The 4K experience with SUHD TVs upgraded by Sumsung.

LAS VEGAS — Samsung is taking its 4K Ultra HD TVs to the next level. UHD is out, and SUHD is in.









What does the "S" stand for? It officially doesn't stand for anything (although "Samsung" is a pretty good guess), it's mainly a rebranding of the company's line of LCD UHD TVs for 2015.

There are upgrades however. Quantum-dot technology, which LG recently jumped into, features highly in the Samsung SUHD line, promising better, more accurate color.


One of the traditional disadvantages of quantum-dot TVs is they require cadmium, which is classified as a toxic substance. But it looks like that problem is rapidly disappearing as Samsung says its TV is cadmium-free (LG makes the same claim).

Samsung also says it's improved picture quality with an "intelligent re-mastering picture engine," and that it worked with 20th Century Fox on the best way to optimize video content for its SUHD TVs.

The SUHD sets also include a refreshed smart TV platform, powered by the company's homegrown Tizen OS, which is also the platform for most of Samsung's smartwatches. As with most smart TV interfaces, Samsung's has a visual homescreen that integrates multiple services, including Netflix, Comcast, DirecTV, M-Go, YouTube and others.

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Samsung's smart TV home screen, powered by Tizen.
IMAGE: MASHABLE, CHRISTINA ASCANI
There's some special sauce, though. Mirroring the display to your Galaxy smartphone — and the reverse — is easy, and you can schedule the TV to turn on at specific times, complete with your calendar and weather information in a sidebar called Briefing on TV.

Samsung also has many games available in its Smart TV store, and users can use Samsung smartphones and smartwatches as controllers. A dance game, for example, can track your movements via smartwatch, so you don't even need to hold anything to play.

However, there's no magic ingredient to access a DVR on a cable box — that's still something that eludes even the most sophisticated smart TV interface.

The design of Samsung's SUHD TVs is just what you'd expect: extremely minimalist with some nice details like chamfered bezels and barely-there stands. Many of the designs are curved, and one even bends.

There are three separate lines of SUHD TVs: JS9500, JS9000 and JS8500, with screen sizes from 48 to 88 inches, and they should be available in the coming months. No prices yet.


Samsung at CES

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Tim Baxter, President and COO of Samsung says that, in 2015, Samsung is "focusing more than ever on the intersection between great technology and content and services."

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