Samsung TV benchmark brouhaha: Scandalous cheating, or tempest in a teapot?

Two Television review web-sites, flatpanelshd and HDTVTest, have accused Samsung of manipulating the functionality of its TVs in order to supply far better benchmark final results than they would normally be entitled. No just one likes cheating, but the problem continues to be: Just how a great deal does it subject in this scenario?

Precisely, Samsung stands accused of boosting brightness and coloration to make HDR (higher dynamic range) articles pop the greater part of the time the Television set is in Filmmaker method, and then minimizing those people values back to ordinary for certain assessments that reviewers normally use to evaluate coloration and brightness. The entire purpose of Filmmaker mode, of study course, is to existing visible substance as accurately and as shut to the artist’s intent as the Tv is able, so this sort of tweaking in truth isn’t kosher.

All that stated, reviewers really don’t count entirely on benchmark numbers or examination machines to assess a TV’s picture excellent. We largely trust our eyeballs and use on benchmark figures and machines readings to corroborate what we see. We want our ordeals, the information we gather, and the conclusions we make to jive with the activities that our audience get when they rely on our thoughts to make purchasing conclusions.

In this circumstance, we mentioned the distinction in coloration saturation and highlights in between two of the most up-to-date OLED TVs in our Samsung S95B evaluation and our LG G2 Evo Gallery Version review. We desired the S95B over-all, even though the LG ended up staying the far more precise of the two. So, Samsung is generally currently being accused of offering wonderful impression by way of improvement, but underneath conditions that never phone for it. Most likely they should really have only labeled these options Vivid Filmmaker mode and known as it a working day.

LG Electronics

A word from the defendant

At any rate, we reached out to Samsung for comment on this difficulty, and this was their reply:

“Samsung Electronics does not use any algorithm for the intent of yielding particular test success. When analyzed beneath business criteria, results from our very own exams, as well as by an independent third-celebration firm, clearly show that HDR material is accurately shown on various window sizes, and not just at 10%.

“With Samsung’s marketplace-main Quantum HDR engineering, the peak brightness also continues to be at similar concentrations across window measurements of 10% or more compact, without harming the panels. Samsung stays dedicated to offering the ideal photo excellent to our buyers, and stands by our Television products which include Neo QLED Television set to offer finest-in-class viewing encounters.”

Samsung

Being a expert cynic, I will have to take note that Samsung uses the present–not past–tense in that assertion, and that it came immediately after the producer rolled out a firmware update that promised to “fix the issue.” Currently being generous, I know Samsung is obsessed with brightness and element, so I can think about scenarios where by anything like this may possibly materialize by incident or out of pure enthusiasm, as opposed to an intent to deceive reviewers.

That explained, I’m not questioning the motives of possibly HDTVTest or flatpanelshd, possibly. They noticed what they observed, and I have a difficult time not arriving at similar–if not the same–conclusions.

Base line: Ought to you treatment?

If you’re the form of consumer who likes to dig deep into Tv set technological know-how: calibration, extraordinary accuracy, artistic intent and filmmaker manner, and the like, most likely you should really care. In that case, search to see if flatpanelshd and HDTVTest revise their opinions the moment they’ve tested the Tv set following applying Samsung’s firmware update.

If you are a much more normal shopper who’s just seeking for a good Television set viewing encounter, it’s probably that none of this will in the long run subject. Except, that is, you imagine shopping for the S95B would reward Samsung’s maybe undesirable conduct. And possessing explained that, we however believe the Samsung S95B is a fantastic Television set.