Last year, TechStomper reviewed Samsung Neo QLED TV QN95B and was impressed by its gaming feature suite, sound capabilities, exclusive extras, and ability to upscale legacy material on top of outstanding image quality. Today’s review subject, Samsung S90C OLED (2023), has many of the same charms but with all of the advantages of a QD-OLED display.
OLED’s near-infinite contrast ratio and minimal response time are just two of many benefits to the panel type. And coupled with the slim bezel and minimalist frame design, Samsung S90C OLED (2023) gives you a visual experience that is hard to properly convey with words. But, we’ll try anyway.
Framing OLED
The visual design of Samsung S90C OLED (2023) frames the QD-OLED panel beautifully.
It’s keeps the frame simple and as unobtrusive as possible. The panel is only 4mm deep with the electronics tucked away at the rear in a bump that is roughly another 30mm deep.
From the front, only around 2mm of the metal frame is visible. Another 3mm of glass surrounds the edge of the image. There’s only around 6mm of non-functional frame around the top and side edges. The unit comes with a large, heavy stand foot which supports the TV on two angled spars. It’s functional and attractive.
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One notable difference from the Samsung 95-series is that S90C does not come with an external I/O box. Instead the unit’s port are spread between facing to right of the display as you look at it and facing to the rear. The USB ports and two of the four HDMI ports reside facing the side while the rest face to the rear. The rear facing ports place a hard limit on how close the TV can be to a wall behind, be it on the stand or mounted.
Easy Start
Setting up Samsung S90C is straightforward. It can be done the old-fashioned way of signing into everything yourself, using each app’s Android companion or using Samsung SmartThings app. If you have a Samsung account already, you can be updating and tuning in a couple of minutes.
Alexa’s smart home and assistant is built into the Samsung S90C OLED (2023) which is very handy for the many already in Amazon’s ecosystem. Alexa can be used as another way to simplify the setup process.
There are two remotes in the box. One is the fully functional Samsung standard remote control in black. The other is a small rechargeable remote with just the basics in terms of buttons and rockers. However, the mini-mote does have a mic. It also has a little solar panel on the back to keep it from ever needing to be plugged in to charge via USB-C.
The mini-mote also looks quite cool in its brushed metallic and rounded-edge housing.
Contrast King
Being an OLED panel, Samsung S90C (2023) features per-pixel dimming and vibrant colour. Both of these are made to pop all the more by a peak brightness of 1,000nits beamed using Samsung’s proprietary Quantum Dot system.
This intensity brings out the near-infinite contrast of the display and really shows off what Samsung’s QD-OLED hardware has to offer over the competition.
The device can modulate brightness, colour and contrast to suit the room and the ambient lighting conditions.
Our review unit was placed in a south-facing and brightly coloured space and Samsung S90C OLED (2023) was able to keep the image detailed, colourful and deep even during the brightest days. Samsung S90C OLED’s daylight performance is only helped by anti-glar and anti-reflective coating that seems to suck in or dissipate most of the pesky ambient light.
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Older material is also upscaled using the device’s Neural Quantum Processor 4K. This does an incredible job on 480p material, especially DVD format, and interlaced analogue sources.
Like Samsung Neo QLED TV QN95B, some material from the dark days of the 240p/144p internet aren’t handled as elegantly but everything else shows a noticeable improvement.
Motion Master
Samsung S90C OLED (2023) is stunning in motion. The panel has minimal latency so panning and fast moving objects look that bit sharper. Intense action scenes have an almost visceral quality with the contrast and smooth motion working in tandem to make it feel like you are there.
PS5 and Xbox Series X video games console content looks especially amazing. PS5 and Xbox Series X‘s 4K HDR output is incredibly deep and visually immersive. Variable framerate and 120Hz content is well served by Samsung S90C OLED (2023).
A minimum input lag under 1ms is outstanding. Older games, designed for the imperceptible lag of CRTs, feel as sharp as you remember.
Samsung S90C OLED (2023) also features Auto Low-Latency Mode (ALLM) so the TV automatically enables its most appropriate level of image processing to keep your game feeling responsive. The unit is capable of refresh rates up to 144Hz should you fancy using it as the ultimate gaming monitor.
OLED TV for Gamers
Along with minimal input lag and a deft handling of detail in motion, Samsung S90C OLED (2023) has a range of gaming extra and features.
A dedicated Game Mode menu called Game Bar 2.0 offers a Virtual Aim Point. You can pick several sizes, colours, shapes and opacities for the reticle to match your preference. There’s also a Minimap Zoom option to let you get a better look at your in-game map.
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Gamers can also choose a range of special aspect ratios to match legacy games or to play in a super-wide 32:9. GameBar 2.0 is the default menu for when in Game Mode. It also pops up when you press the Xbox or PS button while using Xbox or GeForce apps which is a nice touch.
Game Bar 2.0 also offers a host of image processing features to improve image quality Game Motion Plus and AI-led Auto-HDR are the two of note.
