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The AU9000 supports HDR10, HLG and HDR10+, but not Dolby Vision. However, the absence of the latter has nothing to do with the TV’s mid-range status – none of Samsung’s models support the format, with the company instead opting for the royalty-free HDR10+. HDR10+ performance was good in testing, and while not as prevalent as Dolby Vision, is a format used by Prime Video and some 4K Blu-rays. Where the AU9000 puts clear blue water between itself and its cheaper siblings, though, is with its gaming features. For, unlike the other AU ranges, the AU9000’s three HDMIs can support both VRR (variable refresh rate) and 120Hz signals. This instantly makes the UE50AU9000 a much more compelling option as a monitor for a PS5, Xbox Series X or a PC with a new high-end Nvidia or AMD graphics card – even though the 120Hz support can only be sustained at 1080p resolutions rather than 4K. The gameplay is excellent, with the 4K resolution and bright HDR rendering the ray-traced action of Call of Duty adeptly. Motion is smooth and free of artefacts, while the incredibly low input lag ensures responsive gaming. The Samsung AU9000 delivers excellent image quality but isn’t without limitations. It uses a VA panel, which means for an LCD TV it delivers a decent contrast ratio of 4,000:1 and some nice shadow detail. However, it also means the optimal viewing angles are fairly limited, so you’ll want to be facing the screen head-on when watching TV. The UE50AU9000 even supports slightly – though we stress slightly – wider viewing angles than most LCD TVs, which could be handy if you have a few mates over for gaming nights.
The Samsung AU9000 is a 4K (3,840 x 2,160) HDR smart TV that comes in screen sizes ranging from 43in to 75in. It’s part of Samsung’s Crystal UHD series, which is its cheapest range of 4K TVs, sitting below its various QLED sets.The bezel across the bottom is a little wider, and stands proud of the screen just a little, but I wouldn’t call it unsightly. ‘Inoffensive’ is sometimes a put-down, but not in this instance. Look directly at it when the TV isn’t switched on, and this Samsung is the best sort of inoffensive.
As is usual with Samsung – and for reasons that only look more pig-headed with every passing day – there’s no Dolby Vision dynamic metadata on board here. So, despite the fact that the world’s most popular subscription video streaming service has its app front-and-centre on the Samsung’s Tizen smart TV interface, the 50AU9000 isn’t able to exploit that service’s potential. Simply relax and enjoy all the content you love, with a 4K upscaling TV that adapts to give you the best 4K Ultra HD picture. But it doesn’t stop there. The sound adjusts to perfectly suit what you’re watching. A TV drama or the tennis, you’ll really feel part of the action.
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It’s going to come as no great surprise to learn that the Samsung does its verybest work when given the very best content to work with. And, in light of its specification, the very best content turns out to be some native 4K material with HDR10+ as the cherry on top. Step down to some 1080p content and the Samsung remains a composed and convincing watch. Inevitably, there are drop-offs in pretty much every area: detail levels aren’t quite so high; skin-tones aren’t quite so naturalistic; colours aren’t quite so wide-ranging; motion isn’t quite so stable. But given the amount of work the 50AU9000’s Crystal Processor 4K is getting through, these shortcomings are minor in the extreme. Size class of the display as declared by the manufacturer. Often this is the rounded value of the actual size of the diagonal in inches.
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