The mix of an 8K decision with beautiful brightness, distinction and color provides as much as the very best king-sized TV photos we have ever seen
Execs
- Gorgeous distinction, brightness and color
- Extensive-angle viewing know-how works brilliantly
- Exceptional upscaling system
Cons
- Slight backlight blooming with off-axis viewing
- Its £10k worth will restrict its viewers
- Setup requires some care
Key Specs
- Evaluate Value: £9,999
- 82-inch LCD TV
- native 8K decision
- Direct lighting with 480 native dimming zones
- Extensive-angle viewing know-how
- Exterior connections field with only one cable going into the display screen
What’s the Samsung QE82Q950R?
The Samsung QE82Q950R is the primary mannequin from the Korean model’s second era of 8K TVs. It sports activities an 82-inch display screen, and improves over Samsung’s authentic Q900R 8K units in a number of methods. Particularly, it carries Samsung’s new wide-angle viewing know-how, higher connectivity, and an improved 8K upscaling system. And the outcomes are nothing in need of spectacular.
Associated: What’s 8K TV?
Samsung QE82Q950R – Design and construct high quality
Whereas the Samsung QE82Q950R differs from the unique Q900R 8K sequence in some methods, its design is just about equivalent. No less than when it’s switched off.
You get the identical darkish, slender body wrapped across the colossal display screen, and the identical pair of straightforward, slender ft. Until you wall cling it, after all.
It additionally makes use of an exterior connections field, as did its predecessor. This allows the display screen to obtain its energy, photos and sound by way of a single cable.
The QE82Q950R once more follows the lead of the Q900R sequence by supporting Samsung’s Ambient mode. This allows you to substitute the same old black display screen when the TV isn’t being watched with a good selection of screensavers. These might even embrace digital pictures of your wall, in order that the TV blends in together with your decor.
Samsung has expanded the screensaver choices accessible for its gen-two 8K TV. There at the moment are some cool animations, in addition to new lighting choices designed to forged completely different hues into your room.
The display screen feels robustly constructed – though I do fear barely in regards to the pressure put by means of the 4 pretty small screws that connect the ft.
Associated: Finest TVs
Samsung QE82Q950R – Options
The principle factor to concentrate on right here is the variations between the QE82Q950R and its Q900R predecessors. These begin with its connections, with the brand new mannequin making considered one of its 4 HDMIs able to dealing with 8K sources at as much as 60 frames per second. The unique Q900R’s HDMIs might deal with 8K solely as much as 30fps (though Q900R homeowners can now get a free 8K/60Hz improve field).
Different connections on the QE82Q950R – together with three USB ports – stay the identical.
Essentially the most eye-catching image improve of the QE82Q950R is its wide-angle viewing assist. First seen on Samsung’s QE65Q90R, this overcomes LCD’s typical viewing angle limitations by including two new layers to the LCD panel design. One higher focuses the sunshine from the backlight system, whereas the opposite scatters the sunshine in additional instructions because it emerges from the display screen.
This strategy delivers OLED-like viewing angles with out the overall distinction loss attributable to the wide-angle system Sony developed for its ZF9 TVs.
The QE82Q950R additionally carries a greater scaling engine. It is because it makes use of the “AI”-enhanced 4K upscaler present in Samsung’s new Q90R 4K flagships for the primary a part of its two-stage upscaling system, which means it could actually cross higher high quality supply pictures into the second, 8K half.
This can be a fairly necessary enhancement given that nearly every little thing you’ll watch on the 8K QE82Q950R proper now should be upscaled.
Whereas the QE82Q950R “borrows” the brand new 4K upscaling chip from Samsung’s flagship Q90R 4K vary, it doesn’t additionally get that mannequin’s new, devoted backlight management chip. As we’ll see later, although, this isn’t essentially a nasty factor.
One final key enchancment the QE82Q950R sports activities makes over the Q900R is a brand new black filter on the display screen’s entrance. This absorbs ambient gentle uncannily effectively, boosting the TV’s obvious black degree response in typical lounge circumstances.
Word, although, that the filter can diffract very brilliant direct gentle right into a barely distracting rainbow impact. So, if doable, attempt to keep away from inserting the display screen instantly reverse wall lights.
