Curved TVs (more expensive and with their own specific viewing issues in comparison to non-curved) have yet to deliver a convincing argument for why flat rectangles are an inferior shape for televisions. Plus extra resolution and high dynamic range are certainly nice and will one day be the standard, but for now native content (especially for HDR) is pretty hard to come by.

So, is it worth paying a premium price ($9999 is the tag on the 65-inch model I tested) to get the technology of tomorrow in your lounge room today, even if it won't hit its stride for a while? Surprisingly, it just might be. After a long evening spent gaming, streaming, movie-watching and scrutinising, I've become all but convinced that the JS9500 is not only ready for the future, but it makes the absolute most of the tech and media we have in our homes right now.

Tomorrow's home cinema tech, today

Watching a movie in HDR is a revelation, much more immediately convincing than seeing a 4K video for the first time. Combining content presented in high dynamic range with the super high contrast and brightness capabilities of the JS9500, colourful objects appear to leap out from dark backgrounds, while tiny grey and near-black details in those backgrounds themselves are given enough definition to stand out in what would previously have been one big black splodge​.

The TV is 4K-capable too, which will be great once more 4K Blu-rays and streaming options hit the market. I watched Netflix​ in 4K (only a handful of shows currently offer this option), and although the difference between it and standard HD isn't groundbreaking it is certainly noticeable. Enough so that it would be worth the extra money for a premium 4K Netflix​ subscription, assuming you have the bandwidth (you'll need to be streaming at a minimum of 7mbps to get 4K).

Speaking of apps, the JS9500 features Samsung's own Tizen​ operating system as opposed to the standard Android. The store is packed with apps though, from the expected streaming services and social networks to more advanced and esoteric offerings. Plenty of settings give you total control over your experience (like shutting off smoothing if you're a 24 frames per second movie purist). Nice touches like being able to pin your favourite apps and inputs to the home menu show how serious Samsung are about making Tizen​ a thing.

Inputs and upscaling​

The single most exciting non-imaging feature of Samsung's SUHD​ TVs is something called the One Connect box. Designed to sit under or nearby your TV, this is a separate box that contains all the components of the television that are likely to be made redundant by new models, including the octa-core processor, as well as the array of HDMI​ and USB ports. This allows you to upgrade or replace your TVs innards without a whole new set, makes for less clutter behind and around your TV and gives easy access to all your inputs.

And speaking of inputs, a significant issue with some UHD TVs that I was keen to test with the JS9500 is the way they deal with lower-resolution formats. Nobody wants to throw out all their current equipment because they have a new TV, but even a beautiful 1080p Blu-ray movie can, when stretched carelessly to 4K, become blurry and washy. Fortunately during my tests the JS9500 performed very well indeed.

Standard HD content appeared on-par or slightly nicer than it would on a 1080p TV. A Blu-ray movie in particular benefited from the television's software and post-processing, improving the contrast and sharpness greatly and seeming to impart a small measure of 4K, HDR feel even though the film wasn't originally designed for it. I also tested a recent PS4 game, which of course had to forgo the processing in order to avoid input lag between the controller and the screen (the "game" mode is easy to find by the way, and results in lag so slight it's possibly second only, among LCD TVs, to Sony's higher end sets), but the upscaling​ resulted in a very sharp, smooth image without jaggy edges or visible pixels.

Meanwhile sub-HD content (I took a look at a DVD and a non-HD terrestrial broadcast) were noticeably blurry and suffered from some digital artefacts, but it was very far from the worst I've seen DVDs look on a big screen.

A shapely screen

Now for something I remain somewhat less convinced of.

For those yet to experience a curved television, the main issue is that the majority of the form's cinematic benefits only reach those sitting in the "sweet spot", i.e. directly in front of the set.

Viewed from straight on and with the top of the TV just about eye height, you get the kind of effect you'd get at the cinema – a bit of extra immersion and a sensation of real depth. Outside that sweet spot however (like if you're standing, on the floor or to the side) you get a bit of a skewed image; for example, horizontal lines will appear not only angled (like they would on a regular flat TV) but curved as well.

While it's possible this is something you get used to, the screen quality of JS9500 itself goes a small way to negating some of these issues. The screen is matte enough that most reflections are invisible during bright scenes (handy to avoid the fun-house effect curved glass can have if you're moving around), while great viewing angles mean that even though your friends in the armchairs won't get an ideal picture, they'll at least get most of the TV's colour and contrast benefits. Gaming on the curved screen is comfortable and adds a cinematic feel to big, blockbuster games, but if you're not sitting at more or less the right height and position you'll know it immediately.

I'm still not wholly convinced that the curved display is a better form overall for a TV of this size. However I must admit that at its best — as it certainly is here with the help of the JS9500's superb brightness and contrast, 4K and HDR capabilities and sleek upscaling​ — the curved TV provides unequivocally the deepest and most cinematic experience you'll get from an LCD TV in your lounge room.

The author was provided by Samsung with a night's accommodation while testing the TV.

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