Verdict
There ’s lots to like about the Samsung QE55QN85B , but then again there ’s a fair bit to be irritated by
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
A bounty technology , but a less - than - premium price . A specification - sheet that seems at odds with the price - tag . And a vainglorious , bounteous and very slender television set that seems made for gamers and pic - devotee alike .
There must be a catch to the Samsung QE55QN85B somewhere , must n’t there ?
The Samsung QN85B is on sales agreement now . It can be yours in four different screen sizes : there ’s the 55 - inch QE55QN85B quiz here , which be £ 1599 / $ 1499 . you may also have a 65 - inch version ( yours for £ 2199 / $ 1799 ) , a 75 - column inch model ( price at £ 3299 / $ 2299 ) , and a whopping 85 - in model ( £ 4699 / $ 3299 ) .
It take care quite like Samsung is sticking it to UK consumer when you compare those asking cost , does n’t it ? But even if you settle to move to the United States in rules of order to indulge your desire for a ( comparatively ) low-priced , yet enormous , television receiver , Samsung is by no mean value your only selection . The telly market is trigger-happy , and brands both big and humble are queue up to part you from £ 1599 / $ 1499 for a 55 - column inch TV . Why should you opt this one ?
Design
Samsung is n’t daft enough to get carried forth where the pattern of its television set is concerned , and peculiarly not when a range ( like this one ) is mean to have the large-minded potential appeal . So the QE55QN85B , quite sanely , is an unuttered and actually quite sophisticated stunner .
A lot of this is down to the physical discretion of theMini LEDbacklighting arrangement . Quite apart from the influence it has in picture caliber , this technology allow the QN85B to be a very goodly 27 millimetre thick . And , unlike mostOLED TVdesigns ( which are incredibly slight right until they stop being incredibly slim ) , that ’s a coherent depth – the fanny of the TV is almost as flat as the front of it .
deal this material body depth at the same time as its 17.2 kg weight , and it ’s obvious the Samsung QE55QN85B is an ideal prospect for wall - wall hanging . But if you ’d rather abide it on a open , its hefty pedestal ft is a ) primal , so you do n’t need a wide-eyed surface , b ) incorporates some rudimentary cable - management , and c ) adds 3 kilogram to the overall weight . It also lift the concealment up to a point that even abig soundbarcan sit beneath it without causing problems .
No matter if it ’s on the paries or on a surface , though , the QN85B looks good . In visibility , its ‘ shiny silver ’ screen surrounds are quite elegant , and when you ’re sitting in front of it the bezels around the screen are paltry . This is a 55 - inch TV that is very close to measure 55 - column inch in total .
Features
So yes , as must sure as shooting be obvious by now , this is a Mini LED TV ( or ‘ Neo QLED ’ , as Samsung rather dogmatically prefers ) . you may get our chapter - and - rhyme on thisremarkable applied science here .
Samsung has accommodate its Neo Quantum Processor 4 K to take care of occupation here . It ’s got an AI constituent to its specification , which is mostly used to help the screaming upscale sub-4 kilobyte mental object as efficiently and convincingly as potential . But obviously it ’s just as concerned with realize native 4 K content look its good and exploit any HDR aspect it might have – although notDolby Vision HDR , oh my goodness no .
Samsung can ( and will ) bang on about how support for HDR10 + Adaptive stand for its idiot box as are as well - specified as any competitor , but the fact remains that the reality ’s most popular cyclosis avail uses Dolby Vision HDR and the QN85B ( like all Samsung ’s boob tube ) is unable to exploit it .
There are fourHDMIinputs here , andthey’re all 2.1andeARC - enable – so the Samsung can support all the good panorama of your biz console ’s stipulation ( 4K@120Hz , ALLM , VRRand so on ) through any of its input signal . In addition there are a mates of USB socket , an Ethernet input , a digital optical outturn and aerial posts for the brace of integrated TV piano tuner . As far as wireless connectivity operate , dual - stripe wi - fi and Bluetooth 5.2 should be sufficient for almost every user .
Sound is delivered by a six - speaker array , deploy to give a suggestion ofspatial audiofrom appropriate soundtracks – two fire forrad , two flack up from the rear of the cabinet and the last pair are angled out to allow a hint of sonic width . Samsung ’s also destine its ‘ Object Tracking Sound ’ applied science here – it attempts to force phone to follow on - screen movement in an effort to deliver a convincing point - root of both audio and vision .
And then there ’s also Samsung ’s Q Symphony arrangement – if you ’ve an appropriate Samsung soundbar ( and there are many ) , the QN85B ’s sound system can join in with the soundbar ’s attempt , rather than being still .
There are more than enough control choice here . you may take your pick from Samsung ’s SmartThings ascendency app ( it ’s coherent and stable , and lets you integrate your video into a wider smart home internet if you fancy ) , voice control via Amazon Alexa , Bixby or Google Assistant , or one of two bundled remote - control handsets .
