Taking on the OLEDS – could this QE65Q90R be Samsung’s best 4K television yet?
Could this be Samsung’s best 4K TV yet? Probably. A few tweaks and some new features have taken its flagship 4K set to an even higher level “Not only is the QE65Q90R the best backlit set we’ve ever tested, but it also plays its OLED rivals at their own g
Being excellent simply isn’t good enough for Samsung. Only the very best will do. That’s why, despite its 2018 4K flagship being the best TV it had ever produced, with performance way beyond that of any other LCD set, Samsung fixated on the few flaws that prevented it from winning a What Hi-fi? Award.
But thankfully, Samsung hasn’t thrown the baby out with the bathwater. The Q90R (here in 65in size), is every bit the belter that the Q9FN was, but with most of its relative weaknesses fixed. Not only is it the best backlit set we’ve tested, it also plays OLED rivals at their own game.
Knowing the angles
The main criticism of the Q9FN (and QLED as a whole) in comparison to OLED rivals, is viewing angles. It’s no surprise, then, that Samsung has prioritised fixing this particular problem. Its new Ultra Viewing Angle feature involves extra layers on the panel that reduce light leakage and spread light uniformly. The result is near-flawless viewing angles. Even from wide angles, colours remain vibrant and blacks remain pure. It's no longer an obvious advantage of OLED – and that’s a huge step for Samsung.
And while the Q9FN was capable of producing deep blacks for a NON-OLED, dark detail was being lost. Samsung over-compensated with its Q900R 8K sets, which sacrifice too much depth in their pursuit of detail and look a little washed-out, but this Q90R strikes a superb balance.
Play the scene in Harry Potter And The
Deathly Hallows Part II where Voldemort’s army of wizards amass on a hill above Hogwarts, and the difference in the delivery of the Q9FN and Q90R is stark. On the newer model you can see so much more of the scenery and the structure of Hogwarts. But there’s no washing-out of the blacks and nothing that looks like artificial enhancement.
Brighter prospect
As the camera zooms in on Voldemort, it’s clear that the Q90R has no trouble with bright objects in otherwise dark scenes. Samsung has improved the precision of its backlight (which retains the Q9FN’S peak brightness figure of 2000 nits) and it confidently lights bright objects. The result is that, while Voldemort looks a little shadowed on the Q9FN, his white skin is creepily luminescent on the Q90R.
OLED'S ability to portray bright objects on dark backgrounds is an advantage over backlit sets, and while the Q90R doesn’t go pitch black the way an OLED does, it’s pretty close. In terms of colour, the Q90R strikes a slightly cool, more neutral balance, with no loss of punch or vibrancy. The older Q9FN’S rosy hue occasionally draws the eye away, but with the Q90R you get all the dynamism of the picture and greater authenticity. We play the opening of Guardians Of
The Galaxy Vol.2 and the Q9FN looks a little sunburned in the ploughed fields and a bit pink in the clouds. The Q90R’S fields are a little more natural and organic, and its clouds are purer.
The shot of the planets is even more convincing. The gold on the surface is just as bright, but it avoids the slight orange tinge of the Q9FN. There’s greater edge definition, too, and a little more dynamism to the contrast with the bright and dark elements of the planet being more pronounced. The planet looks more solid and three-dimensional. The new Quantum Processor 4K shares many of the attributes of the Quantum Processor 8K, introduced with the Q900R range, including its Ai-based approach to upscaling with a vast database of images used to create a more accurate algorithm. In the Q90R, it results in cleaner and sharper images from non-4k content. It’s most obvious when viewing standard-def content, which is smooth and free of artificiality.
Disappointingly, the one aspect of performance that Samsung has not improved is motion processing. The Q9FN fell short of what most premium Sony sets can manage and it’s a similar story with the Q90R. The Auto mode produces the sort of over-processed images that got Tom Cruise worked up, while the Custom setting still fails to get the artefact-free balance we’re hoping for.
Of course, you can turn the motion processing off entirely, but we appreciate the slight smoothing and sharpening of the Custom mode’s default settings, even though it is occasionally caught out by tricky movement.
Talking of settings, there’s mercifully little that needs changing in order to get the Q90R performing its best. For HDR, you need only select your preferred degree of motion processing and turn Digital Clean View off, while for all other content we suggest switching Local Dimming to High, and dropping Brightness and Sharpness. Samsung suggests using the Movie mode when watching films, but its heavily sepiatinted softness leaves us cold.
It’s also worth mentioning the Intelligent Mode, designed to tweak the picture and sound based on your room and the content you’re playing. We’d recommend you delve into the menus and switch the picture element (Adaptive Brightness) off.
