LED-backlit LCDs usually get much brighter than OLED TVs, but OLEDs are typically better at displaying perfect black levels and wider color ranges. The Samsung S95C OLED TV ($4,499.99 for the 77-inch model we tested), a replacement to last year's S95B, is resetting those expectations as the brightest OLED model we've tested. Its digital cinema-worthy color range, low input lag, and excellent feature set help it unseat the LG C2 ($3,499.99 for the 77-inch model) as our Editors’ Choice winner for OLED TVs. Just be ready to spend for it.

Thin and Minimal

The S95C’s design looks almost identical to that of the QN95C, though it's slightly thinner. It has a nearly bezel-free appearance, with only a slim metallic band running along the sides and top of the screen. A narrow strip anchors the bottom edge visually, while a small plastic rectangle with the Samsung logo protrudes from the lower right corner. The whole unit sits atop a sturdy gunmetal base, but you can opt for a VESA mount if you prefer.

Instead of ports on the back of the screen, the S96C uses a separate OneConnect control box that attaches via a single thin wire. This is handy if you want to create the illusion of a floating screen, but it means all your video sources plug into the box and not the TV itself. It offers all of the same input options as the 8K Samsung QN900C, including four HDMI ports (one eARC), two USB ports, one ethernet port, an optical audio output, a 3.5mm RS-232C port, an antenna/cable connector, and the proprietary port for the OneConnect cable.

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

The S95C uses the same Eco Remote as Samsung’s other current flagship TVs. It’s a slim wand with a built-in rechargeable battery. You can flip it over and allow the solar panel to charge it or plug it in via a USB-C port on the bottom. It features a large circular navigation pad near the top, with power, voice, and settings buttons above it surrounding a pinhole microphone. Back, home, and playback buttons, volume and channel rockers, and dedicated service buttons for Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix, and Samsung TV Plus reside further down.

All the Features

Samsung’s Tizen-based Smart TV interface has lots of powerful features, but it continues to rely on a somewhat frustrating menu design.

On the plus side, you get access to most major video streaming services including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, and Netflix. The TV also supports Apple AirPlay 2 for streaming from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Additionally, a far-field mic in the TV enables hands-free interface control via the Amazon Alexa and Samsung Bixby voice assistants, but not Google Assistant.

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

Despite these desirable features, Samsung Smart TV has an irritating tendency to place important settings a layer or two deeper in the menu system than on competing platforms. This is particularly annoying if you ever need to switch the input source, for instance. The remote lacks an input button, which means you need to wade into the TV's main menu for this basic task. Further, the interface spends up to a minute to scan and optimize anything you plug into the TV upon first connection. Other TVs we test don't do this; thankfully, you can cancel this process if necessary. At the very least, we're glad that you can rearrange the quick settings menu that pops up before the full options section.

If you dig into the picture settings, you can choose between Samsung's two new features: static and dynamic tone mapping for HDR content. Tone mapping determines how different values of light and color appear on a screen. The static setting assigns fixed values, whereas the dynamic setting changes those values on the fly to expand the dynamic range of the picture. Dynamic tone mapping generally makes the picture brighter and more colorful, but static tone mapping offers a representation that's more consistent with the filmmaker's original vision.

The Brightest OLED TV Yet

The Samsung S95C is a 4K OLED TV with a 144Hz refresh rate. It supports high dynamic range (HDR) content in HDR10, HDR10+, and hybrid log gamma (HLG), but Samsung continues to eschew Dolby Vision support. It features an ATSC 3.0 tuner for 4K broadcasts, however.

We test TVs using a Klein K-80 colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman software. I evaluated this model at Samsung’s test lab in Secaucus, New Jersey, and made sure to reset all the picture settings before beginning.

During the testing period, I ran into a device failure. Samsung connected an identical replacement panel to the OneConnect box so I could continue and I have no reason to believe that the replacement panel was a tweaked or doctored component that would produce different results from a retail model, but I am pointing out this incident for transparency.

As mentioned, OLED TVs generally offer fantastic contrast because of their ability to show perfect black levels, but they tend to be dim compared with high-end LED-backlit LCD TVs. That isn’t the case with the S95C; it doesn’t reach the peaks of the QN95C QLED, or even the budget-friendly Hisense U8H LED, but it comes shockingly close.

In our SDR signal test with Movie mode active, the S95C shows a peak brightness of 161.25 nits with a full-screen white field and 280.48 nits with an 18% white field. That isn’t very bright, but SDR pictures seldom are unless you manually pump up the backlight.

With an HDR signal, though, the S95C shows a peak brightness of 260.59 nits with a full-screen white field and an incredible 888.90 nits with an 18% white field. Using a 10% white field that peak brightness jumps to a previously unthinkable 1,352.42 nits. That’s brighter than the LG C2 (569.85 nits), the Samsung S95B (752.69 nits), and the Sony A95K (600.34 nits) by a significant margin for an 18% field. For comparison, the QN95C and Hisense U8H respectively reach a brightness of 1,371.69 nits and 1,982 nits on the same test.

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

Color performance is similarly stunning. The above chart shows the TV’s color levels in Movie mode with an SDR signal measured against Rec.709 broadcast standards (left) and with an HDR signal measured against DCI-P3 digital cinema standards (right). The SDR colors are nearly spot-on, though yellows lean slightly red. HDR colors, meanwhile, cover the entire DCI-P3 color space with accurate primaries and only slightly warm magentas and yellows out of the box. The color range is just slightly wider than the S95B’s fantastic performance, but not enough to make a noticeable difference.

The first episode of The Last of Us looks excellent on the S95C. In nighttime scenes, the textures of dark hair and shirts are visible against nearly black backdrops without looking washed out. Additionally, the black clothes of security personnel in brightly lit scenes also look very dark, with tons of fine texture and contours.

With dynamic tone mapping active, the TV shows wide contrast between extremely dark and very bright parts of the frame, all while keeping colors accurate. The picture looks a bit dimmer and more muted with static tone mapping in Filmmaker mode, but the colors don't change, and both shadow and highlight details come through clearly. Which mode is best depends on your taste and the amount of ambient light in your viewing environment.

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

The incredible light output of the S95C’s OLED panel comes through with National Geographic’s Growing Up Animal: A Baby Grizzly Story. The picture looks vibrant and visually comparable with high-end LED TVs. In both dynamic and static tone mapping modes, the greens of leaves look accurate and saturated, while the fine details of both light and dark fur are crisp and clear.

Thor: Love and Thunder shows similarly strong contrast and color performance. Bright scenes look quite radiant in Movie mode with dynamic tone mapping and retain excellent detail and color balance in the dimmer Filmmaker mode. The reds, blues, and purples of Thor’s cloaks appear vibrant, while skin tones look accurate.

Super-Fast Gaming

Gamers should be happy with the S95C’s performance. The 144Hz refresh rate is a noticeable improvement over the 120Hz rate of most high-end TVs and the panel is extremely responsive. It supports AMD FreeSync for gaming, but not Nvidia G-Sync.

Using an HDFury Diva HDMI matrix, we measured an input lag of just 1.8 milliseconds in Gaming mode, far lower than the 10ms threshold we use to determine if a TV is among the best for gaming. Without Gaming mode active, the S95C has an input lag of 63.1ms, so make sure to enable it for the best performance.