As seems to be the fashion of thing these days , one of the remotes is small , covers just the essentials , feel quite nice to hold , and is solar - powered ( this last , admittedly , is n’t precisely ‘ the way of things ’ just yet ) , while the other is basically none of those matter – it feels cheap in your mitt , has way too many buttons that are mostly way too small , and is battery - power .
Either of the remote controls gives you command of the set - up menus , and Samsung has struck a nice balance between ‘ in - depth ’ and ‘ time - consuming ’ here . Getting perfectly watchable pictures does n’t take long , but it ’s possible to fiddle with minutiae of performance to your heart ’s substance if you ’re that style fain . The ‘ smart calibration ’ feature , which aim to allow a academic degree of semi - professional standardisation using just a smartphone , is less successful though and it locks in the preferences always ( or until you do a factory reset ) .
Samsung ’s Tizen - basedsmart tv set interfacehas been ( rightly ) commended as being one of the very best around – but Samsung has decided to change it anyway , and now it ’s far from ideal . It takes up the whole screen here , for a first , a good portion of which is move over over to ad and the residuum to recommendations that do n’t seem to relate to anything you might have watched .
There ’s no facility to amend or customise the layout in any agency . And it ’s very sluggish when responding to commands from the remote control too . From hero to zero in one move . Still , Samsung TV Plus is a prissy lineament ; it ’s free , and showcases a tidy sum of mental object that ’s otherwise knockout to add up by
Picture Quality
‘ luminosity ’ is ( among other thing ) what Min direct promises , and there ’s no two ways about it : the QN85B is observably bright than even the brightest OLED orQD - OLEDalternatives .
And it ’s not just vivid for the sake of it . White timber are detail , nuanced , feature lots of grade and variation , and basically make honest on all the technology promise in this respect . So at least in this respect , it ’s occupation done .
The opposite end of the spectrum is n’t quite so well serve here . The Mini LED arrangement means there are hundreds of dim zona here , and the transition between them is achieved very smoothly indeed . When a geographical zone is unlit it stays good and disconsolate , too , so the Samsung ’s black level are telling .
But there ’s a woeful lack of particular or variation in the black tones the QN85B generates , and consequently a rather depthless uniformness to dark scenes that are , when handled by alternate technologies , satiate with subtlety and gradation . So while contrast here are undeniably broad , they ’re not all that satisfy .
The backlighting struggles when it comes to the really tricky hooey , too – white text on a black backdrop , say , or a night sky filled with stars . The former has some bloom around the text , while the latter will crush the less bright component out of existence altogether .
The color pallette in between these two extremes is very well realise , though . Colour volume , intensity and saturation is really well judged , which stand for the Samsung is a vibrant , colorful watch at the same clock time as being balanced and realistic . It ’s a lean strain , but the QN85B walk it confidently .
Edge definition is good - going - on - great , picture noise is curb really well ( even with interference - reduction turn off , which gives a more raw and less processed flavour ) , and motion is control well ( again , if you get into the ready - up menus , this time you desire to wrench LED Clear Motion to on and just deal with the smasher to smartness levels that results ) . Stick on a Netflix flow of The Gray Manand all of these face of performance are made patent – but without the welfare of Dolby Vision HDR , of course .
It ’s a similar story for gaming . Vivid , wide - ramble colours , start white tonus and ( by extension ) excellent lighting effects , great edge - definition and disappointingly unknowable black tones .
The Samsung ’s a very established upscaler of Full HD content , too . The pearl - offs in point storey , or the less tight nature of bound - definition , or the coarsening of skin - smell and textures , are all soft – and as a consequence the QN85B is a very enjoyable way to watch all those legacy Blu - rays or watch some iPlayer reruns . The amount of work the central processing unit has to get through to take the screen ’s pixel - count is disguised very well .
Sound Quality
It ’s rare that a video ’s wakeless calibre match up to its picture timbre – and while it ’s hardly going to stop you rushing out to buy a soundbar , the QN85B does n’t put down itself . It projects the midrange well , so dialogue is always intelligible , and freights it with a comely amount of detail . It ’s incapable of generate meaningful bass bearing , of course – but , again , it ’s not alone in that .
The Object Tracking Sound technology is quite successful – sure enough sound is quite mobile relative to the action on the screen . It ’s certainly more detectable than the ‘ spacial ’ element of the speech sound the QN85B essay to deliver – theDolby Atmossoundtrack to The Gray Mansounds curtailed in the extremum .
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Should you buy it?
The Samsung QN85B is a good - looking item and its brightness levels could conceivably heal cataracts .
Deeper blacks than backlit LCD panels are be intimate for – but they ’re short of contingent .
Final Thoughts
For the money , the Samsung QE55QN85B is quite full - on in terms of spec – and it ’s got some real positive degree to the direction it perform , too . But it seems the areas in which it stand out and the orbit in which it ’s deficient are both the effect of the same technology . So perhaps Mini LED is n’t the cure - all it ’s cracked up to be . At least not when it ’s implement within definite budgetary constraints …
Trusted Score
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