Samsung DU9000 UN98DU9000FXZA 97.5"

It's a 98-inch screen for the price of a 65-inch premium TV. The picture is just okay, but the size is the undeniable star of the show.

The 120Hz panel and FreeSync Premium support are a genuinely pleasant surprise. We weren't expecting a budget-minded mega-screen to handle gaming this well. Input lag feels low with ALLM, and motion is buttery smooth at 120fps, landing it in the 84th percentile for gaming in our database. The flip side is HDR performance, which is frankly disappointing. Peak brightness is low, so HDR content looks flat and dim, a real weak spot that lands in the bottom third of TVs we've tested. The Crystal Processor does a solid job upscaling 1080p content though, which is critical on a screen this size.

The TCL QM7K is the DU9000's worst nightmare. It costs less than the DU9000's higher price points and delivers a vastly superior picture with mini-LED backlighting, real HDR pop, and better contrast. You sacrifice some screen size, but the image quality gap is a canyon. The Hisense U7 Series is another strong alternative that will embarrass the Samsung in a dark room. If you must have a 98-inch Samsung and can stretch your budget, the Neo QLED models are in a different universe, but if your budget is fixed, the DU9000 only wins on sheer inches per dollar against these clearly better TVs.

At its lowest vendor price of $896, this thing is a steal if all you care about is size. But the price swings wildly up to $2796, and at the high end, you're getting fleeced. The best deal we're seeing is on Amazon, where it's been spotted at the lower end of that range. If you're paying over $1500, stop. You're in better TV territory. For the right price, it's a fantastic value as a bright-room TV for sports and casual gaming.

The Samsung DU9000 is the poster child for going big on a budget. You're getting a massive 98-inch screen that dominates a wall, and for the price, the sheer size is the main event. Just know that to hit this price point, Samsung had to make some real compromises on picture quality. It's a Direct LED panel without local dimming, so don't expect the deep blacks or punchy HDR you'd get from a premium set. Think of it as the ultimate Super Bowl party or basement theater screen where scale matters more than perfect contrast.

If you're looking for a cinematic experience for 4K Blu-rays or dark-room streaming, this isn't it. Go get a TCL QM7K or Hisense U7 instead. You'll lose some screen real estate but gain actual HDR, deep blacks, and a picture that doesn't fall apart when the lights go down.

Buy the Samsung DU9000 for its size, not its picture quality. If you have a huge, brightly lit room and just want the biggest screen possible for sports, news, and casual gaming, and you find it for under a grand, it's a fun buy. If you care even a little about movie nights in a dark room or getting a real HDR experience, this isn't the TV for you. Save up or size down to a better panel.