Verdict
An 8 K boob tube that redeem a superb painting performance for an LCD TV , the Samsung QN800D with the help of AI , looks undischarged with a range of content . Do deliberate a good scheme to give sound a encouragement .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
It has n’t been the best of times for 8 K TVs . theoretical account are n’t fly off the shelves , cost are still relatively expensive , and cognitive content is tenuous on the ground .
The same problem have affected 8 K since it arrived , but it has n’t stop Samsung from keeping the religion in the technical school .
TheQN800Cthat I tested back in 2023 was one of Samsung’sbest TVsof that year . With the Korean electronics firm placing a greater stress on AI technology this fourth dimension around , has Samsung cave in buyer a reason to fling on the QN800D ?
Design
Samsung has for the most part stuck with the same design for its top - of - the - line 8 K models and that continues with the QN800D. The control panel is slim ( a depth of 17.2 mm ) , polish off to a gamy touchstone , with perforated yap in the chassis that allow audio recording to be pushed out from the TV .
The pedestal is still heavy , adding a good 10 kilo to the free weight , or you could choose to wall mount the screen asa)the rear panel is uniformly flat andb)this filmdom come with the One Connect loge that handles all the connexion and inputs to the idiot box via one slim cable ( you ’ve got two lengths depending on how you arrange the tv set up ) .
The One Connect can be integrated into the back of the rack , or you could make up one’s mind to keep it concealed in your AV cabinet . Assembling the base took me nearly ten minutes , Samsung has never been one for a quick meeting place unconscious process nor has the system of weights of the stand been reduced to make the TV well-fixed to move .
The slim depth of the screen does sharpen to one weakness . There ’s not much way for the internal speakers , which has an undesirable outcome on the audio performance .
Operating System
Samsung has given Tizen a refresh for 2024 , with the main page consisting of three sections : For You , bouncy , and Apps .
The first feature cognitive content that ( apparently ) has been personalize and tailored to your interest ; though if you ask me , it does n’t look tailored at all . Scroll to the bottom and you may manage your preferences and get more recommendations .
There ’s a run-in of streaming apps ( Samsung has every single one you could ask for ) , new and trending contentedness , and whileFreeview Playisn’t supported , all the UK catch - up and on - requirement apps are available in their individual forms .
The Live tab boast message fromFAST channelssuch asSamsung TV Plus , Rakuten TV , CNN International , Pluto TV , and subsist streams from apps such as Discovery+ andApple TV+(as long as you sign to those apps ) . It also rope in a TV Guide although this is only for quick channels ( as far as I can order ) . Apps is where you ’ll find all the television and music streaming apps in one billet .
None of the yellow journalism ( or hubs ) get too long to scroll through , which keeps the port reactive . I did have an issue with the first sample distribution Samsung send out where Tizen was very laggy and kept reboot itself . The second sample distribution bring as expected , though towards the end of testing it would just reboot itself for no reason .
newfangled for 2024 is the Daily+ plane section , which acts as a hub for smart connected devices , health apps , and workspace area . If you have a compatible camera you may view protection feed through the television set . If you have smart lights you could see to it them through this apparatus too .
Despite the refit Samsung ’s Tizen has encounter , it still does n’t really know what to do with the ‘ Connected Devices ’ and the ‘ configurations ’ menus , which still feel as if they ’re hidden in the side computer menu . you could bring up scene with the smart remote and extend suggestions for commonly used presets .
Features
The QE65QN800D gets Samsung ’s previous NQ8 AI Gen2 Processor , which brings AI related to functioning benefit for picture , apparent movement processing and upscaling humiliated caliber subject over the 2023 example .
HDR supports covers HLG , HDR10 , andHDR10 + Adaptive/ Gaming along with theFilmmaker modepreset . As usual , there ’s noDolby Vision .
Dolby Atmos does have , the QN800D packs a 70W OTS+ , 4.2.2 transmission channel system that looks like the same spec as the one included in the QN800C. Q - Symphony is also available with compatible Samsung soundbars .
