Samsung

QN900B 75" Neo QLED 8K Smart TV

AUD $7,999 RRP

Last year's Samsung Q900A turned out to be quite the surprise, its combination of inky blacks and high luminance creating some of the finest scenes I've ever seen. Of course, it couldn't match self-emissive displays in terms of true black subjectively, though it was often hard to tell the two apart. So, given a chance to spend some time with its successor – the Q900B – my bags were hastily packed and waiting by the door…

Like its predecessor, the Q900B is an 8K Smart TV LED/LCD television that uses full-array local dimming (FALD) and Samsung's Quantum Dot technology. In short, red and green quantum dots are used in conjunction with the blue LEDs of the TV's backlight to produce both purer whites and a wider colour spectrum. The Q900B utilises the same backlight system, albeit with some improvements. 

Rather than conventional LEDs, which are packaged within a lens, the Q900B LEDs are attached directly to the substrate. This is then covered in a micro-layer that controls the light output cone. The benefits of this, Samsung claims, are manifold. By reducing the size of the LEDs – which by the way, are a fortieth of the size of lens-based LEDs – the dimming zones number in the thousands, as opposed to the hundreds found in conventional LED/LCD televisions.

The Q900B improves on this design with the addition of Samsung's new Shape Adaptive Light Technology – my suggestion of abbreviating this to SALT is still with Samsung's marketing team, although I'm not expecting a response any time soon… 

Shape Adaptive Light Technology uses the television's AI engine to analyse objects and control contrast accordingly. It essentially gives the Q900B greater control over its dimming zones, which Samsung reminds me is equally, if not more important than the number of dimming zones. The results, the company claims, are increased brightness and less blooming. Blooming is an artefact that can plague FALD televisions, manifesting as a halo of light around bright objects on dark backgrounds, such as stars and street lights.

Processing has also been increased from 12-bit to 14-bit in the Q900B, resulting in 16,384 levels of grayscale, triple that of last year's Q900A. This means it should offer finer gradation in images, most evident in shadow detail as there are essentially more 'above-black' steps before an image descends into black. The same holds true with high-level detail such as clouds and torchlight. The Q900B uses Samsung's latest iteration of their Neo Quantum Processor with Deep Learning/AI technology. 

Comparing images to a database of reference images allows the processor to increase both resolution and contrast (with Shape Adaptive Light Technology) of low-resolution images. It also adds two new neural networks to improve input lag and picture quality of the cloud-based gaming platforms of today.

The Q900B has a native refresh rate of 200Hz and is compatible with Hybrid Log-Gamma and HDR10+, but unfortunately does not support Dolby Vision. This means the Q900B will display Dolby Vision content in HDR10. 

Connected to a gaming console or PC gaming system, the Q900B automatically switches to Game Mode and launches the Game Bar, allowing gamers to change picture settings before moving into gameplay. Game mode reduces input lag to a stated 9.8ms for 4K@60Hz and 5.8ms for 4K@120Hz. Also added is VRR – variable refresh rate – support for PC gaming up to 140Hz. 

While we'd recommend pairing a television of this calibre with a capable surround system or soundbar, the Q900B is equipped with an 80 watt (combined) 6.2.2 channel speaker system. This is arrayed on both the top and bottom of the TV, which – coupled with native Dolby Atmos decoding – gives the Q900B the ability to better track sound across the screen. 

Samsung's Object Tracking System (OTS Pro) also makes a return this year. OTS Pro adds the capability to analyse sound on a scene by scene basis and compensate accordingly. Q Symphony – now in its second iteration – synchronises sound between Q900B and compatible Samsung soundbars, using both the soundbar and the television's internal speakers. Naturally, a range of 'smarts' is included, such as support for Google Assistant, Alexa, Apple AirPlay 2 and Samsung's Smart Things app. Users can choose Bixby, Alexa or Google Assistant voice control.

