Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
It might seem a little crazy to be talking about the value proposition of a TV that still costs well north of a grand, but when you're looking at a 65-inch native 4K screen that's exactly what the Samsung JU6000K represents.
That said, when there are 50-inch 4K screens, like the Hisense, doing the goods for just £500 those extra 15 diagonal inches still feel very expensive. If you really want the big-screen 4K effect, the step up from 50 and 55-inch panels is a big one, financially speaking.
We liked
The picture quality of the Samsung JU6000K is really impressive, especially given that it's essentially sitting at the more affordable (we're not calling it cheap…) end of the 65-inch 4K spectrum.
The contrast levels are genuinely surprising, showing very little evidence of the halo effect unless you push the brightness levels up past their default settings.
You've also got to love that combination of vast screen size and 4K native resolution – provided, that is, you own enough living room real estate to avoid having the 65-inch panel dominate the room.
And the UHD Upscaling technology residing in the Samsung JU6000K is able to handle non-native content very well too. It's performance with HD content from a standard set-top box is really impressive.
The breadth of its catch-up and on-demand services has to be applauded too. There are few brands out there that can offer both Amazon and Netflix in 4K, as well as the full suite of UK catch-up TV services. Thankfully, Samsung's Smart TV software is one of them.
We disliked
Although the contrast is impressive at the extremes of light and dark, there is little actual detail within darker scenes. You're not getting the sort of depth HDR or OLED panels are able to offer – so if you like yourself a bit of that '30s noir vibe it may not be the ideal set for you.
You could also colour us unimpressed by the performance of the Smart TV software, comprehensive though it is. General usage is relatively sluggish, and that's only exacerbated when you try to boot up Netflix in 4K.
The poor performance of the software is mirrored in the slightly slack response of the cramped remote control that comes bundled with the JU6000K. It's every inch the basic Samsung remote.
Inevitably, given the relatively slimline design, the audio performance isn't anything to write home about either. The down-firing speakers give a decent level of clarity to the vocals, but lack depth and end up sounding typically thin and tinny at the high end.
Verdict
The 65-inch Samsung JU6000K isn't going to win any top tech awards, but it's got the goods where it matters. It's a resolutely last-gen 4K TV – there's no HDR fun here – but that also means you're still getting a huge native Ultra HD panel for a great price.
And even though it is last-gen, it still retains the features necessary for a good 4K TV experience. There's the requisite HDMI 2.0 (with HDCP 2.2) connection, albeit only one, as well as Netflix and Amazon 4K video support.
The image quality is good, even with HD content stretched across that huge panel, and it makes big-screen 4K affordable.
