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Samsung UE48JU6400 review

 Review: May 2015  
 

Rating: 4 stars

In a nutshell: The 48-inch Samsung UE48JU6400 is an excellent choice of TV for family viewing. With UHD (4K), excellent picture quality and Samsung's latest Smart TV system, it's a top-notch performer. We like its attractive styling, and pricing is very competitive too.



 

Introduction

If your room dimensions and budget are big enough to stretch to a 48-inch TV, you'll be well advised to consider UHD (4K), and Samsung's 48JU6400 model is a good place to start looking.

Design & looks

The UE48JU6400 is a good-sized TV for a family - provided you have the space. It has a very attractive modern design, with a slimline black plastic bezel surrounding the screen. The T-shape stand is particularly smart, being black plastic and metal. Although the stand doesn't swivel, it's sturdy enough to support the large 48-inch screen while retaining a slim, airy feel.

This TV is thicker than some models, but at 63mm depth it's not too large to mount on a wall, and being light in weight, it's very easy to do. The flat screen has a distinct advantage over Samsung's curved screens in this respect.

Overall, the TV is very attractive and practical, and will certainly grace any front room. It's ideal for a modern family.

The JU6400 comes with Samsung's latest Smart TV system, and the menus are very fast and smooth, thanks to the quad-core processor. If you connect the TV to an aerial, you can make use of the integrated Freeview HD tuner, with its 7-day programme guide. A standard remote control is supplied with the TV.

Energy efficiency is A+ rated, although UHD screens in general do use more power than HD screens.

Picture quality

With a screen size of 48 inches, UHD (4K resolution) is well worth having, and with a UHD source, you can really appreciate the fine detail this big screen is capable of handling. Having said that, there's precious little UHD content available at present, although that will improve as Netflix and Amazon roll out more 4K content, and Blu-Ray players adopt a new UHD standard. In the meantime, the TV is capable of upscaling HD content very well. With standard definition TV programmes, the result is less impressive, and the low quality of the source material will be apparent on a screen this big with such a high resolution. That's really a general feature of all large screens.

This screen is typical of what we've come to expect from Samsung in recent years. It's capable of delivering extremely dark blacks, whilst also managing bright, vivid colours. The dynamic contrast is impressive, although some shadow detail can be lost in darker scenes. Motion response isn't the fastest we've seen, and this can have the effect of softening the UHD pictures, although most viewers won't be aware of this.

The Direct LED backlighting manages very uniform results, with no visible light pooling or clouding.

A range of settings are available. Movie mode guarantees the best colour accuracy, while Game mode is recommended for PS4/Xbox gamers wanting to minimise input lag.

There's no 3D viewing, but since this isn't something that's really caught on, it probably won't be missed. Just be aware of it when you buy.

The only issue we have with this screen is that the viewing angles aren't as wide as we'd ideally like. If you watch the screen at an angle of 45 degrees, you'll see a marked change in colour accuracy and contrast levels, with whites and blacks slipping towards grey. This could be a problem if your home set up means that some family members have to watch the screen from an angle. 

Samsung now assigns each TV a Picture Quality Index (PQI), which is a new way to mislead, sorry, inform consumers. The JU6400 has a PQI of 900, which puts it roughly in the middle of the range. Take it with a pinch of salt.

For typical family viewing, this TV performs well. Movie buffs may notice the lack of shadow detail when watching in a darkened room, and there are certainly issues with viewing angles. However, for a mid-range model, the JU6400 performs well. UHD isn't a huge asset at this point in time, but will become more important as content becomes increasingly available.

Audio quality

The JU6400 has average audio performance for a mid-range TV. The twin speakers are rated at 10W, which is typical, and with no dedicated subwoofers, bass is lacking, and depth can be weak, especially when you consider the size of the TV. For normal TV viewing, audio quality is quite acceptable, with dialogue produced reasonably well, but sound effects in movies are poorly reproduced. We'd certainly recommend investing in a sound bar or full 5.1 home cinema kit to accompany this TV.

Smart TV

Samsung's Smart TV system has been overhauled for 2015, and is now based on the open-source Tizen operating system. The new system is nicely integrated into the TV's operation, and lets you select apps and input sources with ease.

You'll find streaming services Netflix and Amazon, as well as catch-up TV from the BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, All 4 and Demand 5. Other apps include YouTube, a web browser, games, Skype, Facebook and Twitter.

Be aware though that not all of these services/apps are yet available. Samsung says that they will be coming shortly.

Connectivity

The JU6400 has excellent connectivity. A Freeview HD tuner is built in, and internet access is provided by Wi-Fi and an ethernet connection. There are 4 HDMI ports (including ARC and MHL compatibility), 3 USBs, an optical audio output, plus composite and component inputs, and a headphone jack, but no SCART.

Other options include DLNA and screen mirroring for compatible smartphones and tablets.

Note that in the past, users have sometimes complained of lip-sync issues with the tuners in Samsung TVs and this may continue to be an issue for some users.

Conclusion - excellent family viewing

We recently reviewed the 40-inch version of the JU6400 and declared it to be a good all-round mid-range TV for family viewing, although we complained about the narrow viewing angles and the relatively high price. The 48-inch model is much more compelling, and we rate it as an excellent buy.

First of all, 48 inches is a superb size for a family TV, as long as you have the space. Second, UHD makes far more sense at the 48-inch size, and you can really appreciate the difference when watching 4K content. Thirdly, viewing angles don't seem to be as much of an issue in the 48-inch model. And lastly, the 48-inch model appears to have keener pricing and offers much better value for money.

In short, we're impressed.

If you can afford it, and have the space, we'd strongly recommend choosing this 48-inch model over the 40-inch model. The price difference really isn't very much at all.

Our only concerns are the viewing angles, and the fact that some key Smart apps aren't yet available.

We expect the price of this TV to fall as Christmas 2015 approaches, and if you can pick it up for less than £700, it'll be a real bargain.


Samsung UE48JU6400 features include:

User questions

Sorry - questions and comments on this page are now closed.

How can i install Skype in Samsung JU6400?

Asked by Adnan from Pakistan on 10th Aug 2016

Does the tv have HDR built in?

Asked by bryan mason from england on 19th Apr 2016

Reply by S21 from UK on 19th Apr 2016
No, this is not a HDR TV.

Reply by Chris from Romania on 16th Sep 2016
From my understanding on Samsungs original page they are releasing an update to convert most of 2015 UDH tv's into HDR capable sets.
I am not saying it will be excelent given the fact that it doesn't have a 10-bit panel, but it should work.

Am I correct.
A friend of mine has the UE48JU6400 and I have the UE50JU6800 (with Quantum Dots or nano Crystals) if I am accurate.

We should both receive the HDR update, right?

Thank you in advance.

Reply by Gcg from UK on 4th Apr 2017
Yes the TV does get a HDR upgrade and yes the TV can display in both 8-bit and 10-bit.

Can i turn upscaling off?

Asked by Lasha from Georgia on 23rd Mar 2016
Sometimes i think i'm in theater and looking in live things, also is there any other smart remote controller available for this TV?

Reply by Alex from UK on 30th Mar 2016
This won't be upscaling that's doing it; it'll be the motion control that creates additional frames to smooth the on-screen movement. Try going to the 'AutoMotion Plus' settings (or something like that) and switching it all off. On my TV, I've found a custom setting with only a very light amount of smoothing works best. Hope this helps!

See all 4 questions

Samsung UE48JU6400 user reviews

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