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Samsung SUHD 4K TV prices leaked: SUper-expensive

In advance of Samsung's official word a leak indicates that prices for the company's high-end "SUHD" TVs range from $2,500 for 48 inches up to $23,000 for 88 inches.

David Katzmaier Editorial Director -- Personal Tech
David reviews TVs and leads the Personal Tech team at CNET, covering mobile, software, computing, streaming and home entertainment. We provide helpful, expert reviews, advice and videos on what gadget or service to buy and how to get the most out of it.
Expertise A 20-year CNET veteran, David has been reviewing TVs since the days of CRT, rear-projection and plasma. Prior to CNET he worked at Sound & Vision magazine and eTown.com. He is known to two people on Twitter as the Cormac McCarthy of consumer electronics. Credentials
  • Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.
David Katzmaier

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David Katzmaier/CNET

When Samsung first announced its lineup of 't="" stand="" for="" anything"="" tvs"="" shortcode="link" asset-type="review" uuid="0e6894cf-0197-4735-937c-74f0d8658f86" slug="samsung-un65js9500" link-text="SUHD " section="products" title="Samsung's best LCD TV brings a full array of nanocrystal LEDs" edition="us" data-key="link_bulk_key" api="{"id":"0e6894cf-0197-4735-937c-74f0d8658f86","slug":"samsung-un65js9500","contentType":null,"edition":"us","topic":{"slug":"tvs"},"metaData":{"typeTitle":"First Take","hubTopicPathString":"Home Entertainment^TVs","reviewType":"First Take"},"section":"reviews"}"> at CES 2015, we expected their serious specifications to stipulate stupendous spending. And Samsung has succeeded in spades.

According to a leak from hdguru.com, a site with an excellent record of calling these sorts of things around this time of year, industry sources tag the new sets with a starting price of $2,500 for the cheapest model, a 48 incher. The 65-inch size of the best-quality series will go for six grand.

CNET has reached out to Samsung for a comment, and if we hear back we'll update this report.

Meanwhile here's the full breakdown of the leaked prices:

Samsung SUHD TV leaked prices

Model SizeScreenPrice (US)
UN88JS9500 88-inchCurved$22,999
UN65JS9500 65-inchCurved$5,999
UN65JS9000 65-inchCurved$4,999
UN55JS9000 55-inchCurved$3,999
UN48JS9000 48-inchCurved$3,499
UN65JS8500 65-inchFlat$3,999
UN55JS8500 55-inchFlat$2,999
UN48JS8500 48-inchFlat$2,499

Of course those prices will fall throughout the year, but by how much could vary widely. The 2014 UN65HU9000 started at $4,999 and now sells for $4,499, a discount of only 10 percent. Meanwhile the UN65HU8550 fell from $3,999 to $2,997, a 25 percent drop.

Those prices are UPP, so they're set by the manufacturer and vendors have little room for further discounts.

Confirming what a Samsung rep told me at CES, initial pricing for the 2015 JS9000 and 2014 HU9000 series of curved 4K TVs matches up almost perfectly. The same goes for pricing on the 2015 JS8500 and 2014 HU8550 series of flat 4K TVs.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Despite the SUHD name and sure-to-be-ceaseless sales spiels slinging its superiority, it's just another LCD TV at heart. Hey, it worked when Samsung rebranded LCD TVs with LED backlights as "LED TVs," so there's no reason the dominant company in selling TVs can't pull the same trick with "SUHD TVs."

And who knows, they may just prove to be a stunningly super-stupendous LCD after all. The JS9500 series looked great in limited demos I saw at CES -- but then again I'd expect nothing less from a manufacturer-run demo of a ridiculously expensive TV boasting full-array local dimming and quantum dots and specialized HDR content.

Whether SUHD can beat out OLED , Samsung's stated goal, is doubtful given OLED's superiority (so far) to any display technology based on LCD. Leaked pricing for LG's new 65-inch 4K OLED TVs isn't that much higher than that of the UN65JS9500. And best of all for curve-averse videophiles with money to burn, the LG comes in a flat version.

Meanwhile, I expect the JS9000 and JS8500 to perform very similarly to their 2014 counterparts, which were no slouches but not the best 4K LCDs of the year. I'll be particularly curious to compare them against Samsung's non-S UHD TVs, such as the flat 4K U7100 series, the least expensive to offer hardware-based local dimming.

Official pricing should come from Samsung in mid-March if past years are any indication, with TVs to ship in the following weeks. Vizio, which skipped CES this year, is likely announcing much of its 2015 lineup in April, and I expect LG's new OLEDs sometime this summer. Soon enough we'll be able to put the new TVs of 2015 to the test.