A portion of this video is sponsored by grow Watt
I don't really need to say anything just I mean look at those TVs you know what time it is
Welcome back everyone I'm Caleb Denison and welcome to the QD OLED battle the Samsung s95b
versus the Sony a95k now I reckon you may have already seen some videos and articles pitting
these two TVs together but I'm gonna do what I do and try to bring a little something different
to the table I think you're going to like this yes we are going to talk about picture quality
but making the decision between these two TVs involves so much more than just comparing picture
quality or at least it should because if this was just a picture quality battle I'd be like
cool the Sony a95k wins peace out I'm gonna go smash a burrito and that might not come as
much of a surprise because the a95k won the value electronics TV shootout pretty handily by the way
and besides just about everyone who has reviewed the Sony a95k or even just seen it knows it is the
whoops sorry kids hey it's a really special TV but that doesn't mean you should buy it like I
said there's more to consider and we're going to consider all the things so that by the end
of this video you'll know exactly which TV you will or might buy before we jump into it I just
want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the support it means everything to me
I've been having a great time chatting with you in the comments section and I'm going to do even
more of that over the next few months which is a great reminder to hop in the comments section and
say something uplifting please and if you're new around here we'd appreciate any clicks of support
you feel moved to offer oh also folks I don't want to have to waste time doing this but watch
out for scammers in the comments we will never tell you that you've won a prize and then try
to get you to click a telegram link okay those are scams and there's not a lot YouTubers like
us can do about it though we do try but with that said guys we're getting close to a million Subs
just 17.5 K more and I've got a giveaway cooked up so stoked here we go I'm gonna break this verses
down into design functional features fun features picture quality price and in the end well you get
it now I suppose you could skip around but I would encourage you to take this journey with
me because I think it'll make the takeaway that much more valuable so starting with design the
most obvious difference to point to is the stand this only means something if you're going to stand
mount the TV but if you are take a look at the Samsung s95b it's got a central pedestal stand
that's stable enough allows a little room for a slim Soundbar perhaps most importantly is going to
fit on just about any media stand you might have thanks to its small footprint by comparison the
Sony a95k demands a fairly big media stand like our gorgeous BDI Corridor here it's pedestal if
you want to call it that runs the entire width of the TV and runs fairly deep if you set it up this
way you can also have the pedestal oriented toward the front of the TV so the TV itself can sit flush
against the wall if you like now if your wall mounting suddenly the visual differences between
the two TVs are much more subtle both of them have super thin display panels and both have a bit of
a bump out on the back the Sony's bump out takes up more real estate on the back surface but the
depth of the bump out between the two is the same so even with the tightest of wall mounts you'll
have a little bit of a gap from the wall from the front they are both attractive TVs though
I'll point out that the Sony has a strip down toward the bottom that's a bit larger than the
strip on the Samsung which do I personally like better the Sony it's less practical so I think the
Samsung is the better design for most folks but I just like the Sony sort of modernist approach
it's a personal preference now let's talk about functional features we'll start with the remote
I think a lot of folks Overlook the fact that this remote you interact with it every time you want to
watch TV it is a huge influence on how much you enjoy interacting with your TV right so here's
the deal what I like about the Samsung remote is that you'll never have to replace the batteries
and you probably won't ever have to charge it either that's because it can charge via solar on
the back and it charges with radio waves already floating around in your home no I'm not kidding
it really does there's a USBC port on the bottom if you need to charge it but I don't think that
you will I like that it's slim to a point the Slimmer it is the easier it is to lose in the
couch or chair cushions I like that it's simple but again to a point sometimes I want a dedicated
button to get straight to let's say settings and this remote relies a bit more on the TVs on screen
interface to help you get where you want to go I also wish it was backlit but really it's a great
forward-thinking remote I prefer the Sony remote though for one thing it's backlit for another it's
got a few dedicated buttons that I want also it feels better in the hand and perhaps most
of all Sony has a remote finder feature and the little alarm on this thing is plenty loud to help
you find it now let's talk about HDMI inputs the Samsung s95b supports HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all
four ports while the Sony has two high bandwidth ports and one of them is the e-arc port now look
think very carefully about whether this is really a big deal to you or not do you have
enough gear that supports 4K 120 hertz HDR vrr output to need more than two HDMI 2.1 ports like
set aside the argument that if you pay so much for a TV then you should get all of the latest
stuff everywhere and consider your actual needs if the answer is yes you need four HDMI 2.1
ports and that's more important than anything else well then I guess you're done with this
video I will however point out that there are AV receivers that offer multiple HDMI 2.1 ports and
can make accommodating lots of high-end gear a bit easier next I want to point to the smart TV
OS with the s95b you get Samsung's tizen and with the a95k you get Google TV running on Android 12.