Motion Plus is an interframe smoothing process that features a range of presets to suit certain genres, prioritising latency to varying degrees. Another gaming-centred feature that works well with most older content is AI-led auto-HDR. This gives retro games a little more depth and colour.
Home Cinema Out of the Box
Samsung S90C OLED (2023) features support for Dolby Atmos with two main drivers and a woofer. In practice, you get an expressive soundscape with a meaty low-end.
The device takes acoustic measurements of its surroundings to tailor the EQ and faux surround outputs. And the TV sounds amazing while sat in a room that reverbs like an empty church. Samsung S90C OLED (2023) is excellent for music.
Samsung OLED (2023) delivers a convincing surround sound experience using Atmos and its 2.1ch 40-watt audio hardware. Ambient sound effects like helicopters flying overhead, traffic, rain, the sounds of battle fill the room. The ability to track sounds across the screen helps place them in the TV’s 3D space.
And, once again, these attributes are particularly while gaming. Bullets, swords, the roar of the crowd, the echoes of footsteps on an empty street all sound superb from the 40W audio hardware. Similarly, the soundscapes of video games using Dolby Atmos seem to use all of the 3D space of the unit. Samsung S90C OLED (2023) offers that immersive audio experience without other home cinema hardware straight from the box.
Premium Bonus
Samsung S90C OLED (2023) furnishes the user with a host of extra features. Samsung TV is a selection of two dozen or so channels streamed from Rakuten TV and others.
The smart TV also features DEX support so any Samsung phone or tablet can seamlessly interact with the TV. You can use the display as second screen via WiFi from practically any device you have in your home via some app or casting service.
Windows PC and Macs both have native apps to integrate with Samsung S90C OLED (2023). Pair a keyboard and mouse, or plug them in via USB and your TV is your PC.
Streaming Explosion
With consumers streaming more than ever, Samsung have decked the S90C (2023) line with a comprehensive suite of corresponding media options. On top of many pre-installed video and music apps, we have a particularly excellent implementation of Xbox Clouding Gaming for TV and GeForce NOW. Xbox Clouding Gaming even lets you pick up with Quick Resume.
Your internet connection will be the limit to your experience. Our connection has a latency of around 15ms with an average down speed of 50-80Mbps. While it was a noticeable downgrade over a native feed with a console or PC in the room, it wasn’t much.
It won’t take you long to get used to it. And it won’t take you long to forget you are gaming via the cloud. Gamers can use a wide range of controllers with the Xbox App so the novelty of playing as the Chief with a DualSense is there.
GeForce NOW allows the use of Bluetooth keyboard and mouse but you can also plug in your old faithfuls to the two USB ports at the rear.
A nice touch is ability to navigate the entire TV with your controller, keyboard or mouse of choice.
Wealth of Options
The Samsung TV UI hides many of the more advanced features away in a fuller menu of options while keeping some of the lighter stuff in a quick menu.
There are probably too many options withheld from the quick menu. And it’s possibly a little too difficult to find your way to the full settings suite. While you will get used to it, it’s a bit unintuitive. It may take a little longer than you would think to get to grips with how to get to which menu from where.
The Home menu, while customisable, is a little cluttered by default. However, it does offer some customisation options to help you find you favourites. It also offers a decent mix of TV, movies, boxsets and YouTube videos that moulds itself to the user.
Game Bar 2.0 is another separate menu and these options are also buried deep within the full menu.
Specifications
| Panel: | 3,840 x 2,160, anti-reflective, anti-glare full OLED self-illuminating pixels |
| Brightness: | 1,000 nits peak |
| Colour Gamut: | 100% DCI-P3, 91% BT.2020 |
| Colour Bit Depth: | 10-bit, 1bn colours |
| Input Lag: | 0.8ms (Game Mode, Minimum) |
| Adaptive Sync: | AMD Freesync Premium |
| Frequency: | 24-144Hz |
| Viewing Angles: | 178º horizontal, 178º vertical |
| Gaming Features: | Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), 4K at 120Hz, Game Bar 2.0, Game Motion Plus, HDR10+ Gaming, Virtual Aim Point |
| HDMI: | 4x HDMI 2.1 |
| USB: | 2x USB (1x 5V 0.5A, 1x 5V 1A) |
| Dimensions: | 1444.3 x 831.7 x 39.9mm |
| Bluetooth: | BT 5.2 |
| Other I/O | Common Interface (CI), Coaxial Screw-Type and Coaxial Bi-Concentric |
Samsung S90C is a wonder of a TV that comes at a suitable premium. Those looking to round out a home entertainment system or after the very best image quality to behold their games or movies will love the OLED experience.
The exclusive services and features bolster the value proposition while the unit’s build quality and visual design are worthy of a premium product.
The gaming potential of S90C, once again, deserves special mention. From the innate qualities of a high-quality OLED panel, like the miniscule input lag and vibrant, detailed image, to the Samsung-specific benefits, like Virtual Aim Point and Motion Plus, this might be the Holy Grail for gamers.
Samsung S90C OLED 65-inch (2023) is current available in Ireland with details on pricing and availability on Samsung Ireland’s website.
Review unit provided by Samsung PR
