Samsung QE65Q90R Evaluation

The QE65Q90R is a stellar TV that units a mighty excessive bar for the remainder of 2019’s TV contingent to comply with

Professionals

• Floor-breaking distinction for an LCD TV
• Floor-breaking viewing angles for an LCD TV
• Unbelievable HDR efficiency

Cons

• No Dolby Imaginative and prescient assist
• Some lacking shadow element in Commonplace mode
• Movement might be dealt with higher

Key Specs

• Evaluation Value: £3799
• Native 4K LCD TV
• Vast viewing angle expertise
• Bixby voice management
• Samsung’s distinctive QLED color system
• Devoted backlight dimming chip

What’s the Samsung QE65Q90R?

The Samsung Q90R (QE65Q90R) is the Korean model’s flagship 65-inch 4K QLED TV for 2019.

It’s a standing justified by the introduction of a groundbreaking backlighting system that will get nearer than any TV earlier than it to combining the brightness benefits of LCD screens with the viewing angles and distinction prowess of OLED.

Associated: Samsung QLED TV 2019

Samsung QE65Q90R – Design and Construct High quality

The QE65Q90R is a critical hunk of TV. It stands out extra across the again than the overwhelming majority of TVs, and weighs a ton. Don’t try and deal with it by your self if you already know what’s good for you. It’s definitely no competitors aesthetically for the extremely skinny joys of OLED expertise.

It wears its heftiness properly in some methods. As an example, the appliance of a metallic silver end to its outdoors edges distracts you from its depth. Additionally, when seen direct on, the bezel seems to be strikingly slim.

The QE65Q90R additionally boasts the newest model of Samsung’s Ambient Mode. This allows you to play digital artworks or images on the TV whenever you’re not watching it. Samsung has elevated the paintings choices obtainable for 2019, and added some cute animated choices.

There’s additionally a enjoyable ‘striplight’ screensaver that primarily enables you to bathe your room in numerous colored lighting.

Associated: Finest 4K TVs

A wall-mounted Samsung QE65Q90R in Ambient Mode

Since you possibly can present your individual pictures within the Ambient Mode, you might use {a photograph} of your wallpaper or paintwork, in order that the TV turns into nearly invisible.

In fact, I’m nonetheless undecided how many individuals will actually trouble with the Ambient Mode options. However the addition of tons extra choices – particularly the animations – might make person engagement extra doubtless.

The construct high quality of the TV’s most important bodywork and its centrally mounted, heavy-duty steel plate stand is exemplary.

The Samsung QE65Q90R’s sensible distant management

The QE65Q90R ships with two distant controls. A relatively plasticky however nonetheless very usable ‘regular’, one, and a smooth, metallic ‘sensible’ one.

The brand new sensible distant is fantastically crafted and responsive, and works properly for everyday use. Particularly now Samsung has added direct entry buttons for Netflix, Amazon Video and Rakuten TV.

Samsung QE65Q90R – Options

Whereas the Samsung QE65Q90R’s design-based options are definitely eye-catching, it’s the TV’s image skills that actually matter.

Notably eye-catching on this respect is its viewing angle assist. Not like regular LCD TVs, you possibly can watch the QE65Q90R from nearly any angle with out lack of color or distinction.

Associated: OLED vs QLED

This isn’t strictly talking a world first for LCD TVs, as Sony delivered an analogous impact with its 2018 ZF9. Nevertheless, Sony’s method required a compromise to the ZF9’s black ranges. The Samsung QE65Q90R’s huge angle expertise, alternatively, doesn’t scale back its black ranges. Quite the opposite: it produces black degree depths the like of which the LCD TV world hasn’t seen earlier than.

The viewing angle expertise combines two parts. First, a brand new optical layer reduces mild dispersion earlier than the sunshine enters the TV’s liquid crystals. Second, a brand new filter higher ‘scatters’ mild output from the display screen for shiny elements of the image with out polluting darkish areas.

