, details that are visible. Thankfully the backlight bleed is minimal and does not spoil viewing experience. Blacks do seem black. In some scenes the creases on a black shirts were visible. So no crushing I guess. But I have not tested with a critical eye. Just enjoying the TV! If any of you want me to test a particular video and provide a feedback on how this TV handles black, happy to do that.
1080 upscales to UHD – the AI engine works well. Even some 720p videos looked good. My content is limited so far to youtube (both from TV & laptop), amazon prime (only from the TV app), 4k, 1080p, 720p files played from my laptop
TV audio output does not sound tinny - no booming bass either - sounds good enough for a flat screen
Samsung's Bixby voice control works for me and recognises and obeys what I ask it to do (ahem…)
Cons:
Cannot be wall mounted
Remote and GUI are ducking minimalistic - nothing is at the press of a button anymore – multiple button presses for even some seemingly simple tasks! No one-touch everything!
Remote is smart, you have to be smart too - to figure out what each button does and how to get what you want done!
Volume, channel change keys on the remote have a up/down rocker type key - does not feel sturdy enough
Grey areas:
Is it a 8 bit panel or 10 bit? In windows 10 nvidia control panel only 8 bit is enabled. HLG seems to indicate 10 bit, 4:4:4 4k60p
Not sure about HDMI port version – is it 2.1? Definitely supports 2.0b. My AVR and laptop are 2.0b
Not sure what kind of a panel is this! Based on some articles Samsung uses Dual LED for some of its QLED VA panels. Backlight seems to bleed from the edges occasionally – so is it edge lit?
How do I find what quality of content is being played – tv shows UHD & HDR only. No mention of HDR 10+
Dimming: specified as supreme UHD micro dimming by Samsung – what does this mean in the real world?! – I’m happy with the picture quality – but as many here in HFV are keen on dimming and seem to base their decisions on the type of dimming available, I just get curious! It does not seem to be FALD.
More pics and info to come as I learn more and other members comment!
Reason for urgency: After 10 years of Panasonic flat screen TVs - the first one L42E30D gave a life of nearly 7 years and the second one Shinobi pro DS630D just three years. As both gave out within days of each other had to find a replacement
Decided to switch brands.Selection process!
Due to space constraints we can’t go more than 49 inches. High Command did not want anything larger than 43. Son felt QLED is cutting edge and wanted that. Had drooled at the picture quality of a Samsung QLED in a show room about a year earlier. It was priced way out of budget. I started with a 40k budget and had a look at some of the 4k TVs in that budget range nothing appealed. He came up with this model at 64k and a QLED at that and the temptation set in.
Next to no reviews for this model and most reviewers talked about Apple like design (anything white = apple design?) and the wow factor for them was it did not look like a traditional flat screen TV - rarely anything technical like contrast ratio, brightness, panel technology et al in any of the reviews! Everyone did mention awesome picture quality. So we were guided mostly by the Samsung given specifications.
Ordering delivery & Installation:
Ordered from Amazon. Delivery was swift - on the second day. This was because we ordered late in the day. Opted for open box inspection delivery. Confirmed that the TV is intact and the mentioned accessories are in the box. +1 for Amazon. The box contained the TV, the power cord, smart remote, batteries for the remote, user manual and regulatory guide. & cable organiser.
For those who like legs – this has a leggy floor stand (4 legs and a conduit to hide the cable), This TV cannot be wall mounted. Have never wall mounted any of my TVs so it is not a factor for me. Stand is screwed on to the base - so no requirement for an installation. The leggy stand rather than invoking a lifestyle feeling, it just reminded my of the first black and white dyanora televisions in a shuttered wooden stand from the dinosaur era.
(For those who have never seen one https://image.shutterstock.com/imag...on-isolated-clipping-path-600w-1664191957.jpg)
We decided to opt for the Samsung install, just to make sure everything is fine with the product. Samsung person turned up a few hours later. He mentioned that very few people buy this model and rest go with 'bigger the better' for the same price. He initially seemed not well versed, but appearances can be deceptive. He was just thorough! I appreciated that he asked for the manual and went through it quickly before doing anything. He set up the connections – just the power cable and a hdmi cable from AVR - HDMI 3 is the ARC port here. If you are interested in eARC - read on! A plate is provided for covering the back panel. Clean lines, no wires jutting out except from one place in the bottom of the TV. If you were using a floor stand, the wires would pass through a conduit along the legs. He paired the smart Remote control and the TV is ready. The tv is kept on a table top – it sits well – but a minimal wobble at the top – only if you test it. Played some 4k content, HDR content, tested sound, everything is fine. Signed him off and started exploring by ourselves. +1 for Samsung installation service.
Viewing experience:
In anticipation of the TV’s arrival - had downloaded some 4k & HDR content. My main source is a dedicated 8th gen i5 laptop with 1050ti gfx card. Making HDR work is a process! Not as easy as audio pass through! -1 for Windows10
Decided to test with preinstalled apps - Netflix, Amazon prime and Zee5 have dedicated buttons on the remote. Played some 4k+HDR10 videos from Youtube. Yet to figure out if the TV is playing HDR10+ or not! Minimalistic remote control and GUI on the TV. Truly Apple class! If you want to tweak anything - well NO - I mean you can't! There is no backlight adjustment.
