8k8k tvlatest 8k tvlatest tvlcdledOTHER DEVICESsamsung 8kSamsung QE65Q900R 8K QLED TVsamsung tvultimate 8k
Samsung QE65Q900R 8K QLED TV
What is the
Samsung Q900R?
- The Q900R is Samsung’s first consumer 8K TV to be launched in the UK and introduces a host of new scaling technologies and an Ultra Black Elite Moth Eye filter on the screen. It is available in three screen sizes and starts with this 65-inch QE65Q900R at £4999, a 75-inch QE75Q900R that retails for £6999 and a monster 85-inch model (QE85Q900R) that will set you back £14,999. We are looking at the 65-inch and have it in our own testing rooms for review.
- Samsung UK has provided this sample and we are the first review publication to have the 65-inch in our possession for testing. All other UK reviews published so far (up to November 2018) were held at Samsung and the reviewers were given time with the 75 or 85-inch sets. This was because of logistical issues sending such large screens out for review, but at AVForums we have a policy with our display reviews that we have to test them in our own surroundings, with our own procedures. We also don’t review pre-production samples of a product; it has to be the finished retail unit. As such, we have had to wait a little while to get our hands on this eagerly awaited review sample, which is a retail unit provided in retail packaging from Samsung.
- So, the first question most people will be bound to ask is, why? We are only just starting to see 4K take off with 4K Blu-rays starting to become common and the first signs of 4K broadcasting taking roots, so why do we need 8K? It’s a good question and one we will try to look at and answer within the course of our time spent with the QE65Q900R.
Design, Connections and Control
- It’s clear to see that with the Q900R Samsung has put some real effort into the design aspect of the screen. It continues to use the now standard One Connect box used with all higher end Samsung LED LCD TVs, that Samsung calls QLED in their marketing. This box allows the TV to have just one connector at the rear and a thin fibre optic cable then runs from the TV to the One Connect box. The use of such a thin cable taking all the signals and power to the TV is a masterstroke in our opinion and allows real flexibility in set up and location of the TV with no unsightly cables trailing from the back of the set. It’s a clean and clever design, which also makes it possible for Samsung to just replace the box when HDMI 2.1 becomes a reality. After all, it will need this to be able to send native 8K content via HDMI to the Q900R. We understand that owners will get the upgrade option once it is available, but this will be at the owner's request and Samsung won’t automatically swap them over.
- Another neat design aspect of the Q900R is the feet it sits on. All too often recent TV designs have seen the feet placed at each end of the panel, which has meant a long TV unit was required to manage to fit the TV. This is especially a problem with larger screens and the Q900R range starts at 65-inch and goes up from there. Samsung has given you two options for the feet placement, with a central position and one at either end of the panel. The other neat trick is that the feet are hidden inside a recessed area on the back of the panel and can be left there if wall mounting, or removed by unclipping them and then attaching to the bottom of the panel. These feet are L-shaped and screw easily to the centre or outside points and while feeling slightly flimsy on first handling; they are strong enough to support the panel with ease.
- The panel is sleek and minimalist with a 5mm metal strip around the sides and top, and 15mm on the bottom. The bottom is split between a 10mm strip of brushed metal and the metal strip that follows the rest of the screen. Between this strip and the image is a 5mm black border within the panel screen. While this might look and feel larger than the latest OLED designs, it doesn’t mean that the Q900R is chunky in any way, just the proportions have to be larger due to using an LED LCD panel. The strip around the panel side is also 30mm deep and the back of the panel has a lovely textured finish with the One Connect port centrally positioned within a recess. There are also recessed vents at the top of the rear panel and some others further down, but these are part of the design language and don’t look out of place. We also have the recessed area where the feet can be stored.
- Overall, the design and materials used are high quality and the fit and finish are also to a high standard and worthy of the price point of the Q900R.
- The connections for the Q900R are all on the One Connect box, which is identical to the one supplied with the Q9FN. It is larger than previous year models as it now provides all the connections and power via one cable to the TV panel. This means that it will get quite hot during operation, which has added to the size of the box and the cooling is now via vents, so it is quieter. It now measures 390 x 130 x 70mm (WxDxH), that makes it roughly double the size of previous models, but it now has all the connections in one place.
- If you’re expecting the UK’s first 8K TVs to boast a revolutionary design, you might be disappointed. The Q900R doesn’t do a great deal to distinguish itself from Samsung’s existing flagship 4K models.