HDMI connectivity includes fourHDMI 2.1inputs with refresh rates up to 165Hz with PC units ( 120Hz with gaming console or 8K/60Hz ) . You ’ve also gotALLM , VRR ( AMD FreeSync Premium Pro ) usable across all the One Connect box ’s stimulus . While Samsung ’s TVs are n’t certified for Nvidia G - Sync , it should work irrespective .
I measured input lag at 9.7ms , and at 1080p/120Hz the QN800D register 8ms – the latter was not as fast as I was expecting but then the TV is upscaling to 8K.
There are two floor of the Game Motion Plus mode that adds movement processing for smoother visuals and in this musical mode the telly registered 16 and 27.2ms .
More gaming lineament are supported in the Super Ultra Wide Game View which adopts a widescreen presentation not too unalike to a gambling monitor , while the Mini Map Zoom reserve you to increase the size of a map for capital visibility .
Other inputs and outputs include four USB ports ( USB - C and three USB - A ) , Ethernet , digital ocular out , CI Slot , and two RF input signal for terrestrial and planet TV . Wirelessly there ’s Wi - Fi 6E , AirPlay 2 , and Bluetooth 5.3 streaming .
Smarts include Samsung ’s Bixby voice assistant as well as Alexa integration , but Google Assistant only works through a connected speaker due to Google modify its insurance . There is Samsung ’s SmartThings app for integration with other smart devices in the home .
Multi View supports up to four mini - screens on the telecasting , and if you do n’t care project a massive black screen when the goggle box is off , the Ambient+ way adds patch of art or your own pictures to mix in better with your décor .
Picture Quality
When I first saw theQN800Dat a preview consequence in Frankfurt , I left optimistic that Samsung had taken onboard criticisms of its 2023 range and refine its performance better – namely , the offspring of bloom .
Blooming is where a halo of light or fog surrounds bright objects against a bleak scope , and it was frequent the QN800C. The QN800D handles blooming much well . see the Cucurbita pepo twist into a carriage in Cinderella and the blooming is completely operate , the screen maintain stiff dark levels throughout the succession without compromising on brightness whether in its Movie , Standard , or intense mode . The same is true in Soul where Joe first falls into The Great Beyond .
Trying some other motion-picture show and the bass black levels go down away a little with Civil War . There ’s a little blooming towards the edge of the cover in an early hotel sequence , while a journeying through a burn forest at nighttime does enclose some fog around floating embers .
It ’s with the Washington D.C. sequence where the Quantum Matrix Pro Mini LED backlight contend the most . The bright wanton sources of buildings against a nighttime sky and the QN800D squirms a little in get by light and sinister area . Some details get obscured , like the outline of a helicopter gunship fly through the sky – I ca n’t quite see it as it moves across the screen .
Nevertheless , black levels hold up well , and most fucking is restrain to off - bloc viewing . Black crush does n’t seem to be a trouble , coloured detail is very good for an LCD TV ( though the Auto Power mode raises blacks a little ) – this is n’t quite OLED performance but black levels are nice and inscrutable .
And when combined with the Samsung QN800D ’s high brightness the contrast is genuinely impressive . On a 5 % HDR window I measure the QE65QN800D get to 1052 nits in Standard mode , 1561 nit in Movie modality and 1658 nits in active mode . Highlights are imposingly bright and exact , and the brightness feeds into its colour performance .
There ’s neat saturation , brightness , and kind in the gloss the QN800D farm . Throughout Civil War there ’s some salient employment of colour and a scene where pinkish flowers look looks stunning in terms coloring loudness and image , as does brightness and colour of Green , while whites are discover with sinlessness .
The Movie mood feels better balanced than late generations , which I feel were just a piffling too strong though it still slip to a reddish hue at times . Even so , there ’s a richness to the Samsung ’s colour performance that does n’t make me cry out for Dolby Vision .
Regardless of the picture mode , the 8 K resolution creates a neat , shrewd , and elaborate trope that even with 4 K depicted object is a step up over 4 K idiot box – sharp as a tacking and unveil so much particular in the faces of actors or the grain of environments and clothing .
Images take on a three - dimensional look at time , the QN800D ’s processing create a sense of depth between foreground and background image .