There is one black level adjustment buried under external devices - but has three settings - low, normal & auto. A quick check showed that the auto defaults to normal and the screen is a wee bit washed out. Low was kind of enhancing the black level, but an explanation in a Samsung site says: Low sets the HDMI Black Level enhancement for deeper black level range. This seems counter-intuitive!
The remote has just about 12 buttons and a central circular selector and an OK/Enter button in the centre. It also has a mic and a button to activate it for voice controls. To its credit bixby is comfortable with my ‘ayyayyo’ accent!
For the past week we have been watching and enjoying this TV in daylight and night. Very happy with our choice. The picture quality is excellent. Happy with the natural skin tones, brightness, clarity and level of detail displayed. No judder, stutter, or uneven motion. Fast action scenes played out well and seemed natural – but need to test this with some action clips! The colour is DCI – P3 – 100%. (Flagship phones and laptops like Samsung Galaxy note, iPhone and Surface displays ship with this standard for the past 3-4 years it seems). Some people talk about the viewing angle for the 2019 model – but no issues at 4 o clock position.
Son played some recent demanding games. He is impressed with the ease with which the TV handled and displayed details and colours at 60 Hz.
TV’s sound is good – 4 speakers rated at 40w. Sound is not tinny, but not booming bassy either. Does not matter to me as all sound is routed through an AVR anyway. TV also has some Dolby modes I guess, did not try that though.
Specifications:
Quantum LED – HDR 10+, HLG,
Motion rate 100+, PQI 2800 (samsung’s marketing bs!)
OS: Tizen
4 hdmi inputs, 2 USB inputs, 1 composite, 1 optical out, 1 RF
eARC on HDMI 3
5GHz wireless connectivity
Sound output 40w 4 speakers
HDMI quick switch – yet to figure out what this means – I have a single HDMI connection to the TV at present
Anynet HDMI – CEC (while this switches off my AVR when powering down, it does not switch it on when powering up – yet to figure out this quirk)
Bluetooth 4.2 – (have not connected a BT headphone to see if the TV outputs audio)
NFC – two phones with NFC paired easily – for music playback only
WiFi Direct – yet to test this, but a screen mirroring was done by the Samsung tech to demonstrate.
DVB -2 digital and an analog tuner is also available – not tested
Alexa, Google Asst, Bixby compatible – the first two is mentioned as India only
Samsung Smart things and apps compatible – naturally!
There are a load of other features that I have not used / may not use at all!
e.g. tapview – tap your mobile to view pictures on your TV (delete those ahem… pics before you try this)
Multi-view: picture in picture! One picture has to be your phone? Yet to test
It has this ambient mode that displays “art” when chosen – no more just black screen – you can have art of your choice (limited to what Samsung provides?) – am not an artsy type and do not like to add to my power bill! Those who like this “life style” stuff can enjoy!
https://www.samsung.com/in/lifestyl...serif-4k-smart-tv-cloud-white-qa43ls01takxxl/
Pros
Extremely happy with the picture quality - even in a bright well lit (natural sunlight room) - clear pictures, excellent colours and quality. Skin tones are natural. Does not require tweaking for each source / content. Only when playing HDR – the picture has to be set to dynamic for better brightness. This is easily achieved through the voice control enabled remote rather than navigating through a multitude of buttons!
Darker rooms – the colours, picture quality, brightness, contrast everything is perfect and all of us enjoy the clear pictures, details that are visible. Thankfully the backlight bleed is minimal and does not spoil viewing experience. Blacks do seem black. In some scenes the creases on a black shirts were visible. So no crushing I guess. But I have not tested with a critical eye. Just enjoying the TV! If any of you want me to test a particular video and provide a feedback on how this TV handles black, happy to do that.
1080 upscales to UHD – the AI engine works well. Even some 720p videos looked good. My content is limited so far to youtube (both from TV & laptop), amazon prime (only from the TV app), 4k, 1080p, 720p files played from my laptop
TV audio output does not sound tinny - no booming bass either - sounds good enough for a flat screen
Samsung's Bixby voice control works for me and recognises and obeys what I ask it to do (ahem…)
Cons:
Cannot be wall mounted
Remote and GUI are ducking minimalistic - nothing is at the press of a button anymore – multiple button presses for even some seemingly simple tasks! No one-touch everything!
Remote is smart, you have to be smart too - to figure out what each button does and how to get what you want done!
Volume, channel change keys on the remote have a up/down rocker type key - does not feel sturdy enough
Grey areas:
Is it a 8 bit panel or 10 bit? In windows 10 nvidia control panel only 8 bit is enabled. HLG seems to indicate 10 bit, 4:4:4 4k60p
Not sure about HDMI port version – is it 2.1? Definitely supports 2.0b. My AVR and laptop are 2.0b
Not sure what kind of a panel is this! Based on some articles Samsung uses Dual LED for some of its QLED VA panels. Backlight seems to bleed from the edges occasionally – so is it edge lit?
How do I find what quality of content is being played – tv shows UHD & HDR only. No mention of HDR 10+
Dimming: specified as supreme UHD micro dimming by Samsung – what does this mean in the real world?! – I’m happy with the picture quality – but as many here in HFV are keen on dimming and seem to base their decisions on the type of dimming available, I just get curious! It does not seem to be FALD.
More pics and info to come as I learn more and other members comment!
