Review: Samsung Neo QLED 8K smart TV
The question still is whether 8K makes a significant difference for TVs under 100 inches.
Samsung’s premium 75-inch 8K TV offers stellar viewing quality but the question still is whether 8K makes a significant difference for TVs under 100 inches.
The QN900B Neo QLED 8K TV certainly ticks boxes. Being virtually borderless, it’s unobtrusive, has an edgeless screen, is thin, is brighter compared to its 4K counterpart, and comes in 65, 75 and 85 inch sizes.
Unfortunately, there is still a dearth of 8K content for these TVs. I resorted to YouTube, watching content from the 8K Ultra HD channel, wary that YouTube videos are subject to compression.
It wasn’t hard to be blown away by the fine detail in panoramas and the crisp outlines of objects like small houses in a flyover of a seaside Mediterranean village.
Retail stores often display these scenes in “dynamic mode” which pumps up the contrast making it too vivid, as if the sun had iridescent rays, especially the Mediterranean Sea which mimics the colour of Blue Loo.
Luckily, I could watch this content in movie and filmmaker modes which offer great realism. Movie and filmmaker modes look much the same on the QN900B, although filmmaker mode signifies a colour standard set by studios and the UHD alliance.
The Mediterranean flyover came to life with the colours of the sea, and the terracotta roofs and painted white walls of the homes looking amazing.
I watched content rated at lower resolutions and couldn’t see any difference in detail or sharpness when viewing Birds of Paradise in 4K. This may be testament to the quality of Samsung’s upscaler, as much as 4K and 8K not appearing that different.
Upscaling was effective viewing 720p HD content, especially close up scenes where objects seemed sharper. Full HD 1080p upscaling was impressive. Some scenes looked like they were shot in 4K with people, homes, trees and landscapes looking sharp, although if I looked closely I didn’t see the same fine details of textures or small discernible objects as with 4K and 8K.
I came away thinking the point of buying an 8K set in Australia now is to enjoy the upscaling experience. As for upscaling standard definition content to 8K – forget it. It’s beyond redemption.
My view about 8K not offering much difference to 4K on sub 100 inch sets comes from time I spent in Japan in 2019, where 8K was available on much larger screens in public places and on the sides of buildings.
NHK was broadcasting some programs in 8K by satellite, including some Rugby World Cup matches. It looked amazing to see such clarity over large screen areas. Just as full HD became less sharp as TV sizes increased over the past decade, it happens that 4K resolution is a bit fuzzier over giant screens.
In 2022 Samsung continues to use its mini LED technology comprising tens of thousands of tiny LEDs that offer a finer control of the TV image. Some magnified images I took showed clean lines around lettering on a black background without jagged edges. I still think it’s not quite as good as OLED.
The other important aspect of this TV is sound. It offers 6.2.4 sound and when watching Dolby Atmos content I’d notice bits of sound thundering around me in different directions, as with the Netflix sci-fi series Another Life available in 4K HDR.
As good as that was, the addition of Samsung’s Q990B soundbar made a huge difference, adding immersive cinematic sound with 11.1.4 channels. I didn’t want to switch that soundbar off. Samsung lets you combine the two audio sources with its Q-Symphony feature which improves the sound experience again, but not as much as the addition of that soundbar alone did.
In 2022 Samsung TVs have a new menu system which is easy to navigate with column selection at left. You can quickly swap between media (the main menu), settings, connected devices and ambient mode which displays artworks as wallpaper when the TV is idle.
This includes a selection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) linked to artworks curated by the Nifty network. You can view these artworks or scan their QR codes and buy them.
I viewed an NFT that was being sold as “20 editions”, with each edition selling for about $250. That’s not a bad day at the office for the artist.
Favourite streaming services and apps are displayed across the main menu, with rows underneath for each service together with recommended content for that service.
There were rows for Netflix, Stan, Disney+, Binge, Kayo Sports, Apple TV, YouTube and Prime Video in the favourites menu on my review set. You can add Australian TV catch-up services including ABC iView and SBS On Demand.
My QN900B unit supported three voice assistants: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Samsung Bixby. You set up the one you want.
Samsung has changed the shape of its One Connect box. It’s now wider and flat. You place the box below the TV in a cabinet and connect your soundbar, games consoles and set-top boxes to it, rather than to the TV on the wall. That makes the set up much simpler and is a reason for choosing Samsung over its rivals.
In 2022 you can buy an adaptor if you want to rotate the TV between landscape and portrait, if that floats your boat.
Overall the QN900B is a great 8K TV, if you want to go the 8K route. Recommended prices for the QN900B range are $5,799 (55 inch), $7,999 (75 inch) and $11,999 (85 inch). The Q990B soundbar costs a recommended $2,099.
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