Sony X940E 75" (XBR75X940E) vs Samsung NU7100 65" (UN65NU7100)

The X940E's performance can be considered on par with the OLEDs in this price range. It has everything necessary for true HDR: high native contrast (4941:1, can go up to 11634:1 with local dimming enabled), wide color gamut, great black levels and uniformity. Beyond all that, its panel is one of the best in the market — even in a bright room, this TV can still really shine because of how bright it can get.

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 X940E is the best in LED TVs of 2017 — it is capable of doubling the contrast ratios from 4941:1 to 11634:1. The only other LED TV with this capability is the VIZIO P65-E1, but its contrast with local dimming enabled is lower than the X940E's (at ~9.3k:1).

The user interface of modern smart TVs can include some advertisements similar to those on the internet or in a mobile app. The X940E does not include any, and it also has a feature for limiting ads in third-party applications.

The X940E can handle dark scenes very well thanks to its high native contrast levels, which clocks in at 4941:1 native, and it can go up to 11634:1 with local dimming enabled. This, along with excellent black levels and uniformity, gives the TV the ability to achieve great representations of dark scenes beyond most expectations.

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 X940E handles this extremely well with one of the lowest deviation (<0.6%) ever in a non-OLED panel. This is measured across the entire screen from what a pure black screen should be, giving it significant gains in its native contrast levels thereby increasing the picture quality by a ton.

The X940E has a practical peak brightness of ~1,100nits for both SDR and HDR content — this is by far the second brightest ever in a VA panel, only bested by the X930E. It can sustain this level of brightness when playing content and it will not have any issues with fighting light in bright environments thanks to its virtually reflection-less panel.

The X940E runs on Android TV — normal Android apps from the Google Play Store (or other app stores) will work on it.

Unlike the OLED panels in this price range, the X940E has a VA panel and thus it does not suffer from image retention issues.

The X940E shines in dark environments — it is great at reproducing dark scenes, making it suitable for enjoying media in a cinema-like setting. It performs extremely well in movies with many black highlights/scenes where this is immediately noticeable even to undiscerning viewers (e.g. Interstellar).

The X940E's panel has a glossy finish, unlike the X930E which has a semi-gloss finish. This, along with its ability to get very bright, means that this TV is excellent at handling reflections — even in a bright room, the picture quality will remain more or less the same.

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 X940E has no issues with accurately reproducing the colors necessary for true HDR because its color gamut is one of the widest and only bested by some OLEDs.

The X940E is the best LED TV of 2017, outperforming its competitors in nearly every aspect. Its picture quality is top-notch for any kind of content and it can handle all sorts of use cases really well.

Even though the NU7100 doesn’t have local dimming, watching TV in the dark is not a problem due to amazing black uniformity - the blacks are even and there are no clouding issues.

Contrast is remarkable too – blacks are deep, and whites are bright.

The TV is a great option for a PC monitor. Not only does the NU7100 have ideal low input lag thanks to the “_PC_” and “Game” modes, it also features support for most resolutions, except 1440p.

Another thing to note – Samsung’s app store has the Steam Link app, which lets you connect your PC to your TV and play games without needing to connect the Steam Link hardware.

When you first turn on the TV, it basically walks you through the setup process and you can start properly using it in a matter of minutes.

Regarding picture quality, it’s also quite reasonable right out of the box. White balance (gray color inaccuracy) and color dE (color inaccuracy) could be tweaked down for better quality, but most people won’t notice a sizeable difference.

In case you can’t figure something out when setting up, the TV also has a handy “e-manual” button.

The NU7100 has a smooth, fast, and easy-to-navigate interface with a lot of room for customization, so you can tailor it for easier access to your most-used apps.

Samsung’s app store has a huge and diverse app library, second only to the Google Play Store.

The SmartThings app allows the user to control the TV and other connected devices via their smartphone.

From games to movies, sports and use as a PC monitor, the NU7100 is a good TV for diverse usage. The balance of low input lag, good picture quality, and decent motion handling make sure of it.