A brand new black filter additionally soaks up ambient mild uncannily properly, additional boosting the look of darkish content material.

Then there’s the brand new backlight management chip. This sits separate to the chip used for different image processing techniques, and is dedicated to optimising the best way the TV makes use of its spectacular 480 zones of native dimming. Final yr’s Q9FN 4K flagship TVs, by comparability, crammed all its processing onto a single chip.

Associated: Finest TV

The Samsung QE65Q90R may even be used to create the feeling of one other window in your room!

The remainder of the picture processing has been improved by a brand new 4K model of the remarkably efficient AI chipset Samsung developed for its first 8K TVs.

The QE65Q90R’s 4 HDMIs don’t cowl the complete bandwidth of the newest true HDMI 2.1 connections. They do, nevertheless, supply some HDMI 2.1-related options. There’s assist for Freesync VRR gaming, 120fps 4K supply with 4:2:0 chroma sampling, and automated sport mode switching. Offered your linked supply helps such options, in fact.

Associated: What’s HDMI 2.1?

The Auto Sport Mode switches to a low enter lag mode (taking lower than 15ms to render photos) every time it detects a gaming system is linked.

There’s presently no assist for HDMI 2.1’s eARC functionality. So you possibly can’t cross uncompressed Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio by way of the TV to your AV receiver or soundbar.

The Samsung QE65Q90R’s HDR assist covers the HLG system most popular by broadcasters in addition to the comparatively new HDR10+ system. This latter platform provides further scene by scene data to assist TVs optimise their image efficiency.

Naturally the QE65Q90R additionally performs the trade customary ‘static’ HDR10 format. It doesn’t, nevertheless, assist the Dolby Imaginative and prescient format. Like HDR10+, Dolby Imaginative and prescient provides scene by scene metadata to enhance image high quality.

And in contrast to HDR10+, which to date is restricted to Amazon Prime and some 4K Blu-rays, Dolby Imaginative and prescient is extra broadly obtainable. Samsung has its causes for not supporting Dolby Imaginative and prescient, however nearly each different TV model now helps it.

Associated: What’s HDR10+?

The Q90R makes use of a brand new processor primarily based on the one Samsung developed for its 8K TVs

The sensible options within the QE65Q90R are complete. All the important thing video streaming platforms are coated, and delivered of their highest high quality kind. A helpful Common Information, in the meantime, does job of curating content material it thinks you’ll like primarily based in your viewing habits.

Samsung’s newest Bixby voice recognition engine additionally helps observe down content material sooner. And you should utilize this to regulate nearly each side of the TV’s arrange just by talking into the sensible distant’s mic.

Alexa and Google Assistant are supported too – although you’ll must have an exterior Echo or Google Residence system for it to work.

One last item of be aware is that Samsung not provides its ‘HDR+’ system for turning SDR photos into HDR. Apparently customers weren’t utilizing it a lot, and the title confused many. The TV now depends on the brand new AI image processor to optimise SDR photos to the display screen’s capabilities.

Samsung QE65Q90R – Set Up

Samsung continues to be stingy with its image preset choices with simply 4. And for me, solely two of those – Film and Commonplace – appear efficient beginning factors for a terrific viewing expertise.

The QE65Q90R is especially good with nature documentaries!

Commonplace is my favorite, because it delivers a dynamic, daring picture that absolutely exploits the TV’s intensive skills. Nevertheless, ensure you go into the Normal menu and switch off the Eco mode, in any other case the image will turn out to be significantly boring when watching in a darkish room.

I’d advise nudging the backlight down a few factors, and switching the Color Area from Native to Auto. You might also really feel compelled to push the brightness up one or two factors to spice up shadow element. In case you do that, don’t neglect that you just’re additionally shifting the image’s color tone.

I’d advocate, too, both turning off the set’s Auto Movement settings utterly, or else selecting ‘customized’ and setting judder and blur discount to a few or 4.

