Samsung Micro RGB TV Review

Tom's Guide

In this video, Kate introduces you to the Samsung Micro RGB TV, a 115" unit featuring a new kind of LED backlight. It kicks off the Micro vs. Mini-LED battle for the best RGB backlight advancements. By combining red, green and blue LEDs rather than using white or yellow LEDs as the light source, a TV like this can really shine in terms of color reproduction. But what else can you expect for the $30,000 price tag? Check out this breakdown to find out.

Transcript

00:00So, Samsung just dropped a $30,000 TV.

00:04Yeah, 30 gram for a 115-inch display.

00:08But it's not any old display.

00:11It's micro RGB, debuting an all-new kind of display technology for Samsung.

00:16But Samsung isn't the only TV company developing these next-gen LED backlights.

00:20So let's break it down in this video.

00:22What micro RGB is, why Samsung's 115-inch mega TV matters,

00:27and what it looks like up close in person, because I actually got to go check it out.

00:34Most of the TVs you've seen over the past years, and especially here on the channel,

00:39are either mini LED or OLED.

00:41Mini LED TVs have been particularly popular because they can control backlight very precisely.

00:47Now, micro RGB takes this to the next level.

00:51Instead of using white or blue LEDs with color filters,

00:54you're actually getting tiny red, green, and blue LEDs all packed together in one singular LED.

01:02These LEDs are micro-sized.

01:03We're talking less than a tenth of a millimeter.

01:06So, realistically, they're even smaller than Sony's RGB backlight tech made with mini LEDs

01:11that I showed you guys here on the channel a couple months back.

01:14So, why does that matter?

01:16Two big reasons.

01:17First, contrast control should be even more precise on micro LED than mini LED,

01:22because the dimming zones are smaller.

01:24Compared to Samsung's QN90 mini LED TVs, this one has four times the dimming control.

01:30And second, color volume.

01:32This is the real breakthrough, and I don't think the camera here is actually doing it justice

01:36to what it looks like in person, if I'm honest, especially those greens and reds.

01:40Those are hard to reproduce.

01:42Here, they looked realistic, not overly saturated, yet still so vibrant.

01:46Samsung claims this 115-inch TV can hit 100% of the BT 2020 color gamut.

01:53For context, we have never, ever seen a consumer TV reach that.

01:58The best that we've tested in our labs so far was actually a Samsung TV, the S95F OLED.

02:04That only hit about 90%.

02:06We can't talk about Samsung micro LED without bringing up The Wall,

02:10Samsung's modular micro LED panels that we've seen pretty much every year at CES

02:14or other display trade shows.

02:16Those are true micro LED.

02:19Proper micro LED is self-emissive.

02:22It's more like OLED.

02:23Every pixel generates its own light.

02:25That means perfect blacks, insane brightness, and no risk of burn-in over time.

02:30I think most people will say that that is still the holy grail of TV technology,

02:34but it comes with the high price tags to match.

02:36What Samsung has here with micro RGB is still technically LCD-based,

02:41just with ultra-tiny micro RGB LEDs providing the backlight.

02:46So think of it more as like a supercharged mini LED rather than the full micro LED experience.

02:53That's why the micro RGB costs $30,000 and not $300,000.

02:59Proper micro LED displays still cost about as much as a house.

03:03A couple of quick things you'll get for that price besides all the micro RGB magic.

03:07There's a 144Hz refresh rate, which should be pretty good for gaming.

03:12And then we also have Samsung's glare-free technology, that matte finish on the display.

03:17It's the same as you'll find on the flagship OLED and mini LED TVs this year.

03:21Also worth calling out Samsung's Vision AI software and the art store built-in.

03:26So yeah, you could use this $30,000 display as the world's biggest digital picture frame.

03:31This TV also needed a serious processor to keep up,

03:35because driving three different colored LEDs per pixel is way more power-intensive than just a blue and white LED.

03:41So Samsung actually developed the RGB Engine AI specifically for this TV.

03:47And here is one last kicker.

03:49Samsung says the ideal viewing distance for this screen is about 11.5 feet,

03:54so I surely hope that your living room is ready for that.

03:57The Samsung 115-inch micro RGB TV is massive.

04:01It's $30,000, and it might just be the most color-accurate consumer display ever made.

04:08Without a doubt, we'd need to benchmark it to back up some of these big claims that Samsung is making.

04:14But my real question after getting to go hands-on with it is what this TV means for RGB LEDs

04:20as the next big thing in TV displays.

04:23Most people aren't going to be getting this in their living room,

04:26so that means that this could just be rendered another ultra-premium showcase model

04:31that only some of us TV reviewers, some ultra-rich, will be able to see in a showroom.

04:36Whereas what I've seen from Sony, and please go watch that full video to fully understand it,

04:42it makes me think that the Sony version, which is built off of mini LEDs rather than micro-sized LED,

04:48could actually be more consumer-ready.

04:50It's hard to describe it without being able to actually show you,

04:54but what I saw with Sony feels more like what a real TV could look like.

05:00It wasn't some concept, which I think Samsung's micro RGB kind of teeters on.

05:05But I don't know.

05:06Do you think that it's a mistake for Samsung to be innovating at this level,

05:10or do you think that it's setting up RGB to trickle down to Neo QLED?

05:15That would make a lot of sense to me, but sound off on what you think in the comments.

05:19If you liked this breakdown explainer slash hands-on,

05:22be sure to hit that like button and subscribe to the channel for more TV content.

05:27Until then, I will be watching movies on my normal 65-inch TV, just like the rest of us.

05:32Thanks for watching. I'll catch you next time.

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