It’s fair to say the AU7100 isn’t exactly groaning under the weight of its spec sheet – but it’s hardly been sold short either. Picture quality is equally encouraging elsewhere. Motion is confidently handled (the Samsung’s logical setup menus help here), edge definition is smooth and convincing, while picture noise is minimised even in the darkest, most unchanging scenes. As we’ve observed on many budget 4K sets, HDR compliance is more about metadata recognition than actual performance. Unlike the TU8500, the TU7100 only comes with one standard-looking remote. Though the design is a little old school and full of inputs most younger people won’t use, it does the job and is suitably intuitive. The overall palette of 1917 is subdued, and the TU7100 responds accordingly, avoiding boosting certain shades the way that other sets sometimes do. We’ve seen the French fields rendered in a rather lurid green that’s at odds with the film’s overall tone, but that’s not the case here.

You can also follow the instructions detailed below for some models. Follow these instructions to retune your Freeview compatible Samsung TV:

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This version of Tizen isn’t quite the full enchilada, as found higher up the range, but it’s not far off. If you can live without niceties like Ambient mode and TV/Smartphone Multi-View, you won’t feel short-changed. Control is available via a small, overbuttoned and altogether too complicated remote handset. This might be the single biggest indicator of where the TU7100 sits in the Samsung hierarchy, which is a pity, because you’ll probably be using it quite a lot. The desire to include every single function on quite a small handset means too many of the buttons are too small, and their labelling is smaller still. The image preset selection covers Standard, Natural, Dynamic, Movie and Filmmaker Mode, the UHD Alliance sanctioned movie preset. On this particular TV, we found the most consistently entertaining with most content proved to be Natural.

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. 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 While inevitably for its money it’s not without its limitations, the UE43AU7100 delivers an impressively balanced, consistent and immersive picture. Once the euphoria of a screwless build has worn off, though, there’s no denying that the UE43AU7100 feels pretty entry-level in its construction. The lightweight feel and unassuming matt finish of both the feet and the screen frame alert you aggressively to the fact that the bodywork is pretty much completely plastic.The only bit of advice I’d give is to make sure you turn off, or at least reduce, the TV’s Picture Clarity setting. The feature is designed to reduce noise and generally make TV and movies look smoother, but during testing I found it just gave most content the ‘soap opera’ effect. 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. The design wears the plastic reasonably well, though. The feet aren’t distracting and lift the screen high enough to accommodate a soundbar, while the frame around the screen is extremely narrow for this level of the market (even if the set’s rear depth isn’t). 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. There are three sound modes available and each has its own relative merits. Standard is best suited for most content, as it’s the clearest and most focused. Amplify boosts bass and treble and opens up the sound, making it a good option for movie night, and Adaptive Sound, in our room at least, seems to split the difference.

Three HDMI inputs should be enough for all but port-hungry power users, plus all three include the Auto Low Latency Mode aspect of HDMI 2.1 specification – though we’d expect committed next-gen gamers to need a bit more than that.Detail levels are respectably high throughout, which only adds to the impression of realism where skin-tones are concerned, and picture noise stays low even in the most complex scenes. Movement, too, is dealt with intelligently, with the Samsung gripping even rapid or unpredictable motion well. Edges can shimmer a little during the most testing scenes, it’s true, but on the whole the TU7100 is an organised and confident performer.