The Digital Clear View characteristic, in the meantime, might be turned off for good high quality sources. However it may be useful in decreasing noise for those who’re watching a really low high quality HD or SD supply.

The Film mode delivers a a lot much less shiny and saturated picture, however seems to be extra balanced and delivers extra shadow element. It’s designed to look nearer to the unique mastering values of the SDR or HDR content material you’re watching.

You want to take a slight yellowy undertone out of the Film mode through the white stability changes to get it trying its finest. In any other case, it’s rather more profitable than Samsung Film modes have beforehand been. As long as you don’t thoughts solely utilizing a comparatively restricted quantity of the QE65Q90R’s color and distinction potential.

Samsung QE65Q90R – Efficiency

The very first thing I assumed as I began watching the QE65Q90R was that this couldn’t be an LCD TV. The kind of black ranges and viewing angles it delivered may certainly solely be discovered on an OLED.

However no. Samsung hasn’t secretly snuck into the OLED fold. This actually continues to be an LCD TV. In reality, the extra I watched it, the extra I seen how its new OLED-like capabilities had been joined by different picture benefits that might solely belong to an LCD display screen.

Let’s speak about viewing angles first. Transferring across the TV, nearly to proper angles, I may see virtually no desaturation or washing out of black ranges. That is fairly unbelievable given the place we had been with LCD simply a few years in the past.

There’s a slight enhance in backlight ‘blooming’ round shiny objects from huge angles. However that is nonetheless pretty faint, and small beer versus the wholesale picture destruction LCD TVs typically undergo when seen off axis.

Associated: What’s 4K and Extremely HD?

Black degree efficiency is each bit as exceptional. In case you’re watching in a blacked out room and there’s a fade to black, the display screen disappears into the darkness, simply as OLEDs do when operating at their finest. There’s no sudden ‘flicker’ within the QE65Q90R’s backlight when the image comes again out of blackness, both.

Crucially the Samsung QE65Q90R’s exceptional black degree depth isn’t solely current with fades to black. It informs the whole image efficiency, enabling stunningly deep, wealthy black areas to share the display screen with spectacularly punchy shiny content material with virtually not one of the regular compromises such dynamic photos would normally require from LCD TVs.

So stand out shiny areas nonetheless look extraordinarily shiny and intense, relatively than having to be dimmed after they seem towards very darkish backdrops. And darkish areas don’t must have their brightness flooring raised to try to disguise the truth that LCD TV lighting doesn’t function on a pixel for pixel foundation like OLED TVs do.

The exceptional depth this new dimming engine delivers can’t be overstated. To assist in giving you some concept of simply how dynamic the image seems to be, particularly in Commonplace mode, I measured the QE65Q90R delivering peak brightness of 2050 nits on a ten% white HDR window with the Commonplace preset. And 1470 nits on the identical HDR window in Film preset. OLED TVs prime out at round 900 nits.

Associated: Finest 4K Blu-ray participant

There’s nonetheless another nice good thing about the QE65Q900R’s new backlight system. Because the set can ship shiny objects towards darkish backgrounds with out inflicting actually any backlight ‘blooming’, shiny objects can transfer across the display screen with out being accompanied by distracting patches of shifting backlighting. There isn’t even any mild creep into the black bars above and under for movies with huge side ratios.

This black degree consistency has a big impact in your degree of immersion. In addition to creating one other means during which I discover myself speaking about an LCD in OLED TV phrases.

Because the QE65Q90R has retained its customary brightness regardless of the brand new viewing angle and black degree enhancements, it additionally delivers kind of the identical very excessive color quantity we acquired with the 2018 Q9FN fashions.

This unlocks the huge color expertise you get alongside most HDR sources spectacularly properly. In reality, now that there’s just about no undesirable backlight greyness polluting the image, colors look even richer. Particularly throughout darkish scenes.

To sum all this up, the QE65Q90R delivers essentially the most impactful HDR photos I’ve ever seen.