now I am personally a fan of Google TV I have a Samsung TV at home and I plugged into it a
Chromecast Samsung's tizen is fine it's perfectly fine most of the time but for daily use Google TV
just gets my vote in the end both have the apps you need and those apps perform well on both TVs
there is some HDR specific stuff to talk about but that's coming up in a minute now on to sound
quality here the Sony a95k is the clear winner but that's because the a95 case onboard sound
quality is just insanely good the Samsung s95b on its own sounds very good as well I don't think
anyone will be disappointed with how the s95b sounds it's just that the a95k with its beefy
subwoofer output and the fact that the screen is the speaker system it just it can't be matched I
think it's the best Sony TV on the market now both TVs have features that let them play nicely with
outboard audio systems Samsung offers Q Symphony sound which lets the TV add height and presence
to the presentation when combined with a Samsung soundbar meanwhile the Sony a95k can act as the
center Channel with a system like the Sony hta9 or with pretty much any AV receiver you just run
the center channel speaker wire into the back all in all for sound the Sony a95k wins but the
Samsung is no slouch now let's talk about some features that I would consider non-essentials
but nice add-ons nonetheless on the Samsung side there are three things I feel are worth mentioning
the first is Samsung channels which is really just free internet TV but presented as a list
of channels you can flip through the nice thing here if this appeals to you is that you don't have
to be concerned about whether it comes from 2B or Pluto or whatever it's just content you can watch
simple and then there's Samsung's ambient mode which converts the TV into an art display some
works are free but there's something like 2000 Works total available if you want to buy some also
even though it isn't as convincing as Samsung's the frame it really is about just looking like art
whereas with the Sony you get Google TV screen savers which always have text at the bottom
finally Samsung appeals to Gamers with a gaming dashboard which is not something you get with the
Sony right now on the Sony side well I guess there are like two things worth mentioning one of them
is Bravia core which offers some of the highest Fidelity video and audio that you can stream right
now if you don't have a 4K Blu-ray player this is about as good as it gets for for showing off
your TV now it's mostly Sony Pictures content but there are some winners in there also it's
worth pointing out that Sony is one of the last Brands out there putting out a 4K Blu-ray player
so if you like seamless integration Sony has that then there's the Bravia cam this comes in the box
with the TV and the port for it is integrated right in the back so you don't have to run a USB
cable for it it can tell you if you're sitting too close to the TV act as a video cam and optimize
the picture quality in the room presumably better than the built-in sensor that you find on most TVs
out there I'll be honest I haven't played much with this thing I'm just mentioning it in case
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and now my friends it's time to talk about picture quality and here is where I'm going to take a
different approach than you may have seen before now I already stated at the top of this video that
I think that the a95k has better picture quality but what I didn't talk about was the Razer thin
margins that exist between these two TVs when it comes to picture quality performance it's not like
we're comparing a Lexus to a Toyota okay it's more like comparing a McLaren to a Bugatti both are the
TV equivalent of a Supercar both offer excellent handling and acceleration one just edges out the
other but just a tiny little bit in a couple of areas in most measurable areas these TVs are neck
and neck color accuracy color volume off angle performance glare reduction motion resolution I
can go on and on like I said in most areas neck and neck the only areas where these TVs seem to
diverge is how they handle brightness and Shadow detail Now by measurements alone and again this
comes down to how you measure the Samsung would appear to offer slightly brighter highlights in
some cases while it also tends to crush blacks just the tiniest bit versus the Sony but in side
by side comparisons whether watching SDR or HDR 10 content for me the Sony appears to be
brighter it's HDR pops just a little bit more the subjective perceptual evaluation deviates a bit
from the objective and that's not the first time this has happened but there is one area in which
these TVs will diverge a bit more significantly and that's any time it comes down to watching
content in Dolby Vision versus HDR 10. take Black Panther on Disney Plus for example it will be in
Dolby Vision on the Sony because the Sony supports it and it will be in HDR 10 on the Samsung because
