Samsung has never been afraid to try new things when it comes to “lifestyle” TVs, from its Frame set that doubles as a digital photo frame to its mobile-friendly Sero display that swivels from landscape to portrait orientation. Samsung is now heading in another new direction with its latest TV: The patio.
Of course, the new Samsung Terrace isn’t the first TV ever designed for outdoor use; for example, SunBrite makes a wide range of weatherized TVs, and we reviewed a 1080p model a few years back. That said, Samsung is betting that its first stab at an outdoor model will boast better image quality than its competitors along with a slimmer, stylish, yet weather-resistant design. Naturally, you can also expect an eye-popping price tag.
For starters, the Terrace boasts a 4K QLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, full-array local dimming, and Samsung’s Quantum processor for upscaling HD images to 4K. There’s HDR support of course: HDR10+ and HLG, but not Dolby Vision (typical Samsung). An anti-reflective matte finish and more than 2,000 nits of brightness should help when it comes to daytime viewing.
Available in 75-, 65-, and 55-inch sizes, the 59mm-thick Terrace features a 10mm bezel, while its IP55 rating promises limited protection against dust ingress as well as protection from jets of water in any direction. (You can read more about IP codes in this story.) In other words, the Terrace should be able to withstand rain, snow, dust, and dirt—you should even be able to hose off the set without frying the TV’s circuitry.
The Terrace features three HDMI ports, a LAN port, a Toslink optical audio output, and a USB port. Samsung, however, will encourage consumers to use wireless connections. Professional installers, on the other hand, are likely to take advantage of the TV’s support for HDBaseT, allowing for the transmission of UHD video, audio, remote control data, and up to 100 watts of electrical power over a single cable—such as CAT6—that can be up to 100 meters (about 328 feet) long.
The Terrace runs on Samsung’s Tizen smart TV platform, which means you can install streaming apps from the likes of Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Disney+, and Apple TV+. Tizen also features Samsung’s TV Plus, a linear TV service that offers more than 120 channels of free programming, as well as the soon-to-launch Samsung Health fitness and wellness platform.
Samsung
Samsung’s 3.0-channel Terrace Soundbar shares the same IP55 rating as the Terrace QLED 4K TV.
The Terrace’s built-in 20-watt stereo speakers look fairly basic compared to the multi-channel audio on Samsung’s higher-end indoor QLED TVs. Luckily, you can upgrade the Terrace’s sound with another new weatherized Samsung product: the 3-channel Terrace HW-LST70T Soundbar, which is equipped with a built-in subwoofer, a “wide-range” tweeter, “Distortion Cancelling” technology designed to deliver “deep and detailed” bass, and Samsung’s auto-detecting Adaptive sound mode (which tweaks the sound based on the content that’s playing).
The Terrace Soundbar boasts the same IP55 rating as the Terrace TV, which means it too has been designed to withstand the elements, including rain, snow, and dirt. That makes the Terrace Soundbar the first weather-resistant soundbar we’ve seen from a major consumer A/V brand. (SunBrite offers a $170 “outdoor-safe” soundbar that’s designed to snap on to its outdoor TVs.)
The 48-inch wide soundbar can sync with the Terrace TV’s audio via Bluetooth, in keeping with Samsung’s “no wires but the power cord” pitch for its new outdoor Terrace products. The soundbar also has a wired Toslink optical audio input, but no HDMI.
The Terrace Soundbar comes with a pair of mounting kits: one for mounting the soundbar on a wall, and another for attaching the soundbar directly beneath the Terrace TV.
The Terrace Soundbar will cost $1,200 (ouch), and it’s slated to ship at the end of May.
Meanwhile, here’s how much the Terrace QLED TV will set you back: $3,500 for the 55-inch model, $5,000 for 65 inches, and $6,500 for the 75-inch version.
That may sound steep compared to (for example) Samsung’s priciest indoor 65-inch 4K QLED TV, which currently retails for $2,600 (with a $900 discount). Then again, the $5,000 price tag for the 65-inch Terrace is considerably cheaper than the $8,000 sticker price for SunBrite’s 65-inch outdoor 4K “Signature” TV.
We’ll have more to say about Samsung’s Terrace 4K QLED TV and its matching soundbar once we’ve tried their review units.
Updated on June 9, 2020 to remove a reference to Samsung’s dialog-boosting Active Voice Amplifier technology, which was erroneously listed in pre-briefing materials as a feature on the Terrace TV. A Samsung rep further clarified that the Terrace can achieve brightness levels of more than 2,000 nits, rather than 2,000 nits being a cap. Finally, we’ve been told that Samsung’s implementation of the HDBaseT standard doesn’t support ethernet connectivity, which was listed in the original article.