- Along both sides and the top of the screen are thin, squared bezels, while the bottom has a slightly thicker lip, with the small Samsung logo moved from the centre to the right.
- The 65in Q900R is marginally thinner than the 65in Q9FN, but looks thicker thanks to a completely flat back and straight, untapered edges. It gives the Q900R the look of a large picture frame when wall-mounted, particularly if you use Samsung’s own No Gap Wall Mount.
- The two feet lack the elegance of the Q9FN’s pedestal stand, but they can be positioned at either the extremes of the bottom edge or closer to the centre. They can also be stored in dedicated slots in the rear panel for safekeeping should you choose to wall-mount at a later date.
- The general neatness of the design is enhanced by the inclusion of Samsung’s OneConnect concept, which sees all inputs moved from the rear panel to an external box, with the two connected by a thin, semi-transparent cable. This cable even carries power, so the TV itself doesn’t need to be connected directly to a power socket.
- Unlike the extra large version of the OneConnect box found on the 85in version, the unit is identical in size (and connection layout) to that of the QE65Q9FN. Samsung says that it will swap this OneConnect box for one with 2.1-specification HDMIs when available – if requested.
What is HDMI
2.1? Everything you need to know
Features
PRODUCT FEATURES
- In the meantime, you get four HDMI 2.0-spec connections, the first of which supports some HDMI 2.1 features, including variable refresh rate – not that you’re likely to be taking advantage any time soon.
- Other physical connections include three USBs, ethernet (the set also features wi-fi, of course), an optical output, one aerial socket and two satellite connections – although the TV doesn’t support Freesat, so you’re unlikely to take advantage of the satellite connections if you’re in the UK. As is now the norm for Samsung, there’s no physical headphone output, with the intention that you use Bluetooth instead.
- Samsung’s TV operating system does nothing different here compared to when used via a 4K QLED, but that’s no bad thing. This remains arguably the slickest, most intuitive TV user experience currently available, with Samsung having done a great job of giving easy access to the most useful features and settings, and hiding or removing less necessary ones.
- Physical sources and apps are given equal billing on the colourful home screen and can be reordered or removed as required. The selection of streaming services available is exceptional, with Netflix, Amazon Video, BBC iPlayer and Rakuten all on board in 4K and HDR. Google Play Movies & TV is also 4K (but doesn’t have HDR); ITV Hub, All 4 and Demand 5 complete the roster of catch-up services, while Now TV and BT TV allow access to exclusive content, including sport. Plex is on board for those with their own libraries of digital content; and music streaming is provided by Spotify, Deezer, Tidal and TuneIn.
- Though the only 8K content available was typical demo footage, designed to show a TV in its best light – colourful patterns, slow pans over scenic vistas – it’s also revealing enough to convince us of the value of the resolution in the long run.
- Predictably, the major upgrades over 4K are to detail and sharpness. Those scenic vistas are teeming with fine detail that brings the footage to life, and the overall image is ridiculously crisp. Those traits also combine to make the picture appear deeper, more solid and more three-dimensional. In fact, it simply looks more lifelike.
- Nor do you have to sit with your nose against the panel to appreciate the upgrade. Sure, the effect is more pronounced the bigger the screen and the closer you sit to it, but the overall crispness and solidity is still impressive on this 65in model at what most would consider a 'normal' viewing distance.
- All of that said, to really pass judgement on the QE65Q900R’s 8K performance, we will need to test the TV with some ‘real world’ 8K video (whenever that arrives).
- In the meantime, everything you watch is going to be of a lower resolution than 8K, and so the Q900R really needs to be at least as good as the Q9FN with all of that. In some ways it is, but in others it isn’t.
- Firstly, upscaling. Having watched 4K, 1080p and even standard-def content from a variety of sources on the two sets, we wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between the two in terms of native resolution.
- While the lion’s share of the focus is on the Q900R’s picture quality, it’s worth pointing out that it is sonically superior to its 4K siblings. This is far from a revelatory upgrade, but the 8K set sounds more fuller-bodied and dynamic.
- The delivery is a little bottom-heavy, with some deep bass notes coming over a little muffled, but the overall balance is enjoyable, particularly if you’re used to the rather reedy delivery most typically associated with flatscreen TVs. The discrete soundbars of the likes of the Panasonic TX-55FZ952B sound better, but the Samsung sounds good considering its speakers are almost invisible.
