We measured peak HDR at 287 nits, using a 10 per cent measuring window. Reducing this window to 5 per cent, saw the screen’s ability to handle HDR peaks drop to 210 nits. The Samsung TU7100 is effectively the little brother of the Samsung TU8500 we reviewed earlier in 2020, being the smaller option and lower entry point to the firm’s Crystal UHD series. The UE43AU7100 is built on a Vertical Alignmenttype of LCD panel, with edge LED lighting and a native 4K resolution. It supports the HDR10, HLG and HDR10+ flavours of high dynamic range, but as ever with Samsung, Dolby Vision is not on the menu.

My only gripe is, as mentioned in some rev iews, the operating system can be a little laggy in opening and navigating menus. As this isn't something I typically do often though it doesn't hugely bother me. And as befits a television that’s intended to sell at a very competitive price, not much by way of ‘design’ has happened here. Samsung will tell you the AU7100 is ‘bezel-less’, but that’s not true. The bezels are pretty minimal, though, which is nice. Plus the feet leave enough space below the bottom of the screen to accommodate a soundbar, which is prudent. Freeview Play is not available on Samsung TVs. But, if your Samsung TV was manufactured in 2016 or earlier, it will most likely have Freeview installed.Stepping down in quality to some 1080p Full HD content actually confirms the Samsung as a fully capable device. Naturally enough there’s a drop-off in detail levels, accompanied by a little less certainty where motion is concerned and a little more picture noise (especially in scenes of uniform colour, such as sports broadcasts), but the TU7100 proves an adept upscaler. Some softness in an upscaled picture is only to be expected, but the Samsung stays pretty regimented in most circumstances. It works with connected SmartThings devices, and has AirPlay 2 support which allows iOS owners to stream and share from iPhones and iPads. The downside is that the Samsung TU7100 doesn’t have the fastest operating system out there. Even doing basic things like scrolling through menu screens and there’s a noticeable delay between you enacting a command and it happening. Apps also can take longer than I’d like to open. The Samsung TU7100 offers better picture quality than you’d expect

What it does do, though, is show a level of maturity, confidence and understanding of the many elements that go into producing a truly satisfying TV picture that’s comfortably beyond anything else in its class right now. As we’ve observed on many budget 4K sets, HDR compliance is more about metadata recognition than actual performance. It’s not a set that features all the bells and whistles gamers will need for the next generation PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, but at this price, what do you expect? The Samsung UE43TU7100 has a discrete design and easy setup process That’s not to say that the TU7100 isn’t vibrant when it needs to be. We switch to Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.2 on 4K Blu-ray, and the TV does an excellent job with the neon-lit title sequence and the rainbow-breathing, neon gunk-filled Abilisk.Design’ isn’t really something that happens to entry-level TVs, and sure enough the Samsung UE43TU7100 isn’t so much ‘designed’ as ‘assembled’.