Although a few months ago Samsung closed a big deal with LG to supply it with QLED screens, for Samsung, their main business was and continues to be their QLED TVs. Accordingly, we received for review the QN900C – their flagship TV for the Neo QLED series, which has 8K resolution.
The TV we received for review is a respectable 65 inches, but of course, there are other sizes in the series. In terms of appearance, there is nothing unusual or head-turning about it, but it is still impressive: it has a wide metallic standing base (leg) in the center of the main body, and its edges are thin and metallic. The most prominent components on its back are the circles of the speakers, the woofers, four on each side.
Also contributing to the clean look is the fact that, like other Samsung TVs, it is cable-free except for a power cable, and a thin optical cable that connects it to its connection hub. The hub can of course be hidden from view and concealed under the cabinet, although it also looks perfectly fine exposed.
Reviewing the QN900C TV by Samsung
Remote: The QN900C’s remote is slim and elegant, with buttons for direct access to Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video. The most prominent component is actually on the back of the remote: a small solar panel, which charges the remote’s batteries directly, almost eliminating the need to charge it. This is not a necessary feature for a remote, but it is really nice to have it.
I tried the QN900C with a variety of content in a variety of formats – series, movies, streaming, old content, and in 4K. And at first I was not blown away. The image quality is good, but not exceptional. I always test TVs on the “Movie” or “Cinematic” setting which are settings with less processing and a warm color palette. I really dislike the “soap opera” look and the live picture that you usually get in other settings on these TVs, as the picture looks too smoothed out and artificial.
The colors are good, the sharpness is nice, no complaints. But the TV just didn’t shine. I didn’t get the exciting picture from it that I experienced with TCL or with Sony’s OLED, both of which are significantly cheaper than it (see also the price section below). It was at the level that I called Samsung’s PR people and wondered: Am I doing something wrong? But then I tried on the QN900C 8K content that I found on YouTube.
Suddenly, this TV started to shine: with a resolution that is perfectly suited to it, I suddenly got more vivid colors than usual, and excellent sharpness. In general, if the TV up until now seemed sleepy, suddenly it came to life.
In terms of image quality, this is a television that is designed and prepared for the future of 8K, even if the supply of content in this format is still relatively scarce (but with the introduction of smartphone cameras that record in 8K, the justification for purchasing such a screen only increases). Like other QLED screens, its brightness is excellent.
The QN900C produces a really good sound thanks to the eight woofers on its back, and a whole system of tweeters (Twitter is not just a social network, it’s also the name of the small speakers that produce the high sounds), which is fixed in the frame, with a total power of 90 watts, which is quite respectable. Samsung calls this system ‘Q Symphony’.
The sound is high-quality, clean and clear, but it is not as surround as the sound that I experienced with the TCL 845.
The QN900C of course runs on Samsung’s home operating system, the TIZEN. In one of its latest versions, Samsung renewed the system and carried out a full redesign. The new TIZEN is easy to operate and understand, and its application support, as a mature and stable system, is excellent. There is no popular service here that you won’t find on the main screen, and you can combine local sources and streaming services in the top menu, which is really nice.
Samsung sells their flagship TV in the Neo QLED series at the steep price of around NIS 18,000 for the size tested (the larger sizes cost even more).
That’s a very expensive price for a QLED TV.
Is it worth this price?
The only ones for whom I would answer yes to this question is early adopters who want a TV that is already ready for future formats before they becomes mainstream, or people who specifically want to consume 8K content – this TV is excellent, and will make the most of every pixel. For everyone else, well, there are cheaper options with close if not identical display quality.
Samsung QN900C Score: 9
