Samsung’s 8K QLED TV 55-Inch: A More Affordable 8K Ultra-HD TV
by Anton Shilov on September 6, 2019 12:00 PM EST
Being flagship televisions available today, 8K Ultra-HD TVs not only feature a resolution of 7680×4320 pixels, but also pack all the latest technologies that manufacturers have to offer these days and therefore can provide ultimate experience even with 4K or 2K content. Samsung’s Q900 family of 8K TVs do exactly that, but because of its premium positioning, the company offered them in large sizes, which means price tags excessive for most. Up until this week.
At IFA, Samsung introduced its smallest 8K UHDTV to date: the Q900R 55-inch model QN55Q900RBFXZA, which costs significantly less than the rest of the SKUs in the lineup.
The television uses Samsung’s IPS-class 7680×4320 panel backed by a quantum dot-enhanced LED backlight that promises FALD-like operation, which Samsung dubs Direct Full Array 16X technology (in case of the 55-inch model). The TV features a peak brightness of 4000 nits, which is the maximum luminance at which HDR content is mastered these days. Speaking of HDR, the Q900-series officially supports HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG formats, but not Dolby Vision (at least for now). As far as color gamut is concerned, the Q900-series can reproduce 100% of the DCI-P3 space.
Just like its bigger brothers, the Samsung Q900R 55-inch uses the company’s Quantum Processor 8K as its brain. The SoC is responsible for all decoding, upscaling, and other operations. Among the capabilities of the chip that Samsung is particularly proud of is its proprietary 8K AI Upscaling technology, which is designed to enhance the quality of digital content to panel’s native resolution (does not work with PCs, games, analogue content, etc.). Furthermore, the SoC is also able to interpolate content to 240 FPS and supports AMD’s FreeSync/HDMI Variable Refresh Rate technologies.
Last but not least, the UHDTV comes with a 60-W 4.2-channel audio subsystem.
While technological excellence of Samsung’s Q900-series Ultra-HD televisions is well known, the key feature of the 55-inch model is its price. The 8K television carries a price tag of $2,499, which is in line with higher-end 4K TVs. Considering the fact that retail prices tend to fall below MSRPs, the 55-inch Q900 will likely be considerably more widespread than its larger counterparts.
Related Reading:
- 8K Association Sets Minimal Specs for 8K Ultra-HD TVs
- Sharp to Demonstrate 120-Inch 8K LCD TV & 8K TV with 5G Modem at IFA
- AU Optronics's New 85-Inch 8K LCD TV with 1,024-Zone Backlighting
- Samsung's 2019 QLED UHD TVs: 8K TVs Revamped, 4K TVs Get New Panel & Backlighting
- Samsung at CES 2019: 219-Inch and 75-Inch Micro LED Ultra-HD TVs Demonstrated
- Samsung Announces iTunes Movie & TV Show Support In Its 2018, 2019 Smart TVs
- Samsung Begins Sales of 65-Inch Q900R 8K UHDTV in the UK
- Samsung Starts to Take Pre-Orders on 85-Inch Q900 8K UHDTV
Source: Samsung
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Beaver M. - Saturday, September 7, 2019 - link
Computer monitors maybe.Nobody sits in front of TVs as close to make 8K useful. What you posted here are pictures from ads mostly or ones that dont prove anything. Why would you need an 8K LCD to display huge letters or a basic touchscreen UI to have 8K?
I dont think you even grasp what resolution means.
dullard - Saturday, September 7, 2019 - link
I said that advertisers and museums are users of 8K up close, then I posted images of advertisers and museums using 8K screens. Why? Because they need undistorted images for those purposes. They want to draw people in, not push them away with text that is not crisp or images that are downsampled.I feel like you think that a horse and buggy are good enough for anyone. That might work for you, but the rest of us want and need high quality detailed images. Do you really want your surgeon looking at a low resolution image of your insides so that small polyps or cancers are missed? Do you really want distorted lines and text on your screens? Do you really want pixelation and banding (especially sunsets, sunrises, areas of color gradients, or images where light casts long shadows)? Do you really want your movies to look different from the reference movies? Do you really want to keep missing out on textures in all images on screens?
Studies have shown that 8K monitors look more real than lower resolution monitors, even if you think that you can't see the details. You go ahead and watch your images on low resolution screens. I'll enjoy realistic looking images.
LittleScoobyMaster - Saturday, September 7, 2019 - link
Surveillance systems. I have a home surveillance system and many times I'm less than a foot away from the tv. So yes, surveillance systems are the perfect application for 8k sets. Fact.Oxford Guy - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
Special niche products have always existed. So what?That doesn't mean the technology should displace something more mainstream. 8K comes with plenty of drawbacks, like the ridiculous amount of data required.
FreckledTrout - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
I should note the use cases for this TV are a TV not anything else.dullard - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
I should note the topic of discussion: "a resolution NO ONE is going to be able to appreciate given the small TV size unless you are literally less than a foot away from the screen".voicequal - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
Yep, advertisers are going to eat this up. 8K will really make the screen pop when someone walks by it. Telepresence and digital whiteboard applications as well.AntDX316 - Saturday, September 7, 2019 - link
Yea, you are better off using an S10+ or Note 9 for 500 DPI.dullard - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
The high end 4K 55" TV UNIVERSE is at that price range:https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-55-class-oled-a9...
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-55-class-led-...
tuxRoller - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
LG B9 $1400LG C9 $1600
LG E9 $2300
Sony A9 $2800