Recs.
Updated
The Samsung UN55MU9000 is a versatile 4K TV suitable for movies, gaming, and sports.
SpecsUpdate
Pros
Pro Remote has a voice command feature
The MU9000’s remote has a built-in microphone and a voice command feature that makes it straightforward to control the TV — it can perform many operations as you physically would with the remote, and it can even be used to adjust settings directly.
Pro Great for dark rooms
The MU9000 shines in dark environments — it is great at reproducing dark scenes, making it suitable for enjoying media in a cinema-like setting. It performs particularly well in films with many black highlights/scenes where this is immediately noticeable even to undiscerning viewers (e.g. Interstellar).
Pro Dark scenes looks great
The MU9000 can handle dark scenes very well thanks to its high native contrast levels, which clocks in at 6023:1 native. This, along with good black levels and uniformity, gives the TV the ability to achieve great representations of dark scenes beyond most expectations.
Pro Great color reproduction
The color gamut of a TV refers to the range of colors the display can reproduce — the wider the color gamut, the more colors it can display, and the better the overall picture quality will be. This is extremely important for HDR content because it requires a much wider color gamut than SDR content. The MU9000 has a wide color gamut, and it has no issues with reproducing the colors necessary for true HDR.
Pro Decent performance in bright environments
The MU9000’s panel has a glossy finish that reduces light intensity significantly. This, along with its practical peak brightness of ~400 nits, means that the MU9000 is great at handling reflections and it will not have much issues with fighting light in bright environments.
Pro Great black levels and uniformity
The black levels of a TV affects the viewer’s perception of other colors next to it. If the black levels are not deep enough and doesn’t remain uniform across the screen, the overall picture quality will look “flat” without much depth. The MU9000 handles this well with only <1.5% deviation (across the entire screen) from what a pure black screen should be — this results in a significant gain in its native contrast levels, thereby increasing the picture quality.
Cons
Con Quite expensive
The MU9000 is a great TV, but the retail price can be off-putting for some because the picture quality and features it offers are present in other cheaper models (e.g. the Sony X900E). This TV can be really worth it when on sale, or if Samsung offers better after-sales service in your region.
Con Mediocre sound quality
The sound quality of MU9000's built-in speakers is mediocre with a huge emphasis on the lower frequencies, reduced clarity at higher volumes, and a slight distortion at all volume levels. An external audio setup — such as a soundbar — is highly recommended in order to get the most out of this TV.
Con Local dimming is horrible
Local dimming is the TV's ability to dim areas of the screen for deeper black levels and better contrast — they are separated into different dimming zones, where each zone can be individually dimmed as needed. The local dimming on the MU9000 is bad and doesn't offer what it should; the contrast ratio with local dimming only increases by a miniscule amount and there is no discernable change in picture quality. It also can't be disabled.