Is Samsung QN900C the TV you should buy this year?

Commercial 8K content is almost non-existent, but that doesn’t stop TV manufacturers from releasing 8K models. The Samsung QN900C QLED TV is one of the latest 8K TVs, boasting pleasing contrast levels and low output latency. However, it costs significantly more than its 4K sibling, the S95C.

It replaces the Samsung QN900B 8K QLED and uses the same technologies as the Samsung QN95C QLED, including mini-LED backlighting for higher peak brightness and more precise local dimming control. Like the QN95C, it uses an external One Connect box instead of traditional inputs. In the Samsung QE65QN900C 8K Neo QLED HDR TV review, we will take a closer look at the new features.

Samsung QN900C review

Design

From the front, the Samsung QE65QN900C looks almost identical to the QN95C , with thin bezels, a narrow metal strip along the bottom edge, and a bronze base. One noticeable difference is that the metal band on the sides is perforated and slightly darker than on the QN95C. In addition, a small plastic rectangle with the Samsung logo protrudes from the lower right corner.

Although Samsung does not use the One Connect box in its 4K QLED TVs, the box is still involved in this model and connects to the screen with a single wire. This setup can be handy if you want to minimize the number of cables that plug directly into your TV. If you don’t care about visible wires, you can place the box next to the TV itself, rather than hiding it away.

The Samsung 65QN900C TV uses the same Eco Remote as the QN95C and S95C . This is a simple thin rectangular box with rounded corners. The internal battery can be charged via the solar cells on the back or the USB-C port on the bottom. the round-shaped navigator is located at the top, and the power, voice and settings buttons above it are on the sides of the microphone hole. Dedicated streaming service buttons are at the bottom.

Image quality

The Samsung QN900C is an 8K TV with a resolution of 7680 by 4320 pixels and a refresh rate of 144Hz. It supports almost all HDR formats, except for one – Samsung continues to drop support for Dolby Vision. The Samsung QN900C TV uses Mini LED backlighting like the QN90B and QN95C, but it’s not as bright.

The QN900C series panel backlight includes over 12,000 mini-LEDs (depending on the diagonal of the model). They manage over 1,000 dimming zones, up from around 700 in 2022. In the SDR test with Video mode active, the TV shows a peak brightness of around 340 nits for full screen white and 330 nits for 20% white, similar to the QN95C.

With an HDR signal, peak brightness increases to 600 nits for a full screen field and 1070 nits for a 20% field. That’s good performance for an LED TV, but far from the QN95C’s 1370 nits and the QN90B’s 1700 nits for a 20% margin. On the other hand, the QN900C offers excellent contrast ratio because its Mini LED backlight displays perfect black levels without noticeable backlight bleed. The Samsung 65QN900C TV also shows great colors.

The colors of SDR content are nearly perfect, although whites and magenta are slightly warmer. HDR colors don’t quite match the DCI-P3 range, but whites remain accurate and blues are slightly greenish. By comparison, Samsung’s latest OLED model, the S95C, offers a wider range and more accurate color.

In fact, 8K content is not available, so everything you watch must rely on the QN900C’s upscaling feature. This process has improved since the days of ugly, fuzzy 480p images on 1080p TVs, but it’s still impossible to create detail out of nothing. If you move closer to a TV displaying 4K content, you won’t see a sharper 8K picture because the 4K source doesn’t have extra detail.

Game Mode

While this QN900C 8K TV from Samsung is a bit less bright than the QN95C, it doesn’t skimp on gaming performance. It doesn’t have Nvidia G-Sync support, but it does offer AMD FreeSync compatibility and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) up to 144Hz. The measured display latency is only 1.6ms after activating the game mode.

This is on par with gaming monitors, and even slightly faster than the QN95C’s 2ms input lag. The QN900C received a portal dedicated to YouTube 8K content. You can also download 8K TAE images from partners. The visually unchanged Samsung Game Hub acts as a centralized area for accessing cloud games.

Smart TV

The 65QN900C TV works with Samsung Smart Interface based on Tizen 7.0 operating system. It has a lot of features and strong service support, but some menu features detract from the overall experience. Most major video streaming services are available, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, and Netflix.

Apple AirPlay 2 ensures that you can stream directly from your iPhone, iPad or Mac. In addition, the TV’s long-range microphone allows hands-free interaction with the interface using Amazon Alexa or Samsung Bixby voice assistants, but not Google Assistant.

The interface menu system is a little awkward to navigate. Most TV settings require diving a level or two deeper than other platforms. Switching between inputs is one of the particular challenges as there is simply no quick way to do it. In 2023, the main progress of Tizen 7.0 is to adapt new Tizen devices and strengthen the functions of smart devices and the service platform.

An interesting new telemedicine application connects patients with doctors and healthcare professionals in real time. Samsung Telemedicine is specially designed for Samsung Smart TVs to help patients with virtual appointments. The app developer promises to provide virtual contacts that should connect in 60 seconds. The virtual inspection can be done through a video screen and various monitoring devices such as some Samsung Galaxy Watches.

The company is also developing video calling capabilities on the QN900C series TVs through the Samsung app. This requires you to download the app, set up alerts, and set up your primary contact list to make video calls with a tap. Users will be notified on their smartphone when they receive a call while watching TV.

Sound

Samsung’s 8K TV has a pretty good-sounding audio system with 6.2.4-channel circuitry with a total output of 90W. It features Sound Pro Object Tracking for better directional sound effects and Q-Symphony 3.0 which can pair TV speakers with a compatible Samsung soundbar for an enhanced audio experience.

Connections

The separate One Connect box has four full HDMI 2.1 ports (one with eARC ), two USB ports, one Ethernet port, an optical audio output, an antenna/cable jack (quantity varies by region), and a port for a proprietary OneConnect cable. Samsung packages the TV with both long and short OneConnect cables to fit your setup as closely as possible. Wireless – traditional WiFi and Bluetooth.

Shoud you buy the Samsung QN900C?

The Samsung QN900C is a great TV with good contrast ratio, decent color reproduction, low output lag and a lot of features. But the price is significantly higher than the Samsung 4K S95C, which offers even better colors and the same amount of detail when displaying 4K content. The TV is really good, but I think you can get almost the same good picture for a lot less.