40 INCH 4K UHD LED TV
The 7-series LEDs from Samsung have been some of our favorite models over the past few years for its combination of excellent features and quality at a reasonable price. The Samsung UN40JU7100 4K TV falls in the same category. With features that are incredible without being too much, these include UHD Picture Dimming, a quad core processor, contrast enhancer technology, precision black and peak illuminator picture quality adjustments. Also, the much upgraded Smart remote with touchpad and mic.
Picture Quality
Edge lit LED backlit LCDs are not the ideal picture technology, but Samsung’s ultra clear coat screen is a big plus. Light flow-through is is one of the stand-out features of this TV. Its beauty is even more accentuated with the new Peak Illuminator technology, which further accentuates light or bright areas of the screen. Images are clear and color information is accurate. Over time after use, some light bleed is likely to occur, most noticeable during very dark or black background scenes. Colors pop very well for an LED TV and Samsung has the brightest LEDs in the industry. Last, the Samsung UN40JU7100 4K TV includes a wide color enhancer plus technology for an expanded color pallet.
HD to UHD Upscaling
The picture quality is better on a 4K UHD TV even if standard definition or HD signal is fed into it, but only if the TV has a stellar upscaling and conversion technology built in. And with very limited 4K content available, upscaling quality is extremely important. Otherwise, you might as well purchase a 1080p TV. We give the JU7100 an average score in this category. The Samsung UN40JU7100 analyzes the incoming signal, applies video noise reduction techniques, and scales up the lower resolution signal. Lastly, it enhances the detail which may be the most important bit. With HD signals the Samsung UN40JU7100 upscaler did a great job upscaling the picture quality detail by about 40%. Lower resolutions, will of course, prove lower results. This ability to upscale is one of the biggest differences between some of the higher priced 4K TVs.
LED Edge Backlight
The light flow through created by the Samsung LED Backlights has been a major positive for Samsung and it continues with this Ultra HD offering, being one of the TVs best characteristics. Some complain that it can cause screen uniformity issues. To tone down the LED backlight from causing some uneven screen uniformity issues, turn the backlight setting down to a more reasonable level. This will help keep screen uniformity and light bleed issues from hindering your viewing experience, and the super bright LED still provides plenty of brightness.
Side Angle Viewing
Refresh Rate/Motion Rate/AutoMotion Setting
The panel refresh rate is upgraded to 120Hz and a 240 Motion Rate for the JU7100 to help with fast action viewing and side to side panning judder. If the fake kitschy cutout effect of the TV working to reduce judder bothers you, you can find the Auto Motion setting in the Advanced Picture Menu to change the settings or turn off all together. You will then see some judder but you quickly get accustomed to it.
Auto Motion Plus
The Auto Motion Plus feature in the Samsung JU7100 4K TV is something that comes as a positive and a negative. All the picture settings come set as ON. You should turn it off for streaming content, DVDs, Blu-rays, and TV shows. With the Auto Motion Plus feature on, it makes images look horribly unrealistic by eliminating natural background blur. Turning it off will cause you to see immediately judder, but your eyes quickly adjust.
Samsung Smart Hub
The Samsung UN40JU7100 4K TV does not get the new Tizen OS Smart Hub of the top Samsung JS models, but does get a similar Smart Hub suite to last year with the same basic design. However, the plus side is the incredibly fast quad-core processor, making browsing faster and easier. Samsungs user interface is functional and easy-to-use. The Smart Hub allows different users to have their own Apps and programming, which is perfect for a home with different TV users. The Smart Hub also includes a full web browser.
The touch remote has plenty of surface for swiping your thumb to navigate the cursor and includes a mic for voice control. The voice control works great, but the touchpad’s swipe and click function was simply more familiar.
Design and Appearance
The TV is 2.5” in depth so plenty flat enough to mount or stand. The flat Samsung UN40JU7100 4K TV has a semi-matte charcoal black bezel that looks very refined. The frame is still very thin in width at around a half inch. The stand is t-shaped and looks good with a brushed dark silver front. If you are not mounting the TV to the wall, be sure the tabletop surface is wide enough to securely accommodate the size of the stand.
Gaming Performance
The Samsung UN40JU7100 4K TV does a fine job with gaming with a very low input lag of 25ms. The TV also displays gaming exceptionally well via the clear gloss screen and powerful LED back lighting.
Other Features
Sound quality we will get back to later, but the speaker package is two by 10W speaks with no subwoofer. Audio output is average in quality from the down-facing speakers.
The TV has built in Wifi, and plenty of HDMI inputs (4) and 3 USB inputs. It also has mobile to TV mirroring and a Game Picture Mode for gamers. Smart View 2.0 allows you to view content from mobile devices on-screen.
UHD Dimming is a feature aimed at highlighting the two sides of contrast, brighter whites and lights and darker blacks and darks by using the higher resolution with backlight adjustments. It’s controlled by the Smart LED setting in the JU7100s menu and makes minimal different in the TVs picture results, so keeping the setting off is a reasonable option.
Value
The Samsung UN40JU7100 4K TV price is a little steep for a 40” screen size. The TV offers a great combination of picture quality upgrades while cutting the price by opting out of some of the highest end features. The ultra clear coat screen, UHD dimming upgrade, 120Hz refresh rate panel (240 Motion Rate) and the touchpad remote are highlights.
Quick Specs
- Diagonal Screen Size – 40.0”
- 4K UHD (3840 x 2160)
- TV without stand: 36.1″ x 21.1″ x 2.2″
- TV with stand: 36.1″ x 23.1″ x 10.7″
- Weight without stand: 18.3 lbs.
- Weight with stand: 22.9 lbs.
- Contrast Enhancer
- Motion Rate 240
- Speaker output power: 10W x 2
- Quad Core Processor
- Samsung Smart View (Mirroring)
- MHL Adapter
- 4 HDMI, 3 USB Connections
- RS232 1
- Component inputs 1
- Wi-Fi Built-in (802.11ac)
- HEVC decoder included (for watching streamed 4K content)
- 2-way screen mirroring with compatible devices
- UHD Dimming