Native 4K sources look ultra-sharp and outlined on the QE65Q90R. Crucially, the brand new 4K AI chipset enormously reduces the looks of shimmering noise over areas of intense element that has plagued earlier Samsung generations (until you softened the image off).

The upscaling of non-4K sources is a transparent enchancment, too. No less than relating to its capability to take away supply noise in the course of the upscaling course of.

Associated: What’s HDR?

The QE65Q90R enables you to run this ‘strip mild’ screensaver in all kinds of various colors, to alter your room’s atmosphere

Whereas the QE65Q90R’s photos are sensational for the overwhelming majority of the time, issues aren’t fairly good.

The most important situation is the best way shadow particulars might be squashed out of the darkest areas of the image when utilizing the Commonplace preset. This situation – presumably related to some over-eagerness of the brand new dimming chip – is especially evident when there’s a very small however shiny factor towards a really darkish background.

You’ll at all times get some lack of shadow element in darkish areas with any display screen that isn’t utilizing self-emissive expertise. However switching to the flatter, extra balanced Film mode reveals that you’re sacrificing appreciable detailing at occasions for the Commonplace mode’s larger dynamics.

Samsung’s Auto Movement processing mode additionally feels a bit heavy handed. It causes fairly noticeable processing artefacts when put beneath any kind of stress. As famous within the Set Up part, you possibly can enhance issues through the Customized movement choices. This nonetheless seems like an space Samsung may do higher in.

Lastly, Samsung has taken an especially subdued method to straightforward dynamic vary playback with the QE65Q90R. This results in fantastically pure trying colors by Samsung SDR requirements. And it helps guarantee black ranges look imperious, too.

It additionally implies that once more there might be fairly vital shadow element crushing in darkish areas. This time in Film mode greater than Commonplace mode. I definitely assume Samsung may have made the Commonplace SDR mode a lot brighter.

The QE65Q90R’s principally superb photos are partnered with some impressively potent sound. Regardless that the audio system are all mounted on the TV’s rear, they produce a punchy sound stage that spreads huge and excessive with out turning into incoherent. Spot results are properly positioned on this ‘wall of sound’ too, actually involving you within the motion.

Treble sounds clear and freed from harshness or sibilance, and bass within reason full of life and reasonably deep. The one catch is the audio system don’t settle for their bass limitations, and typically descend into crackling and distortion when a movie’s rumbles pushes actually low.

Associated: Finest Soundbars

Do you have to purchase a Samsung QE65Q90R?

The Samsung QE65Q90R is the primary of 2019’s new TVs to hit our check benches. So it’s at all times potential that one thing higher will come alongside within the coming months.

On the time of writing the QE65Q90R represents an enormous leap for LCD expertise. The way in which it combines a efficient viewing angles with imperious new black ranges is unprecedented. These black ranges contribute to essentially the most all-round spectacular HDR photos the TV world has seen up to now.

The QE65Q90R’s doubtless – although not confirmed – worth of north of £3,500 will probably be too excessive for a lot of. That opens the door to cheaper options such because the Sony 65XF9005, or, doubtlessly, Samsung’s personal step-down Q85R and Q80R ranges. You could possibly even decide up certainly one of final yr’s Samsung 65Q9FNs at a reduction worth.

The QE65Q90R is such a step ahead for LCD, that its most important rivals at the moment are OLED TVs such because the LG C8, Sony AF9 and Philips 55 OLED 903. Whereas these units would possibly ship a contact extra lighting precision and 0 off-axis blooming, they’ll’t attain the QE65Q90R’s brightness ranges. And you have to deal with them with slightly care to keep away from picture retention, too.

Verdict

The Samsung QE65Q90R is a superlative TV that will get nearer than any set earlier than it to marrying the advantages of LCD and OLED in a single bundle.

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Rating intimately

• Options 9

• Worth 8

• Good TV 9

• Picture High quality 10

• Design 8

• Sound High quality 8

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