it doesn't support Dolby vision and the title is not available yet in HDR 10 plus so that's not
an option here the Sony is clearly brighter and a bit more vibrant the API is up a bit and the
highlights are a bit punchier too now this will vary a bit depending on the content but what I
hope to point out here is that this is less a Samsung versus Sony performance consideration
and more of an HDR 10 versus Dolby Vision consideration with Sony you will get Dolby
vision and with Samsung you will not whether you prefer Dolby Vision or think Dolby Vision offers
a real benefit a high percentage of the time is up to you it just is what it is but understand that
this perspective is with the benefit of having the two TVs side by side so we can scrutinize I
would challenge anyone who claims to sit in front of the Samsung s95b and think they're missing out
on something based on what they witness coming off the screen it's only with the benefit of a direct
comparison that we can see any differences at all and those differences are few and far between
I will say that the Samsung TV in game mode is considerably brighter than the Sony from our tests
that just seems to be the way that the Samsung likes to handle its gaming mode whether you prefer
that look again up to you now before I get to the conclusion here I want to address a few questions
some viewers left for me when I tease this video for instance question what are the differences in
potential for burn-in between the two TVs answer I don't know I'm not super concerned about either
one of them burning in based on my personal use style like not at all and nothing but a
long-term torture test is going to offer concrete conclusions there I don't feel like the Samsung
is at higher risk than the Sony or vice versa heatsink or no heatsink I think it matters more
what your viewing habits are than anything else I mean do you put ESPN on every day and leave it on
that channel for hours on end never turning it off day after day week after week month after
month then I probably wouldn't get either one of these TVs and I'm just going to leave the
burn-in thing there what about auto brightness limiter or abl any meaningful differences there
I'm look side by side here both TVs maxed out the Samsung's in movie mode though it's about the same
in filmmaker mode and the Sony is in custom mode though Cinema produces the same results look at
the kitty I've got no dog in this fight let's let Kitty hang out here for a bit well at least
until the Samsung screen saver comes on now if we let this continue after several minutes the
Sony will start to dim down so no screensaver but it will start dimming after several minutes
now hockey time mostly white on the screen same deal same settings same frame same result both
essentially the same for way longer than you'll actually have this image on the screen in real
life with real content look I don't know about you but I don't watch content on pause I don't
want the same image on full blast for more than 5 or 10 seconds much less 60 or more
seconds certainly not for as long as it's going to take me to get through this paragraph what
I'm getting at is this I did not experience any meaningful degradation in viewing brightness while
watching these two TVs side by side not for real content and as I mentioned before for SDR and HDR
10 the brightness was neck and neck abl was never a factor for real viewing for me so now comes the
inevitable mention of price earlier I remarked that in terms of performance comparing these
TVs was analogous to comparing a Bugatti and a McLaren but if I were to continue brutalizing
such an analogy I would have to say that when it comes to price it is like we're comparing a Lexus
and a Toyota one bag's a premium and it delivers a bit for that premium the question is whether
that premium is worth it for you I suspect that for most folks the Samsung s95b is the far better
choice it delivers such an incredible experience and for significantly less than the Sony a95k I
mean we could be talking about 1500 dollars worth of difference as I record this folks I
can't justify that kind of price difference for the Sony a95k is it the best performing
TV of 2022 absolutely I stand behind that is it going to be my top recommendation no and that's
because I can't look someone in the eyes and tell them the significant added expense is worth it
now I'm not gonna lie if cost Was No Object for me personally I'd pick the Sony all day every
day no question but in this particular battle I have to call a clear winner and for me and most
folks I suspect the Samsung s95b is the smarter pick and in the end it was all about the money
thanks so much for watching everyone how do you feel about where I landed with this
versus video you got thoughts share them with me down in the comments please consider liking and
subscribing I'll see you again soon and until then here's two other videos I think you might like