Samsung UN55K6250

55 INCH 1080P SMART LED TV, Curved Screen

by Rober Wiley

The Samsung UN55K6250 is the top of the line 1080p LED TV in the Samsung 2016 lineup. In fact it's one of the only 1080p TVs Samsung is producing for 2016/2017. It has a few notable features such as the curved screen, Smart Remote control with swipe function and Micro Dimming Pro – a feature normally reserved for much higher priced TVs. The feature is active and increases contrast depending on the scene displayed on the TV. We give the feature a B rating generally as we have sometimes found it to be distracting due to a blinking effect when scenes make drastic changes in light. One feature downgrade from the H6350 series from last year is that the Motion Rate is reduced to 120 (60hz native panel) on this model from 240 clear motion rate in previous years. Motion rate is Sasmung's term for enhanced Hz rate effect, created by the LED edge-lit backlight manipulation. It's somewhat surprising to us that this has been reduced. Granted if the TV panel is actually 60Hz rather than 120Hz, at least the Auto Motion Plus feature will not be as distracting. But this lower Hz rate could cause some motion lag during gaming, fast motion movie scenes and sports.

"The micro dimming pro feature was normally reserved for high end models"

Strengths

• Bright LED edge backlighting
• Curved panel with silver bezels make for an attractive appearance
• Samsung Smart Hub offers a ton of apps and streaming media
• Quad core processor improved performance operating the Smart Hub
• Plenty of HDMI and USB inputs
• Micro Dimming Pro contrast improvement
• Light flow-through, creating colors and images that pop
• Price/Value

Weaknesses

• Side angle viewing contrast degrades quickly as the viewer moves from off-center. Some may believe the curved screen to help some with this.
• Semi-matte screen finish seems dull compared to higher end clear coat displays
• 60Hz native panel (120 Motion Rate) may see lag on some content

Picture Quality Rating: 83/100

The bright edge LED lighting makes for a brilliant picture and helps to balance out the downsides of the matte screen by providing more rich colors and a good deal of contrast. That said, from relatively close to front and center we felt the picture displayed was very good with lots of light flow-through to help with depth perception. Over time, you are likely to notice some “clouding” or backlight irregularities when displaying very dark or black scenes on the screen. This is more an ill-effect of backlit LED TVs in general than something particular to Samsung. The picture is remarkably similar to the J6300 from last year. The 55K6250 is loaded with tons of extra picture adjustment options, most of which aren't terribly useful and are better off left unused.

This shot really highlights the color, contrast, and clarity of detail from the display

Side Angle Viewing – Still Room for Improvement

The biggest problem with this TVs picture quality is the common curse of LED backlit LCD TVs. Color and contrast degrade pretty early at about 20 degrees off center and it quickly gets worse from there - even with the curved screen, although the curve in the screen can help curb the effect. The amount of “wash out” is also more severe than LED TVs with a clearer coat. Above and below off center viewing gave a similar result. This is important for those who plan on wall mounting the TV above eye level. Or for those with wide angles in their viewing room.

Game Mode - the Way to go for Gaming

Enabling the Game Mode for gaming is a must for competitive shooters and action gamers. The input lag is noticeably reduced. That really makes games like Battlefield and Call of Duty much more enjoyable and immersive. Game Mode features its own discrete picture settings, so take a moment to callibrate the picture settings and get them looking good again the first time you do it. Screen Fit is also one of the most important things to select so you don't get overscan. A lot of the picture settings for games will be determined by personal preference. Just be sure the picture is bright enough for you. If not, turn the backlight setting up.

Quick Picture Calibration Settings

Quick Calibration:The following settings are for a medium to dark room light. Since calibrations can vary among different TVs even from the same model number, we no longer post the advanced 10 point White balance calibration settings. However, TV manufacturers have improved at providing a preset picture setting that is pretty close to D65 out of the box. The settings below will get you close. Try the Warm 2 setting and for a couple days to get used to it. If after a couple days picture images still seems to warm (reddish tones), change it to the Warm 1 mode. Also, if you are viewing in a brighter room environment, you may prefer the Warm 1 mode.