UP CLOSE

I arrived at my suite in Sydney's Skye hotel to be greeted by a wall-mounted 75" Q900B. Unsurprisingly, such a large television is a prominent feature in any room, but inconspicuous is hardly first and foremost in mind when considering a display of this size. The screen is finished in a matt black anti-reflective coating like its predecessor. A 0.8mm bezel borders the 'Infinity-Screen', the silver metal sides of the television measuring 150mm, noticeably thicker than OLED televisions to accommodate the FALD. 

Samsung's one connect box does away with the usual tangle of cables. Cables connect directly to the one connect box, which is in turn connected directly to the Q900B with a single cable. It's a simple and elegant solution, enabling owners to store it in an entertainment unit or even a cupboard situated some distance from the television. It's twenty percent slimmer than last year's model and provides four HDMI inputs, three USB inputs, an RF input, ethernet and TOSLINK input. It also supports wireless and Bluetooth, and eARC.

The Q900B also comes with Samsung's One Remote Control. Forgoing an excess of buttons in favour of style, it's not only easy on the eye but intuitive to use. Powered by indoor light, it also does away with the need for batteries. The remote provides shortcuts for Prime, Netflix and Disney, with the home menu button bringing up a list of apps that includes all the usual suspects, anything extra downloadable from the app store.

If you would like to learn more about how the Q900B measured and calibrated, then please read on; otherwise, feel free to skip the following section…

MEASUREMENTS AND CALIBRATION

As picture settings have a profound impact on picture quality, the Q900A was calibrated to industry standards for both SDR and HDR with a Klein Instruments K10A colourimeter. This was profiled with a reference-grade 2nm JETI 1501 spectroradiometer for further accuracy. Test patterns for SDR and HDR were created by a Murideo 6G pattern generator, with 10% window patterns used for calibration and to measure light output. Additional test patterns were used from the Spears & Munsil HDR Benchmark and DVS HDR10 discs. Calibrating the Q900B to industry standards not only ensured it provided the best possible picture quality, but created a level playing field to judge picture quality. 

The Q900B has five picture modes consisting of Dynamic, Standard, Natural, Film-Maker and Movie. Calibration controls include twenty-point greyscale/gamma adjustment and a six-point colour management system (CMS). The Movie and Film-Maker picture modes are the most faithful to industry standards. In Film-Maker mode, the Q900B produced 297 cd/m² without any adjustment to the controls. 

This is an improvement over the Q900A, which I criticised last year for being too dim in Film-Maker mode; however, it's now too bright – Samsung, we're a tough bunch to please! Fortunately, it's as easy as reducing the brightness control to a more acceptable level. Although colour accuracy was reasonably good considering the Q900B was un-calibrated, greyscale accuracy had a noticeable lean towards green.

Switching to Movie Mode produced similar light output, at just over 300 cd/m and an almost identical greyscale as Film-Maker mode. Gamma response adhered very closely to 2.4, which seems to now be the industry-accepted standard for SDR, with reasonably good colour accuracy.

This product also offers a calibration tool, used with a smartphone to take measurements directly from the screen. Although it improved colour accuracy, the greyscale response still left a lot to be desired. Movie was calibrated for SDR and HDR critical viewing, after which the Q900B produced a very reasonable 160 cd/m² peak light output. Post calibration greyscale/gamma performance was excellent with an average dE of 0.27, while colour error averaged 0.72 with Calman's colour checker. This level of performance and accuracy is a rarity in any consumer television.

In HDR mode, the Q900B produced 1,891 cd/m² before calibration. A marked increase on the Q900A which produced 1,452 cd/m², more so when you consider the Q900A was ten inches smaller than the 75" Q900B review model. It achieved 93.58% of UHDA-P3 1931xy and 95.65% of UHDA-P3 Percent 1976 UV, the wider colour space used in 4K Ultra HD. The coverage is almost identical to last year's Q900A and largely consistent with OLED TVs I have tested. HDR greyscale accuracy was once again superb after calibration; the high dE in some points primarily reflects the EOTF tracking of the Q900B. This is due to the fact that the Q900B doesn't entirely adhere to the PQ curve in HDR.

