Samsung UE43RU7020KXXU - 43" UHD 4K Smart TV

Product Information

None of this is a surprise, given the price of the TV, but you should be aware of the sort of sound you can expect. The Vizio M6 Series Quantum 2022 is cheaper than the Samsung Q60C QLED, so it's a good alternative if you want an option between the mid-range and budget price categories. It has a few more gaming features than the Samsung TV, but overall, the Samsung delivers better picture quality and has better smart features. In the simplest terms, you should buy the UE43RU7020 because it’s a small, affordable 4K HDR TV masquerading as a larger, more expensive one. Think long and hard about how you’re going to route the TV’s sound, be aware that the Eco picture mode is much more trouble than it’s worth, and you really can’t go far wrong.

With TVs getting slimmer and built-in speakers getting smaller, choosing the right sound system is more important than ever. Soundbars enhance your TV’s sound quality and add that extra audio punch to all your movies, games and TV programmes. More affordable and easier to set up than a full size speaker system, they don’t compromise on quality either. Gaming: with this smart feature, play world famous streaming & PC games on your TV with cloud gaming services.* Philips’ Ambilight-toting 43PUS7734 can be yours too – although admittedly it costs a chunk more than the Samsung. Or you could go in the other direction and have a glance at the Hisense H43B7500– it’s usefully cheaper than the UE43RU7020 but, then again, its shortcomings make it something of a false economy. Anyway, all anyone wants from their new TV is optimal picture quality (when it’s switched on) and unobtrusiveness (when it isn’t) – and, certainly, as far as “unobtrusive” goes the UE43RU7020 is as good as any pricier alternative. Samsung UE43RU7020 features – Very decent features for its size and priceThe remote control, it turns out, isn’t the only way the Samsung gives away its position in the model hierarchy. It’s fitted with two full-range drivers, each in receipt of ten watts of power - but while there’s no doubting the clarity of the the 7020’s audio delivery, in most meaningful ways it’s impoverished.

Auto Motion Plus: Experience smooth action on fast-moving content; great for enhancing action movies or live sports events.Obviously there are a number of viewing modes available here, all offering colour- and contrast-balance variations on “neutral”. The two most notable are Eco (which will be discussed in more detail in the Performance section of this review) and Game. Those feet are quite far apart, mind, and given even this tiddly TV is H56 x W97 x D6cm (without stand), you’ll need a reasonably wide surface to stand it on. It weighs only 9.6kg, though, and it’s ready to accept quite a few different styles of wall-mount.

HDR content looks excellent on this TV thanks to the near-infinite contrast of its OLED panel, and its color gamut displays a wide range of colors, so content looks vibrant. Its nearly instantaneous response time makes it great for gaming, resulting in crystal-clear motion with no distracting blur or ghosting behind fast-moving objects. It supports HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four of its HDMI ports, allowing for 4k @ 120Hz gaming, and it also supports all Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) technologies, meaning you can take full advantage of the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, or a PC with a recent graphics card. It’s worth pointing out, here and now, that gamers will love this TV’s 10ms response time. Input lag just isn’t an issue, and that in itself might be enough to sell it to console enthusiasts.Give it some native 4K content and the news gets better. The jaw-dropping food-porn of Netflix’s Chef’s Table enjoys a wide-ranging colour palette of vibrant accuracy, and the levels of detail go through the roof. Please note: A Smart TV is a platform that can run 3rd party Apps. 3rd party content providers may remove Apps from the Smart TV platform or stop supporting them at any time, and we cannot guarantee an App’s availability. When new Smart TV products are launched, there may also be a delay before certain Apps become available. Availability of Apps is not included within the terms of the manufacturer’s warranty, or the John Lewis 2-year Guarantee for audio visual products, or the 5-year Guarantee for TVs. It delivers convincingly natural images, walks the line between “vivid” and “overblown” well where colours are concerned, and serves up utterly convincing textures. The Sony A90K OLED is a great OLED TV with Sony's well-known excellent image processing feature. However, the LG C3 OLED is the better choice with its better gaming features, higher peak brightness, and pretty good image processing features. Note that the Q60C is basically the same as its predecessor, the Samsung Q60/Q60B QLED, so get the cheapest one when shopping.

There’s also a bit of a pinky hue to the whites that isn’t ideal. If we’re looking for something on the spec sheet to account for that difference, then the missing Dynamic Crystal Control technology would seem like an obvious candidate. Low price” shouldn’t automatically equate to “miserable specification”, and it definitely doesn’t here. Conversations can be unclear and details feel more formless. The battle scene above loses a sense of immediacy and dynamism, so we settle for sacrificing the big hits with Optimised. Verdict

Plan Benefits

As for the apps themselves, anyone buying this TV can feel confident they have almost everything on offer. Samsung’s Tizen OS is the best in the business, and you’ll find Now TV, BT Sports, BT TV, Apple TV, all the catch-up services, Deezer, Tidal and Spotify as well as the video services mentioned above. On top of that, Tizen also happens to be one of the most usable and intuitive TV UIs around. Young or old, technophile or phobe, you’re in good hands. One one hand, the UE43RU7020 has by far and away the best interface of any nominal rival. Samsung’s Tizen-based smart TV interface is similar to that incorporated into its flagship QLED TVs costing ten times this amount, and consequently it’s impeccable. The facial features of our protagonists don’t have quite the same nuanced lighting, and they appear a little flatter and less 3D on the RU7020 as a result. It’s not a bad performance for a TV at this price, but it indicates what you get at the next step up. The 4K detail, in the main, is where it should be. The close-ups of Lawrence and fellow passenger Chris Pratt are rendered accurately with plenty of good skin texture. Where it’s more obviously less impressive than the RU7470 is in the close contrast control.