When it comes to TV reality, there are only two brands in the top end premium TV market, LG, and Samsung, with both South Korean Companies controlling over 70% of the top end premium TV market.
The third player is Sony, however they rarely offer their TVs up for review, other than via a journalist they can “trust” to give a positive review – and we are not into “favouritist journalism”.
Among the arsenal of new TVs being launched this year is Samsung’s all new 8K 75″ QN900B, which we have just reviewed.
A TV today is more an entertainment management system with a screen, and what amazes me is how much improvement Samsung has actually achieved during the past 12 months with their TVs. The other good news is that Samsung’s second generation of 8K Neo QLED televisions is priced fractionally lower than its predecessor.
The improvement in both display connectivity and audio is clearly evident with their all new 8K 75″ QN900B, where software is playing a key role in delivering improved sound and display performance.
As I have said before, Samsung is in a class of their own when it comes to processors and in the premium TV market today, it’s all about the marriage of software AI and a new generation of processor that can handle the multitude of commands being throw at it; which is why you pay a tad more for this level of TV technology.
Among the Samsung 2022 entertainment offering is the all new HW990B soundbar which is one of the best we have seen from a TV brand in a long time.
At $2,099, this bar falls into the premium league, up against the $3,900 Denon and $4K plus Sennheiser soundbar.
The big difference is that this sound bar has the added benefit of being engineered from the ground up to automatically integrate with the QN900Bm including their 85” and 65” 900 series models.
Samsung does own Harman and JB;L both are leading global audio Companies who make audio gear for the home and in cars, so its no surprise that Samsung can come up with a good sound system.
The new TV and soundbar comes with Samsung’s Q-Symphony 2.0 technology and is the world’s first Dolby Atmos surround sound bar that connects wirelessly, delivering true 11.1.4ch sound. The inclusion of built-in up-firing speakers allows for immersive Dolby Atmos audio without the need for a soundbar, should you so decide.
That said, the QN900B’s updated Q-Symphony audio sounds even better when its speakers are combined with Samsung’s soundbars, producing full, enveloping surround sound without any noticeable echo.
The Q-Symphony powered TV and Soundbar delivers perfect harmony, and I am now convinced that it makes a lot of sense when buying a soundbar, especially when you are forking out top dollars for a premium model, to buy a model that has been customised to work in sync with the software and AI technology built into the TV.
The difference that this soundbar made to my viewing experience was significant, especially when it came to being able to hear dialogue and when watching a big budget movie or 4K TV series.
Samsung’s QN900B Neo QLED 8K TV has, at the heart of its display, a new generation of Mini LED television technology that delivers a much-improved viewing experience than prior models. When you throw in the improved processor, AI and a new generation of software, I doubt that we are going to see a better TV this year.
The Quantum Matrix Technology Pro technology delivers Mini LEDs shrunk to 1/40th the size of other backlights that we have seen from Samsung in the past, and this makes a big difference with their 2022 8K TV offering.
Having said that, LG is about to roll out a new generation of OLED TVs and so is Samsung, with the battle between LG and Samsung set to move to a new level where the debate will not be about display but the integration of each Companies processor and software technology.
What LG has is a superb webOS smart TV platform, while Samsung is offering up Tizen – their own smart TV platform.
With their 2022 models, such as the Samsung 8K 75″ QN900B, the management of content is based on a new Smart Hub user interface, which is more about revenue raising, with Samsung now getting a cut of the subscription revue from streaming apps and the delivery of Samsung content and the roll out of Samsung advertising.
While owners get a full-screen, Google TV-style menu that’s packed with an abundance of third-party services and streaming services that Samsung nets millions from, it’s still not user friendly with access to settings and other key operating systems not as good as the old Samsung smart TV software.
When it comes to hardware, your entertainment experience, gaming, or watching a great game of sport, this TV coupled with the new Samsung soundbar is the best in the market today.
With next generation 8K technology, object tracking sound, and AI upscaling built in, virtually anything you watch looks incredible, and better than any TV experience I have seen before.
Image processing (particularly when it comes to backlighting accuracy) is vastly improved and when you add the automatic processing that is going on in the background — based around Dolby Atmos and Samsung’s Q-Symphony 2.0 technology which automatically sets up your TV for optimum output based on the size and shape of the room where the TV is located — what you get is a cutting-edge entertainment experience.
The updated Neo Quantum Processor that boasts new Shape Adaptive Light technology is also perfect for gamers, with the 144Hz gaming mode display delivering a new level of responsiveness and sharper picture and image rendering making it ideal for fast action motion games.
This Samsung flagship also offers Dynamic Black Equaliser that allows players to adjust the darkness of shadows.
When it comes to look, shape and aesthetics, Samsung is a great designer of products and this year’s Neo QLED 8K flagship is incredibly stylish with its slim line minimalism, and bezel-free ‘Infinity’ display.
Okay, you can never hide a TV, but you can make it a desirable piece of technology for the home and that exactly what Samsung has done with this 8K entertainment and home management system. For example, if you compare last year’s Samsung 8K TVs you will see that their designers have made a slight change to the grille: instead of small holes this year’s model has larger, pill-shaped diagonal holes.
The grilles incorporates a 90W 6.2.4 channel system (12 speakers), as opposed to the 80W 6.2.2 channel (10 speakers) setup we got last time around.
There are also some neat additional features built in.
Take for example the built in Google Duo which, when you attach a web cam so that you can do great family video calls standing in front of a 75” TV, looks really cool.
I am also a big fan of Samsung’s Smart Things app; this is a neat piece of Software that is loaded onto a Samsung smartphone or tablet.
I was able to use this technology to automatically calibrate the QN900B TV and then control it from my mobile. Another plus is the solar remote that comes with this TV.
Another big plus is the one connect box which, instead of being a separate stand-alone box, now attachs to the back of the TV, hidden from view. It links to the TV via a single near-transparent that delivers both power and data transfer.
The Samsung Connect box has a Digital Audio Out (Optical) port, three USB 2.0 port, four HDMI 2.1 ports (eARC support is found in HDMI 3), an ethernet (LAN) port, , and an RF input for your TV antenna.
Conclusion
Samsung is the world’s #1 TV company and the new 8K 75″ QN900B is the reason why consumers who have purchased Samsung TVs in the past keep coming back to the brand. Its all about quality and performance and the delivery today of an entertainment and management system that is way beyond the TVs of yesterday.
Streaming, management of devices and processors that deliver top end audio and display capabilities are built into this TV, which itself is a masterpiece when it comes to looks and aesthetics.
Research shows that an entertainment system such as the Samsung 8K 75″ QN900B is the most important and often the most used piece of technology in a home, which is why it’s worth paying that little bit extra to get a great movie or sporting moment experience.
The single weakness is the Smart TV content management system that is more complex and downright irritating at times to use. Samsung seriously has to look at a software upgrade to make this system work better in the interest of consumers not making more more from advertising or a cut from content subscription sales.
RATING: 9/10
Current recommended retail price: $8,995 at JB Hi Fi. It is also available via The Good Guys.
