Samsung 43" TU7100 HDR Smart 4K TV with Tizen OS

Product Information

As Schofield cautiously climbs the building’s dimly lit stairs, the Samsung provides lots of insight, digging up details that most sets at this price simply can’t find. Crucially, this crispness and detail is delivered without any sense of artificiality or over-enhancement, and the same is true of the way the TU7100 handles motion. Switch the processing from the default Auto to Custom and the set strikes a good balance between smoothing and authenticity. It works with connected SmartThings devices, and has AirPlay 2 support which allows iOS owners to stream and share from iPhones and iPads. The screen struggles with some of the low light sequences in Barbarians (Netflix), but its HDR is adept enough to add intensity to flaming torches and the like.

It’s not a set that features all the bells and whistles gamers will need for the next generation PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, but at this price, what do you expect? The Samsung UE43TU7100 has a discrete design and easy setup processThe Samsung TU7100 is effectively the little brother of the Samsung TU8500 we reviewed earlier in 2020, being the smaller option and lower entry point to the firm’s Crystal UHD series. We fire up the HDR10+ 4K Blu-ray of 1917 and are instantly impressed with the TU7100’s picture. It’s compromised, of course, as it has to be at this end of the market, but those compromises are in the right places and the set delivers an enjoyable core performance. Then select Support on the Samsung TV screen and the model number of the TV should display on the screen. If you’re embedded in Samsung’s SmartThings ecosystem you can speed things up by copying over apps, settings and logins from any other Samsung TV you have in the house.

Quite often a TV that’s built down to a price betrays itself most obviously where skin-tones are concerned, but the TU7100 gives a poised, balanced account of complexions. It also lets you connect the TV to other compatible SmartThings compatible devices in your home, which will be a bonus for tech tinkers. We measured peak HDR at 287 nits, using a 10 per cent measuring window. Reducing this window to 5 per cent, saw the screen’s ability to handle HDR peaks drop to 210 nits.Connections run to three HDMIs and one USB port. The only cutting edge gaming graphics feature the HDMIs support, though, is Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM), which allows the TV to switch into and out of its Game mode depending on the sort of content an ALLM-capable device is outputting. There’s no 120Hz or Variable Refresh Rate support. What it does do, though, is show a level of maturity, confidence and understanding of the many elements that go into producing a truly satisfying TV picture that’s comfortably beyond anything else in its class right now. There are three sound modes available and each has its own relative merits. Standard is best suited for most content, as it’s the clearest and most focused. Amplify boosts bass and treble and opens up the sound, making it a good option for movie night, and Adaptive Sound, in our room at least, seems to split the difference. My only gripe is, as mentioned in some rev iews, the operating system can be a little laggy in opening and navigating menus. As this isn't something I typically do often though it doesn't hugely bother me.

The overall palette of 1917 is subdued, and the TU7100 responds accordingly, avoiding boosting certain shades the way that other sets sometimes do. We’ve seen the French fields rendered in a rather lurid green that’s at odds with the film’s overall tone, but that’s not the case here.The downside is that the Samsung TU7100 doesn’t have the fastest operating system out there. Even doing basic things like scrolling through menu screens and there’s a noticeable delay between you enacting a command and it happening. Apps also can take longer than I’d like to open. The Samsung TU7100 offers better picture quality than you’d expect Unlike the TU8500, the TU7100 only comes with one standard-looking remote. Though the design is a little old school and full of inputs most younger people won’t use, it does the job and is suitably intuitive. You can also follow the instructions detailed below for some models. Follow these instructions to retune your Freeview compatible Samsung TV: There are inescapable shortcomings where picture performance is concerned. But they’re predictable, relatively minor and trifling compared to what the UE43AU7100 gets right. It comes as little surprise that the TU7100’s 20W sound system is no sonic masterpiece, and you’d be well advised to budget for a soundbar with which to partner it. However, if you are determined to make do with the built-in speakers, their output is perfectly passable.

Screen Sizes: 43-inch | Tuner: Freeview HD| 4K: Yes | HDR: Yes | Panel technology: LED | Smart TV: Yes, Tizen| Curved: No | Dimensions: 963(w) x 558(h) x 59(d)mm | Weight: 8.1kg | 3D: No | Inputs: 2xHDMI 2.0, 1xUSB, Ethernet, optical, terrestrial, CI slot Design This version of Tizen isn’t quite the full enchilada, as found higher up the range, but it’s not far off. If you can live without niceties like Ambient mode and TV/Smartphone Multi-View, you won’t feel short-changed. There isn’t a wide colour gamut panel either, though you’ll find the TU7100 has a jolly (if not entirely accurate) vibrancy that’s entertaining to watch.The UE43AU7100 doesn’t clamour for your attention on a crowded TV shelf or make any claims that it’s taking affordable TVs to places they’ve never gone before. You won’t see it turning up in any future ‘classic TV design’ exhibits, either.