Samsung AU7179 TV – Does It Got All You Need?
Are you looking for a cheap 4K TV?
Then the Samsung AU7179 could be the right one! The Samsung AU7179 LED TV is a usable 4K TV. You get a decent TV with lots of Smart TV apps and three HDMI inputs for a fairly tight budget. The Samsung AU7179 is an entry-level 4K model that promises solid performance for comparatively little money. You can find out what it does in detail here in the review.
Advantages
- Good contrast and colors for SDR
- Lots of smart TV apps
- Slim design
- Low price
- Low input lag for game consoles
Disadvantages
- Image quality is dependent on the viewing angle
- Brightness too low for HDR
- No HDMI 2.1 with 4K @ 120 Hz
- No Dolby Vision, no USB recording
Samsung AU7179 – The Design
The Samsung AU7179 is not a heavyweight, neither in terms of its size nor its technology. Weighing just 14 kilograms, our 55 ″ test device is comparatively easy to carry or hang up on a wall bracket. The LED TV comes in a slim design similar to the slightly higher quality AU8079 or AU9079 models. The case is 6 cm deep in the 55-inch device that we tested at the thickest point.
The look is mainly determined by dark gray plastic in titanium gray. Overall, the processing quality gives a good impression for this price range. We noticed that the labeling of the connections on this inexpensive model is easier to read than on the top Samsung models.
When it comes to TV sizes, the Samsung LED TV offers a particularly large selection: There are seven different screen sizes from 43 inches (a good 1 meter) to 86 inches (2.14 m).
The Picture Quality Of The Samsung AU7179
The Samsung AU7179 brings solid picture quality to the screen, which should be okay for most TV and streaming services users. It delivers high-contrast images with good colors and a good moving image display.
Standard content in full HD or DVD or The Samsung TV performs quite well for Blu-ray playback. On the other hand, if it comes to HDR content, it reaches its limits. For example, the panel in the Samsung AU7179 hardly provides more brightness for HDR and also has no lower black value than with conventional television.
The HDR formats HDR10 and HLG (from 4K satellite transmitters) are recognized and decoded, but the image dynamics lag behind a QLED Q70A for technical reasons. If you consider that HDR films are mastered to brightness values of up to 1,000 or even 4,000 units during production, the around 200 units of the AU7179 are not enough. You get good HDR, for example, with a QN90A from Samsung or OLED TVs, which are, however, also in a much higher price range.
Samsung AU7179: The Connections
The low price of the AU7179 LED TV impacts the connectivity options. It is now common for Samsung not to install a headphone jack for all manufacturers’ TV models. We found three HDMIs on our test device, but none of them supports the current HDMI 2.1 standard.
This means that you can connect and use a new game console such as PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, but you can never use it to the max. The only USB interface available serves as a media player for photos, videos and music. Samsung does not provide a USB recording function.
Operation And Practice
While in earlier years Samsung included a classic infrared remote control with “correct buttons” in the TV entry-level class, the AU7179 comes with a slimmed-down version of the Samsung Smart Remote.
The menus are very similar to those of the higher-end models and are quite easy to use. However, you have to do without voice input with a microphone in the TV remote control with this TV. Overall, we had the impression that the AU7179 works a little slower than other televisions regarding apps or switching.
The 4K TV has Samsung’s own Tizen smart TV system, which provides many streaming apps. Unfortunately, the quick connection of TV set and smartphone via Apple AirPlay or Chromecast is not provided here. After all, there is still the Samsung SmartThings app, with which this entry-level 4K TV is compatible.
Gaming With The Samsung AU7179
As usual with Samsung, a game mode in the settings largely eliminates the input time between pressing a button on the console and displaying it on the screen. In this regard, the AU7179 tested here is also one of the fastest TV sets. We only determined an input lag of just under ten milliseconds in the test.
Sound: This Is What The Samsung Sounds Like
Given the small depth and the wallet-friendly price, the Samsung AU7179 deserves some praise for its sound quality. The built-in loudspeakers bring easy-to-understand dialogues and a generally pleasant sound. However, high volumes, deep bass and particularly differentiated highs are not for this entry-level TV model. Then it’s worth thinking about a soundbar that can easily be connected via HDMI ARC or eARC.
Conclusion: Our Test Result For The Samsung AU7179
As an inexpensive TV, the AU 7179 from Samsung can be a tip for streaming and gaming fans who can do without high-end services because it fulfills what one can expect in terms of picture and sound quality in its price range to the satisfaction. In addition, it offers fast gaming performance with its low input lag.
However, in terms of color fidelity and HDR image reproduction, it lags behind other, more expensive devices. If you attach particular importance to good HDR playback, a QLED TV from the Q70A or QN85A upwards could be the better choice for you.