Associated: Every little thing it is advisable learn about Dolby Imaginative and prescient
The QE82Q950R supplies some sensible options that weren’t accessible on its predecessor. Samsung’s personal voice management/recognition system now responds to extra pure speech whereas nonetheless integrating with just about each a part of the TV’s setup and content material search methods. The QE82Q950R additionally works with exterior Amazon Alexa and Google House voice-recognition gadgets.
As with Samsung’s debut 8K TVs, the QE82Q950R’s lighting system locations its LEDs instantly behind the display screen. And it drives these LEDs with a neighborhood dimming system that works throughout a powerful 480 zones. This needs to be adequate to offer the form of native gentle management that an 82-inch LCD TV actually wants.
Samsung’s “Eden” sensible platform covers an enormous vary of apps and providers. These embrace the 4K, HDR variations of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube. UK customers get the total suite of key broadcaster catch-up apps, too – though, sadly, they don’t sit throughout the helpful Freeview Play container.
It’s a disgrace that the QE82Q950R doesn’t play the handful of 8K movies at the moment accessible on YouTube. It isn’t as if we have now many native 8K sources to select from proper now, in any case!
As with Samsung’s different 2018 and 2019 HDR TVs, the QE82Q950R helps the trade normal HDR10 system, the (predominantly broadcast) HLG format, and Samsung’s HDR10+ system.
Associated: What’s Freeview Play?
This latter format, which improves image high quality by including further scene-by-scene image info, is rising in significance. We now have twentieth Century Fox, Lionsgate and IMAX releasing 4K Blu-rays in it, alongside all Amazon HDR exhibits.
It’s nonetheless a disgrace that the QE82Q950R doesn’t additionally assist the rival Dolby Imaginative and prescient platform. This works in an identical option to HDR10+, however is on the market on a a lot wider vary of sources.
One different function extra surprisingly not supported by the QE82Q950R is eARC. This implies you may’t cross uncompressed “TrueHD” Dolby Atmos or DTS:X object-based audio codecs (presumably acquired from 4K Blu-ray gamers) to suitable soundbars or receivers. Though the TV can nonetheless use its fundamental ARC system to ship compressed Dolby Atmos from built-in apps (similar to Netflix) by way of the Dolby Digital Plus service format.
The QE82Q950R’s native 8K decision doesn’t cease it delivering a few key gaming options. First, assist for FreeSync variable refresh charges, and second, assist for automated switching to the TV’s Sport mode when recreation sources are detected. The Sport mode reduces enter lag to only 15ms.
There’s additionally a brand new Dynamic Black Equaliser that permits you to increase the black degree of darkish elements of recreation graphics with out affecting the brightness of every little thing else. The thought being you could then spot enemies hiding in the dead of night extra simply.
Associated: What’s HDR10+
Samsung QE82Q950R – Setup
AV purists would possibly desire the Samsung QE82Q950R’s Film preset, however personally I believe this leaves photos wanting moderately flat. It fails to take full benefit of the TV’s brightness and color capabilities, too. I believe the Customary preset would be the one most individuals will desire.
Simply be sure to flip off the Eco mode within the Common menu when utilizing Customary mode. In case you don’t, the image will turn out to be depressingly boring throughout darkish room viewing.
Additionally contemplate adjusting the Digital Clear View function for various sources. It’s finest for good 4K sources, Low for HD sources and Excessive for low high quality/closely compressed/SDR sources. Alas, the Auto mode isn’t fairly as intelligent as I’d like.
The identical goes for the QE82Q950R’s movement processing. The Auto mode could cause noticeable undesirable unwanted effects, even with high-quality sources. So both flip it off, or select Customized, with blur and judder components set to a few or 4 every.
One different setup quirk issues the Distinction Enhancer. Throughout my assessment, the Excessive setting for this defied expectation by making the image really look darker than the Low setting. This might be a mistake that Samsung will finally repair. Proper now, although, that’s the place we’re. And really, the at the moment much less aggressive Excessive setting is the best choice for me.
Samsung QE82Q950R – Efficiency
The Samsung QE82Q950R makes a fair higher case for 8K TVs than its vastly spectacular predecessor. Although there continues to be a dearth of native 8K content material.
The Samsung QE82Q950R.
A giant a part of that is right down to its upscaling being even higher than that of the Q900Rs. The upgraded 4K chip within the upscaling chain delivers a marked enhance in sharpness and element with all sub-8K sources. Even – really, particularly – with high-quality 4K pictures, similar to these from 4K Blu-rays.
