First Impressions: Samsung The Terrace

First impressions of Samsung’s attempt to take its TV range to the great outdoors (well, to the garden).

Introduction

When it comes to TVs, Samsung doesn’t see itself as just operating in the traditional living room environment. In the past few years, it has expanded its horizons, promoting the idea of having a TV in its lineup that suits anyone and is for everyone.

If The Frame is for those with an interest in art, its 8K range for those who want the most cutting-edge technology, then the Terrace brings the TV viewing experience outside.

So Trusted Reviews headed over to the Four Seasons hotel on a sunny day in London to have a look at the outdoor TV that aims to be as good as your indoor one.

Design

• Solid metal frame
• Well built
• Connections sealed off

Available in 55-, 65- and 75-inch sizes, The Terrace is built like a tank. The sleek look and slim depth of the Neo QLED range isn’t present, and nor is that a decision I’d grumble with.

Built to withstand a variety of weather conditions with its IP55 resistance, The Terrace is protected against dust and water, as well as variations in temperature. Even the remote control has a higher resistance than the TV at IP56, given it’s likely to be more affected by the weather. Like Samsung’s remotes for its premium TVs, it’s a well-fashioned, stylish, and simplistic affair.

The Terrace is a hefty but well-made unit – the 65-inch model close to 40kg – and it likely will need a custom install if you’re looking for the cleanest installation. The wall-mount bracket offers several degrees of movement, and the connections are contained in a hatch of sorts that can be sealed up, with Gore-Tex material used to maintain the set’s waterproof rating.

And in case you’re worried about the TV being affected by more adverse weather when you’re not home, The Terrace comes with a waterproof bag that protects both the TV and Terrace Soundbar, with a little pouch that holds the remote, too.

There are linkages at the bottom for attaching the Terrace Soundbar (available separately), with the bar matching the TV’s IP55 rating as well its dour, but well-built, construction.

Interface and connectivity

• Pretty much all the smarts you’d expect
• Voice assistant support (via remote)

Despite being an ‘outdoor’ TV, The Terrace offers all the smart features you’d expect from an indoor unit. While the convenience of using Wi-Fi is offered, running an ethernet cable would be the more reliable and secure option.

With Tizen 6.0 present, the experience is much like what you’d get from a ‘normal’ QLED. There’s access to the wide range of apps, with UK catch-up and on-demand included. And while there’s no Freeview Play, Samsung pushes its TV Plus alternative, which also offers subscription-free access to content.

Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Samsung’s own Bixby are included, delivering a choice over which ecosystem you want to partake in. You can mirror from your mobile device via either AirPlay 2 or Samsung’s SmartThings app, while the Tap View function allows for quick casting to the TV by tapping a smartphone anywhere on The Terrace’s surface. This feature does require a compatible smartphone, and last we checked, only Samsung Galaxy phones could perform this task.

Bluetooth connectivity is also included (v4.2), and there’s the Multi-View feature where you can view two screens on the TV at once.

There aren’t as many connections as you’d find on an indoor Samsung TV, but those included should suffice for any household (garden) with 3x HDMI (one supporting eARC), digital audio out, USB, Ethernet plus HDBaseT technology, which enables transmission of signals across a long distance – handy for an outdoor TV.

Picture quality

• Bright, adaptive picture
• Steady contrast
• Anti-reflection tech can’t erase people, unfortunately

There wasn’t a huge amount of time nor content to get a sense of The Terrace’s capabilities. However, from what we saw, it delivers the kind of HDR images we’ve become accustomed to from Samsung.

With BBC’s A Perfect Planet playing in 4K HDR, the QLED full-array display delivered an impressive colour range in an outdoor setting: the molten lava flowing from a volcano was intensely conveyed, looking ready to melt off the screen.

There’s no Ultra-Wide Viewing angle technology included with The Terrace, since its inclusion would affect the set’s brightness. Instead, it has an Anti-Reflection screen that works for the most part in maintaining contrast across the screen and resisting glare. However, it can’t steel itself against reflections of people, unless there’s a very colourful image on-screen. The best viewing angles tend to be from head-on rather than the sides, which may be something to consider for larger gatherings.

Nevertheless, I experienced an impressive, consistent performance in the limited time I had with The Terrace. Backed up by 2000 nits of brightness – enough to stave off most bright days (if you get that many in the UK) – there’s a good amount of detail on display. And, if you choose to, you can turn on the Ambient mode that automatically adjusts the image in correlation to the ambient brightness. HLG HDR, HDR10 and HDR10+ formats are all supported.

Sound quality

• Ordinary sound system on its own
• The Terrace Soundbar adds more power…
• …but at a price

The Terrace can play audio by itself through its 20W downward-firing stereo system but also supports The Terrace Soundbar. With 210W of power, this 3.0ch system can go loud, but it isn’t necessarily the most subtle system. Still, compared to the Terrace’s own speaker setup, I’d wager most will consider adding The Terrace Soundbar to the overall cost.

Subtlety and refinement probably aren’t what this soundbar is aiming for, but there’s plenty of power behind it, to the point where at full volume you can stand several metres back and the sound carries far enough. Sit closer and the speaker edges towards some slight distortion and a lack of fine detail when pushed.

Overall, though, dialogue is clearly relayed, with good levels of detail and clarity and a solid listening experience, whether you’re sitting in front of the screen or to the sides.

Latest deals