PICTURE PERFECT

Samsung's Q900B produces excellent images in both SDR and HDR. Its combination of inky blacks and brightness creates punchy images with an incredible sense of depth and superb shadow detail, thanks to its 14-bit processing.

The resolution is equally outstanding; the 8K resolution gives images a solidness and depth its 4K counterparts can't match. Coupled with excellent colour tracking, the Q900B can produce highly realistic images, although it's none too forgiving of poor source material. For instance, with the Netflix Dolby Vision/HDR10 documentary Our Planet, images were rock-solid and highly detailed. While the difference between native 4K and 4K content upscaled to 8K on the Q900B can be subtle, the increased depth of the upscaled image is immediately apparent.

Moving to Jumanji: The Next Level, the Q900B proves that it's equally capable with SDR content. With a good quality transfer such as this, it shines; the combination of black levels and excellent gamma tracking gave the transfer an incredible sense of depth. Also, despite its limited range, the 14-bit processing revealed more shadow detail than I thought possible from the SDR transfer.

Colour reproduction after calibration is likewise impressive, drawing the eye into the image. Bold primary colours in objects such as clothing looked superb, enjoying an excellent contrast and depth but nonetheless remaining lifelike, while skin tones enjoyed a sense of realism.

However, it's not all roses, as Netflix's SDR presentation of Top Gun left more than a little to be desired. And like the Q900A, the new Q900B struggles with poor quality source material. In this regard, OLEDs tend to be a bit more forgiving of lacklustre material, whereas the Q900B – like many LED/LCDs televisions – tends to draw more attention to any faults in the transfer. This shouldn't be a major concern but is worth keeping in mind if you stream low-quality sources or watch a lot of non-HD television. 

With Top Gun passed on the credits, I noticed some blooming on the white text against a black background; it was largely negated when I was on-axis to the big screen. Adept as modern LCD/LED televisions such as the Q900B have become at dealing with off-axis viewing, it's a reminder that if you're contemplating the Q900B – or, for that matter, any LED/LCD television – to achieve the absolute best in terms of picture quality, ensure the primary viewing position is on-axis.

On the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of quality is Netflix's Dolby Vision/HDR10 transfer of Kate. With good quality transfers such as this, the Q900B dazzles. With a black border painted on the wall behind the screen, the black borders on the 2.40:1 presentation seemingly disappeared. Coupled with the Q900 B's Infinity Screen, it appears to almost float in space against the black wall.

A transfer such as this is where the planets align for the big Samsung. Its inky-blacks, high brightness, 8K resolution and 14-bit processing create jaw-dropping images. Images were razor-sharp, while its high light output and excellent black levels gave the film's few daytime scenes an added sense of depth and realism that I'm not used to seeing. Using the same scene with the Kabuki dancers that I used to evaluate the Q900A, the Q900B did an exceptional job revealing fine shadow detail. Here it shows the finest gradation in the darker scenes, giving the scene a heightened sense of depth and realism. While I didn't have the Q900A on hand to compare, the newer Q900B seems to take the already impressive detail to the next step. 

THE VERDICT

Samsung's new Q900B may not be the quantum leap we experienced with last year's Q900A but is nonetheless the next step in the evolution of an already impressive television. Its higher brightness and greater precision in its backlighting system give it the edge over last year's Q900A in both black levels and blooming.

Meanwhile, the 14-bit processing opens up images, which coupled with the 8K resolution, gives images exceptional depth and realism. As good as the Q900B is with off-axis viewing, if achieving the pinnacle in picture performance is important to you, ensure that at least the primary viewing position is on-axis to the screen. The Q900B isn't quite an 'end-game' TV but really is an exceptional display. Capable of producing stunning images, it's more than up to the task of being the centre-piece of an excellent home theatre system. Like last year's model before it, this is an essential audition.

For more information visit Samsung