There’s a way more granular, refined look to element within the new TV’s upscaled photos, in addition to much less interference from supply noise. Consequently, pictures look noticeably crisper and extra detailed than they do on typical native 4K TVs.
This sense of element with upscaled content material reduces as you step down the image supply chain. However solely as a result of the processing sensibly shifts focus from over-sharpening grubby-looking sources to cleansing up video noise – once more, one thing that the upscaler does remarkably effectively. Particularly in case you take the difficulty to regulate the Digital Clear View function alongside the traces urged earlier.
Possibly an important factor in regards to the QE82Q950R’s upscaling, although, is the points-per-inch impact. This implies you will get just about the identical variety of pixels per inch of image on an 82-inch 8K display screen you could get on a a lot smaller 4K display screen. Consequently, the image doesn’t look softer and fewer clear and crisp as it could on an 82-inch 4K display screen.
The significance of that is laborious to convey in mere phrases. Having seen an 85-inch 8K display screen working towards a 30-inch 4K mastering OLED display screen, I can affirm that the distinction is very easy to see with your individual eyes.
If you could find some native 8K content material to feed right into a QE82Q950R, the image story will get much more thrilling. The outcomes are actually breathtaking, providing you with photos containing ranges of element and readability with which no equally enormous 4K TV can evaluate.
A picture of a stained-glass window (from a specifically created Samsung 8K Demo reel) appears to be like so pristine, detailed and life-like that it actually feels just like the TV has changed into the window! With a shot wanting straight down on New York’s Central Park, in the meantime, the element is such you could make out particular person home windows and even brickwork in buildings, regardless of the appreciable top from which the shot is taken.
Different cityscape 8K footage supplies a reminder of how extra decision helps photos resolve a better sense of depth and three-dimensional area.
After all, there are individuals on the market who will swear blind that 8K can’t ship any image advantages over 4K. All I can say to that’s that whereas 8K’s impression reduces on smaller screens (it turns into fairly marginal at 65 inches), on this 82-inch set the distinction is evident for all to see.
Even in case you’re nonetheless not satisfied about 8K’s charms whereas there stay no 8K sources, the QE82Q950R has a mountain of different points of interest to tempt you.
For starters, it’s immensely brilliant. I measured 2750 nits on a ten% window in Customary mode, and 1670 nits within the much less explosive Film mode. This isn’t as excessive because the 4000 nits Samsung claims for the TV, however I believe the display screen actually can hit that form of degree with very small brilliant highlights.
Having a lot gentle at its disposal permits it to ship right now’s HDR sources with a fearsome punch. The brightest elements of HDR pictures look extra intense and spectacular than they ever have on a TV earlier than. Particularly with 4K Blu-rays which were mastered to peak brightness ranges of 4000 nits, such because the just lately launched Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.
It isn’t simply the quantity of brightness that unlocks HDR’s charms so fantastically, although. Having a lot brightness additionally expands the display screen’s color quantity (the mixture of color and light-weight). This implies it’s in a position to categorical a jaw-dropping quantity of the total color palette you get with HDR/extensive color sources of the kind discovered on 4K Blu-rays and HDR streaming providers.
The truth that each single HDR supply I attempted seemed unimaginable on the QE82Q950R isn’t solely right down to its brightness, 8K sharpness or (QLED assisted) color response. The set additionally delivers a superlative black degree/backlight efficiency.
Darkish elements of the image look exceptionally black by LCD TV requirements. Not fairly as inky, maybe, as on Samsung’s Q900R, however deeper than these of some other king-sized LCD TV. Which is kind of one thing within the context of the intense quantities of brightness the display screen additionally pumps out.
What’s extra, the QE82Q950R retains extra element within the darkest elements of the image than the Q90R – a minimum of in Customary mode. Associated to this, it additionally doesn’t dim very small brilliant areas (to keep away from backlight blooming) as a lot because the Q90R. Or as a lot because the Q900Rs did of their preliminary launch earlier than a firmware up to date sorted out this concern.
It’s notable, too, how the QE82Q950R’s dealing with of darkish scenes is bolstered in brilliant rooms by its light-absorbing filter.