The sound portion of the Intelligent Mode is split into two parts; Adaptive Sound, which optimises sound based on your room size, the position of your TV, and the characteristics of each scene; and Adaptive Volume, which automatically adjusts the volume based on your usage patterns and audio input.
Real-time sound
We switch Adaptive Volume off, but find Adaptive Sound worthwhile. It’s similar to last year’s Optimized Sound mode, which added punch, openness and dynamics, but it adapts in real-time to what’s being played while analysing the acoustics of your room. The end result is a clean and open sound, particularly for a TV with more or less invisible speakers.
Last year's Q9FN sounded a little more direct, and neither is up there with the current wave of audio-enhanced TVS, such as Sony’s vibrating AF9, Philips’ OLED903 or Panasonic’s FZ952.
Samsung’s case against having fully integrated soundbars, such as the Philips and Panasonic, is that if you want better sound on the Q90R you can add one of its soundbars, space for which is incorporated in the design. However, there are plenty of people who want a telly that both looks and sounds great, without the hassle of a separate box.
The chassis of the TV itself is largely unchanged from last year’s Q9FN. The metal bezel is a little less matte, but otherwise the sharp, angular aesthetic and pointy corners remain, as do the
straight chunky edges. At 4cm deep, it’s a fairly thick TV, particularly when compared with OLEDS, but the Q90R looks snazzy in its own right.
The key difference with the Q9FN is the stand: the old pedestal has been replaced by a curved metal stand that gives the TV the air of a large Apple imac. The new pedestal, which raises the TV a few centimetres higher than last year’s model, looks slightly awkward but has practical advantages – namely a smaller footprint and space for a soundbar.
Reduced input
As is the Samsung way, there’s just one input on the back of the TV for the thin, largely transparent cable that runs between it and the Oneconnect box, which handles not only all of the inputs and outputs, but also the power.
Like last year’s Q9FN, the screen section of the Q90R does not need to be plugged into the wall. Connect the Oneconnect to power, run all of your sources into that and there’s just one cable running from it to the screen. It’s such a neat solution we’re amazed other manufacturers haven’t copied it.
In terms of physical connections, the Q90R has a typical selection of four HDMIS, three USBS, ethernet, aerial, satellite and optical out. The HDMIS aren’t officially 2.1 certified, but Samsung says the hardware is more or less there to enable 2.1-style features such as Variable Refresh Rate. There’s even the possibility of a software update to HDMI 2.1, but Samsung hasn’t yet confirmed that.
Samsung’s TV operating system is already one of the best around – fast, fluid and intuitive, and centred around getting you to what you want to watch as quickly as possible. The app selection is second to none. Netflix and Amazon are present in their full 4K HDR forms (the latter in HDR10+), as is Rakuten. BBC iplayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and Demand 5 are all on board, too, as are Now TV and Google Play Movies & TV. The big news is that Apple’s itunes app is also due to arrive this summer, bringing the biggest selection of streamable 4K HDR films.
The Q90R also features the secondgeneration version of Samsung’s Ambient mode, designed to make use of the TV when it’s not being used for viewing. The TV blends in to the wall upon which it’s mounted, requiring just one photo from your phone to copy the pattern and colours. Alternatively you can choose from the selection of 50 Ambient modes, including petals falling across the display or silhouettes of leaves blowing in the wind. You can also choose to match the shade of your curtains or sofa, for example.
It’s even possible to use the new QLED TVS as a light source, with a number of customisable patterns available, such as romantic lighting and party mode. You’re far more likely to use Ambient 2.0 to display your photos, for which there are now lots more layouts and styles.
Back to the serious stuff of HDR formats, and the Q90R supports HDR10, HLG and, of course, HDR10+. Samsung insists we take HDR10+ as a serious rival to Dolby Vision, and while we are finally seeing content (Jack Ryan on Amazon Video and Bohemian Rhapsody on 4K Blu-ray), implementation is still patchy.
The TV now tells you (via the Home menu) when you’re watching HDR10+ on Amazon Video, but not when the HDR10+ is being sent by a Blu-ray player. There’s no dedicated HDR10+ picture mode on the Q90R, either, so the Dolby Vision-style sense that you’re seeing the content exactly as intended isn’t there. Instead, you’re getting a slightly tweaked version of the existing HDR10 picture.
Top of the tree
But getting hung up on the inconsistent implementation of HDR10+ is to not see the wood for the trees. The Q90R is an exceptional telly that does things previously considered inherent advantages of OLED.
It is a backlit TV that goes almost as black as an OLED and has Oled-like viewing angles, while retaining its own advantage of greater brightness. It boasts brilliantly judged colours and superb dark detail, not to mention an excellent operating system packed with apps.
Could this be the best TV of 2019? It’s too early to tell – but one thing’s for sure: Samsung’s rivals will have to go some to beat the Q90R.