- But without even a timescale for availability, the highest quality content we’re going to be watching for the foreseeable future is 4K. Even if the Q900R put in an identical performance to that of the Q9FN with 4K and below, while throwing a bit of future-proofing into the deal, we’d be tempted to recommend it to those lucky enough to have a big budget for their next TV.
- The problem is that in some ways Samsung’s own flagship 4K model, the Q9FN, is better. Somewhat surprisingly, the differences aren’t in the resolution, with the Q900R’s upscaler doing an impressive job - they're in the colours, which are less vibrant and enticing on the 8K model.
- Too many times during testing our eyes were drawn to the Q9FN over the Q900R. Given that that the latter is roughly twice the price of the former, and that an 8K resolution is currently no advantage, we know which TV we would choose.
- But Samsung has already proven its willingness to tweak the picture performance of these new 8K models, so perhaps a colour-enhancing software update may surface in the not too distant future
PRODUCT FEATURES
- 8K Ultra HD Premium Certified with HDR10+
- Catch-up TV & 4K Streaming with Smart Hub
- Picture quality: 4000 PQI
- TV PLUS / Twin Freesat HD
- HDMI 2.0a x 4
Top features:
- 8K in your living room – the future is now
- Intelligent upscaling to 8K for all your entertainment
- Magnificent detail with HDR & ultimate colour volume
- Smart thinking from Samsung's AI processor
- Make your TV disappear with Ambient Mode
| SCREEN | ||
| Screen size | 65" | |
| Screen technology | QLED | |
| Resolution | 7680 x 4320 | |
| Certification | Ultra HD Premium Certified | |
| HDR | HDR10+ | |
| HDR technology | Q HDR 8K | |
| PICTURE QUALITY | ||
| Processing rate | 4000 PQI | |
| Dynamic contrast ratio | Q Constrast Elite Max | |
| Picture enhancement | Supreme UHD Dimming | |
| 4K Ultra HD compatibility | - Video CODEC: HEVC H.265 / VP9 | |
| - 8K upscaling picture enhancement | ||
| HDR game mode | Yes | |
| Noise reduction | Yes | |
| SMART | ||
| Smart platform | Samsung Smart Hub | |
| Smart TV services | - Catch up TV: BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4, My5 | |
| - Streaming: Netflix 4K, Prime Video 4K, Love Nature 4K, Disney Life, NOW TV, Rakuten TV | ||
| - App store: Samsung App Store | ||
| - Custom homepage | ||
| - Full internet browser | ||
| - Social media: YouTube | ||
| - Gaming apps | ||
| Screen mirroring | Yes for Android / iOS | |
| Smartphone app | Smart View TV remote app | |
| CONNECTIVITY | ||
| WiFi | Built-in WiFi | |
| Ethernet | Yes | |
| Bluetooth | Yes | |
| DLNA certified | Yes | |
| Connections | - HDMI 2.0a x 4 | |
| - USB 2.0 x 3 | ||
| Audio output | Optical x 1 | |
| TUNER | ||
| TV tuner | - Freesat HD x 2 | |
| - TV PLUS | ||
| Electronic programme guide | 7-day EPG | |
| AUDIO | ||
| Speakers | 4.2 | |
| Audio power | 60 W | |
| Sound enhancement | Dolby Digital Plus | |
| FEATURES | ||
| Voice control | Via remote | |
| VESA mount | 400 x 400 | |
| Table-top stand | Yes | |
| Other features | Sleep timer | |
| ENERGY CONSUMPTION | ||
| Energy efficiency class | D | |
| On-mode power consumption | 352 W | |
| Annual power consumption | 488 kWh | |
| GENERAL | ||
| Colour | Black | |
| Material | Aluminium & plastic | |
| Internal menu languages | 28 languages | |
| Hardware required | - Satellite dish | |
| - Router | ||
| Box contents | - Samsung QE65Q900 65" Smart 8K HDR QLED TV | |
| - Premium Smart Remote | ||
| - Remote control | ||
| - Battery | ||
| - E-manual | ||
| - Power cable | ||
| - Slim Gender Cable | ||
| Dimensions | - TV: 836.4 x 1452.2 x 35.1 mm (H x W x D) | |
| - TV with stand: 898.2 x 1452.2 x 304.8 mm (H x W x D) | ||
| - Boxed: 980 x 1621 x 195 mm (H x W x D) | ||
| Weight | - TV: 28.7 kg | |
| - TV with stand: 29.7 kg | ||
| - Boxed: 41.3 kg | ||
| Guarantee | 1 year | |
0 comments