Samsung Q8OT Gaming

THE SAMSUNG Q80T MIGHT BE THE BEST TV FOR THE PS5 AND XBOX SERIES X, BRINGING HIGH-SPEC 4K OLED TV FEATURES AT A LOWER PRICE THAN SAMSUNG’S FLAGSHIP SETS.

The Samsung Q80T represents a sensible middle ground for buyers looking to bag a high-spec Samsung QLED 4K TV. Available in screen sizes ranging from 55 to 85 inches (we had the 65-inch for this review), it’s the cheapest 2020 QLED TV to offer a full-array backlight, for more precise HDR and greater contrast.

Smart Features

Smart connectivity is via Samsung’s familiar Tizen smart platform, which is well-stocked for streaming services.

New this year is Mobile Multi View mode, with Casting. With this you can beam your mobile screen to the TV, and watch both side-by-side. One scenario would be to mix social chit chat and viewing. A better use might be gamers who want to sync their play with someone streaming on Twitch.

One feature missing from the Q80T is Samsung’s Ultra Wide Angle technology, which is assigned to the step-up Q90T model (Samsung’s highest-end 4K model of 2020). The Q80T also lacks that model’s contrast enhancing antireflective screen. Neither are probably deal breakers, but they’d be nice to have in the average living room, where you might be viewing in sunlight, or sitting at an odd angle.

Display

Lights, colours, action! The Q80T offers all the familiar attributes of Samsung’s QLED models. It’s natively bright and wondrously colour rich. The Q80T also produces a convincing black level performance, thanks to that aforementioned full array backlight, with local dimming.

Image processing comes courtesy of Samsung’s 4K Quantum upscaler, which now uses AI techniques developed for 8K sets originally to improve image interpolation and texture creation.

If the Q80T has one talent that sets it apart from the competition, it’s the ability to believably upscale low-res sources. Indeed, it probably offers the best upscaling of any 4K screen we’ve seen to date.

Black level and HDR handling all benefit from the Q80T’s local dimming provision. Samsung won’t confirm how many zones there are on this set, but we suspect there’s around 50, comparable to last year’s Q70R.

This isn’t enough to completely control backlight blooming, and we noticed some splodges of light from bright objects on black backgrounds. The effect is most obvious on letterbox movies, where an explosion or light source can momentarily pollute the black bar above or below.

Lights, colours, action! The Q80T offers all the familiar attributes of Samsung’s QLED models. It’s natively bright and wondrously colour rich.

The Q80T’s HDR performance is extremely good. We measured peak brightness at just under 900 nits, which is high enough to negate the need to tone map a great deal of HDR source material. This is stronger than most OLED TVs can manage, though it’s as good as Samsung gets with its higher end TVs.

There’s still no compatibility with Dolby Vision, but we do get support for rival dynamic metadata format HDR10+, as favoured by Amazon Prime, as well as regular HDR10 and broadcast HLG.

While the Q80T isn’t short of tweakable picture parameters, we would generally advise against experimentation. Still, gamers might want to use the Dynamic Black Equaliser to inject brightness into darker scenes. The resulting image is less accurate, and looks quite ugly, but it does reveal assailants hiding in the gloom. All’s fair in love and Warzone…

Gamers can maximise image performance, but keep lag down by using Game Motion Plus. Even with this cocktail switched on, image lag is an entirely respectable 19.7ms (1080/60). Switched off, for maximum game, image lag plummets to just 8.7ms, which is blisteringly fast for a telly.

Motion handling is above average, making this set a good option for sports fans. There’s a choice of Auto or Custom modes, the latter offering adjustable blur and judder reduction. For movies, we still advocate that it’s turned off though.

Sound

There’s more to the Q80T’s audio system than first meets the ear. Samsung describes the set’s speaker configuration as 2.2.2, because in addition to downward firing stereo drivers and woofers, the set features additional speakers on the top left and right rear; these are all but invisible save for two small vents.

The additional drivers allow the TV to create a soundstage with exaggerated sonic height. This expanded speaker array works with OTS (Object Tracking Sound) technology, which cleverly steers sounds around to match movements. It’s not 3D audio, because as you listen the sound is still very much anchored to one central point, but the sonic result is bigger and more involving sound than the usual down-firing television noise.

The system reveals extra sonic detail. Explosions throw their weight wider; dialogue seems more fully formed, no longer muffled beneath the screen. This isn’t high-fidelity, and it’s not comparable to what we’ve heard Bowers & Wilkins execute on some Philips OLED TVs, but it is a step up from the norm. Samsung rates the total audio output at 60W, more than enough welly to startle the cat.

Of course, there are limits though to what those onboard drivers can achieve. There’s no bass output below 100Hz. If you want cinematic Dolby Atmos you can always bitstream out from the set over HDMI to a waiting soundbar or home cinema system.

Design & Usability

The Q80T may pack in a lot of features, but that extra girth used for the full-array backlight means it’s not the sexiest Samsung screen you’ll see. It lacks the superb design aesthetic of the top-of-the line 8K model, the Samsung Q950TS, and it’s not as immediately eye-catching as the edge-lit Q70T (which doesn’t need to be as thick).

On the plus side, when viewed front on, the set looks absolutely fine. The bezel is very slim, and the single central pedestal stand will work with any type of AV furniture (if you’re not wall mounting).

The Q80T doesn’t come with a One Connect Box, Samsung’s ambitious outboard input and tuner gadget. Instead, there’s conventional connectivity provided on the rear.

Four HDMIs offer a number of features often associated with the HDMI 2.1 spec. There’s eARC for lossless audio passthrough to an external soundbar or receiver, and it supports 4K video at 120fps, VRR (Variable Refresh rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) game modes, plus FreeSync support for PC AMD gamers.

These are features that the PlayStation 5 and Xbox One X are primed to make the most of when they launch later this year.

The set comes with two remote controls, one a traditional multi-button wand, the other a simplified pointer.

It supports 4K video at 120fps, VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) game modes, plus FreeSync support for PC AMD gamers.

Verdict

The Q80T is a formidable 4K performer that warrants a premium price tag overall.

While it lacks Dolby Vision support, it’s an intrinsically bright HDR performer that’s absolutely perfect for daylight viewing, or in rooms with generally high levels of ambient light. And its OTS sound system is genuinely impressive.

For people focused on image quality for a movie experience, last year’s LG OLED TVs are a really good option too – the LG C9 is not far off the Q80T for brightness, but gives the fantastic contrast performance of OLED, which is noticeably more precise in dark areas than the Q80T can manage.

For gamers looking for a TV bright enough to play during the day with sunlight spilling in, and future-proofed with features that make the most of next-gen consoles, the Q80T also offers a simply fantastic gaming experience. Image lag is jawdroppingly low, making it a serious proposition for esports and competitive tourneys. QLED is guaranteed screen burn free, which will be an additional comfort if you’re planning heavy console usage.

Pricing:

55-inch: $2,449

65-inch: $3,339

75-inch: $4,495

85-inch: $7,229