TechRadar Verdict
The KS7000 series is an easy choice if you're looking for superb picture performance and the latest features without spending loads of money.
Pros
- +
HDR+ upscaling
- +
Subtle HDR images
- +
Separate connections box
- +
Slick, quick Smart Hub
Cons
- -
Requires large TV table
- -
Some backlight bleeding
- -
Lacks YouView or Freeview Play
- -
No 3D support
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Buy any 60-inch 4K TV with HDR and all of the trimmings and you're not going to be spending less than £2000. Unless, of course, you opt for the Samsung UE60KS7000.
It's a superb option for anyone looking for a home cinema-sized TV with all of the latest features but without spending the kind of money it usually costs for a top end TV. This range is not as powerful as the KS9000/KS9500 series but it's the next best thing for basically half the price.
It's joined in the range by the 55-inch Samsung UE55KS7000, which we gave the full review to last month, and the 49-inch Samsung UE49KS7000. The supposedly 65-inch Samsung UE65KS7000 is yet to make an appearance on retail shelves.
Design
The first thing you'll notice about this TV is it's ultra sleek looks. It looks every inch a premium TV, and the second thing you'll notice will either delight or horrify you.
Instead of having to screw on an awkward central stand to make it stand up, the KS7000 TV comes with little feet that you clip onto each end. That's super convenient… as long as the stable/stand you intend to place it on is as wide as the TV itself. That's some ask for a 60-inch TV. If your stand is not wide enough your only option is to choose something else or buy a new stand.
Picture quality
Picture performance is where the KS7000 punches well above its weight. The picture is superb, and also as you'd expect from an SUHD Quantum Dot model from Samsung, super bright.
It's fully HDR enabled which means you can get the most out of HDR content in the form of Ultra HD Blu-ray discs as well as certain 4K streams from Netflix and Amazon Prime. The TV will even give you a notification when it detects HDR content to let you know that it's optimising the picture so you don't have to fiddle.
The TV will even 'upscale' to HDR+ even when your source doesn't offer HDR. Essentially that just means it makes non HDR look as good as possible which is more effective with high res content than HD.
Honestly we're scrabbling to find weaknesses of this TV. At a push we'd say that the edge LED lighting system means that if you're viewing slightly off centre the picture doesn't quite look as punchy. The TV doesn't upscale SD content that well either, and that's a very common issue with modern 4K TVs which focus more on upscaling HD.
Verdict
This is one of our favourite TV ranges in 2016, that's why we've named it in our 10 best TV's of the year. Superb picture quality, excellent looks and a swift smart TV system would be at home on a TV 50% more expensive and for that it gets a huge thumbs up.
This article is based on the Samsung UE55KS7000 review that TechRadar published in July 2016.