Are the QE82Q950R’s black ranges fairly pretty much as good as these of OLED TVs? No. However they’re glorious, and retain their integrity and uniformity within the context of peak brightness, which matches significantly past the capabilities of OLED TVs.
For all their brilliance, the Samsung QE82Q950R’s photos aren’t flawless. As an illustration, whereas its viewing angle assist is ground-breakingly nice for an LCD TV, watching from down the TV’s sides can introduce gentle backlight blooming round stand out brilliant objects.
Inevitably, this reduces distinction in these areas – though to not the extent of the overall lack of distinction with LCD screens.
I’ve seen proof to recommend that the way in which Samsung’s extensive viewing angle algorithms work has the potential to scale back brightness with off-axis viewing, in addition to impacting fantastic element decision, particularly in comparatively darkish areas. Nonetheless, to the bare eye, from something like wise viewing distances, the QE82Q950R I examined actually didn’t appear to undergo badly in both space. The one actually marked viewing-angle concern was the raised blooming.
It might be that the workings of the viewing-angle algorithms are concerned with the occasional lack of small areas of element in darkish scenes – even when viewing from instantly on – famous in my assessment of the 4K Samsung QE65Q90R. This may additionally clarify why the difficulty doesn’t happen as clearly on the Q950R set, for the reason that 8K mannequin has a lot extra brightness at its disposal to fight any dimming results of the wide-angle algorithms.
Whereas the upscaling engine is usually distinctive, particularly while you cease to consider what number of pixels of image info it’s conjuring up, it could actually go away sure forms of dense image info – principally distant timber and foliage – wanting somewhat softer than the remaining.
The Auto Movement mode could cause barely extra undesirable unwanted effects than it maybe ought to on such an in any other case intelligent TV. Though you will get spherical this by way of the supplied image changes.
The brand new 8K AI system within the QE82Q950R does an amazingly good job of including tens of millions – and tens of millions – of pixels to sub-8K sources.
Equally, as famous earlier, the upscaling can ship higher outcomes with some guide enter on the Digital Clear View function than sticking with its Auto mode.
These points are fairly small to anybody keen to place a little bit of leg work into getting the very best from the QE82Q950R. And certainly in case you’ve simply spent ten grand on a TV, you gained’t thoughts making the odd adjustment to maximise the return in your funding? Particularly when a sensibly arrange Samsung QE82Q950R delivers what are for me the very best all-round photos I’ve seen on a tv.
It appears a disgrace after that image excessive notice to need to report that the QE82Q950R’s sound isn’t pretty much as good. A scarcity of ahead projection leaves it sounding barely muffled and missing in assault. It delivers a large soundstage, a minimum of, and positions results fairly precisely inside that soundstage. However the way in which these results at all times sound like they’re barely behind the on-screen motion.
One final key efficiency concern to cowl is the QE82Q950R’s response time. I measured this at simply 15.4ms utilizing the Sport preset. That’s a remarkably low determine by any TV requirements, by no means thoughts one which’s having to upscale photos to 8K.
Why purchase a Samsung QE82Q950R?
The truth that the Samsung QE82Q950R prices £10,000 instantly locations a fairly strict restrict on the dimensions of its potential market. As well as, some will really feel that they simply don’t need to commit a lot cash to an 8K TV till, a minimum of, there’s extra actual 8K content material round.
Some AV lovers may also discover it laborious to grasp why a £10,000 TV doesn’t embrace Dolby Imaginative and prescient decoding.
Towards these completely sane arguments comes the easy, heart-tugging proven fact that the QE82Q950R delivers the all-round most spectacular and fascinating photos of any big-screen TV I’ve examined.
The 8K decision performs its half on this, for certain. However it’s really different image options – its brightness, color vary, distinction and new viewing-angle prowess – that seal the luxurious deal.
Verdict
Whereas its lack of Dolby Imaginative and prescient assist is irritating, the Samsung QE82Q950R’s photos are so good that, if I had £10,000 and a decent-sized residing or residence cinema room, then that is the TV I’d be shopping for.
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We take a look at each TV we assessment completely over an prolonged time period. We use trade normal checks to match options correctly. We’ll at all times let you know what we discover. We by no means, ever, settle for cash to assessment a product.
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Used as the primary TV for the assessment interval
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Examined with broadcast content material (HD/SD), video streams and demo discs
