Warning about Samsung panel types

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Lewenhaupt

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I'm new here but have for the last month researched a 43" 4K TV to use as a PC monitor and stumbled upon this forum during that time. I've gotten a lot of good information but I've also seen some rumors about some Samsung 4K TVs having IPS panels instead of VA, which they usually have. This rumor also appears on some models on rtings.com which states that some sizes are IPS.
This definitely got me interested as some of the similarly priced Samsung TVs to the Sony XE720E (XE70 in Europe) beat on pretty much everything except for viewing angles. So I decided to contact Samsung (Samsung Europe) to figure out if they indeed had some models that use IPS panels. On their website, there's no information at all about panel types and their response didn't make it any easier. Apparently, Samsung TVs can have different panel types depending on where it was manufactured which pretty much defeats the purpose of reading reviews on them as there's no guarantee for getting the same panel as used in the review. According to Samsung, there isn't any way to see this in the specifications for a certain TV so it's basically trial and error.
DISCLAIMER: This was information retrieved from Samsung Europe so I cannot say if this is the same for the US or any other part of the world.
 
In the US they can mix IPS and VA panels in the same model lineup, it’s usually certain sizes are certain panel types.
 
igluk said:
It does even happen that same model sizes change panels mid-cycle, but it is rather rare.
Gotta find the right sites for info. There's a list of panels used in 2017 Samsung TV

It is missing one 43'' entry but there is also listings on displayspecifications, it says the 43'' MU6100 is VA
https://www.displayspecifications.com/en/model-display/78fdba3

Smallest IPS according to this info is the UE-49MU6400 (using a BOE ADS panel)
Click to expand...
That's interesting because either that info is very unreliable or Samsung just simply doesn't want us to know which panel is used for which model. The response I got from Samsung Europe was that the same model could have an IPS if it was manufactured in Ukraine but a VA if it was manufactured in another country.
 
Samsung has multi-sourced panels in the past - this is the "panel lottery". Not sure if they are still doing it.
 
They are, had a warranty repair on my ku6300 and the panel become much worse., number wise. Still a VA though .
 
On a past Samsung TV I bought, there were some extra letters on the outside of the box that described the panel manufacturer. I called all the Best Buys in my area and had them look at all the stock and tell me what letters they had.
 
Panel look.com or something can tell you available panels at x size. So you can then usually ascertain range of possibility.. most 40-43" 4k panels are VA.
 
It seems like nothing is holy anymore. And just a couple of weeks ago a friend of mine who was buying a new TV asked me what to buy and showed me a Sony that was on sale and what she was eyeing. I did not have time to research the details about that TV at the time and told her that Sony's are good if you buy a top end model OR if you know specifically what to look for in lower end models (because they tend to use IPS panels in some models, and that is a nono for dark room home theater TV she was looking for), but if not it is safer to buy Samsung because they use VA panels in their TV's.

Out of my recommendation she bought a 55" MU6000 serie a little while ago. Shit, now I have to go and see what panel she got and if I need to eat a crow. :/

This is bullshit, why do they mix different panel types within same model numbers? IPS and VA are like polar opposites, one is good for home theater and other is good for billboards in bright halls, and suck if you put them other way around. Reading reviews and measurements is pointless if you cannot be sure you get a TV that suits your needs. Somebody higher up should really look into this if this is bait and switching. I can understand manufacturing the panels in different factories (with some quality differences that come with it) as long as they represent the same type, but IPS and VA couldn't be further away from each other other than both use a backlight.
 
Lewenhaupt said:
The response I got from Samsung Europe was that the same model could have an IPS if it was manufactured in Ukraine but a VA if it was manufactured in another country.
Click to expand...

I've not heard something like that before, if it happens it must be extremely uncommon.
In a few cases same models+same size could use same type of panels from different manufacturers (e.g. Samsung and AUO). And EU and US models often aren't the same.

MaZa said:
Out of my recommendation she bought a 55" MU6000 serie a little while ago. Shit, now I have to go and see what panel she got and if I need to eat a crow. :/
Click to expand...

nuTTKAv.jpg


Bon appetit!
 
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yeah, you can't have your cake and eat it.

You either complain about shitty viewing angles, or shitty blacks.

Cheap OLEDs can't come soon enough.
 
Had the same issue this year with samsung mu6300, a similar issue a few years ago when I picked up one of the Vizio P series range too (again certain sizes mean different panel teck). In both cases, the forums and reviews were all over the panel types, and just needed a little bit of research before buying. This is nothing new, since the margin on TVs is so low that nobody can afford to insource every panel. It can also be due to production problems. Suddenly your 50" UHD VA production line develops a problem with half yield rate. You can't just cut down your 55" panels to 50" (dpi is different) but you could cancel your line of 25" 1080p IPS monitors this year and have the glass cut to 50" instead. Sorted just in time for Black Friday! You're still going to sell both types, and your vendors only placed orders for one SKU. So you just don't specify the panel and ship both. Sometimes, they'll label them differently or have a different manufacturing code you can read on the box, but they might just track it by serial number.
 
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