The kind of colours is outstanding with Dune : Part Two with desert setting featuring smooth and subtle gradations of gloss as cherry-red , orange , and yellow all intermix together seamlessly without striping or banding . At times , the Samsung QN800D ’s picture front unflawed .
I mat up the QN800C ’s movement processing was pretty unflawed , so it ’s a little disappointing to report the QN800D does n’t finger quite as consistently strong . The Auto mode sport some judder and the Soap Opera Effect but it ’s still a solid public presentation with edge well defined and noise downplay – it ’s the stammer and lack of sharpness that make water me feel it ’s a slight downgrade .
The Custom move mode is fantabulous – I do n’t feel there ’s a need to transfer the scope : there ’s no loss of sharpness , no SOE upshot , judder or interference . The processing is seamless .
And the upscaling is phenomenally good for an 8 K TV . Watching a Blu - ray of Speed Racer , and its racy and colorful palette almost wait as if it ’s in HDR . border are defined well , there ’s no noise I can spot . item levels – ok or otherwise – are as good as they can be . It ’s a flavorless out grotesque performance whether it ’s with HD Blu - rays or streaming .
With a videodisc of Game of Thrones season three , there ’s a clear drop in sharpness – physical object in the screen background of scenes look fuzzy but they ’re mostly costless of any erose edges , though with movement there ’s a slim blurriness now and then . There ’s good particular in period of time wearable consider the source but it ’s the color reproduction that steals the show . The golden cloaks of the King ’s sentry duty look swell , daylight scene are bright and colourful , nighttime scenes are filled with contrast and find atmospherical .
For an 8 kibibyte TV , DVDs / SD source are more of a technical usage in upscaling , but the AI upscaling excels . DVDs on this TV look better than on some 4 K TVs .
Sound Quality
eminent - end Samsung boob tube rarely have good sound and it ’s no different here . With the QN800D , the bass is flat and vacuous , and that alone is reason enough to purchase a sound system .
Even in Amplify mode , the bass voice tepid with a picture in Civil War at a camp where there ’s no dialogue but score and ambient sounds create distortion through the TV ’s speaker system of rules .
There ’s good clarity of dialogue and the soundfield is expansive , the midrange is detailed , and the OTS+ system ably tracks multiple sounds across the screen at the same metre . It sounds bighearted and has depth too with a divergence between foreground and screen background sounds .
Really , what the Samsung QN80D deficiency is punch , dynamism , and loudness – even at volume 75 it is n’t particularly loud . And this screen door does n’t like loud , complex sequences – returning to the Washington D.C. setting from Civil War where it has to carry on with loud , impactful sounds one after another and the TV go quieter .
The TV ’s thin anatomy does n’t help in this esteem , so while there are unspoiled aspects about its sound performance , it does feel subdued at times .
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Should you buy it?
There ’s still an argument that 8 K has n’t delivered on its potential , but Samsung have pivoted in make 4 K , HD , and SD message better – and it looks great .
The terms is a roadblock , and the lack of native substance is problematical – the QN800D is a big disbursal if the max resolve you ’re follow is 4K.
Final Thoughts
The Samsung QE65QN800D produces an outstanding exposure performance . The color performance is sensational , the AI upscaling impresses , and mordant levels and high peak luminosity provender into a three - dimensional ikon . If you were n’t a believer in what 8 atomic number 19 tv set can do , the QN800D will make you one .
It ’s not thoroughgoing though . Blooming is still apparent but managed well without becoming a distraction . The legal system ca n’t deal with forte and demanding scene , and really warrants to be couple with one of thebest soundbars .
The innovation is spectacularly minimalist ( though making it idle would be dainty ) , the gambling features are exhaustive and the Tizen smart interface is a piddling friendly than before .
Of of course , all the complaints about even thebest 8 KB TVsstill point of view , but in terms of the cutting edge of TV performance , the QN800D is a winner .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every television system we review thoroughly over an extended period of sentence . We use manufacture standard tests to compare characteristic properly . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , live with money to review a product .
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FAQs
presently , no Samsung TV supports Dolby Vision HDR .
