The QN900B is Samsung's flagship Neo QLED 8K HDR TV for 2022, and not only employs a Mini LED backlight and Quantum Dot filters for brighter highlights, deeper blacks, and purer colours, but incorporates the latest 8K Neural Quantum Processor for class-leading scaling and image processing that makes the most of the ultra-high resolution panel.
This high-end model sports Samsung's stylish Infinity One design, a slimline One Connect box to keep the wiring to a minimum, and an impressive array of built-in speakers that support Object Tracking Sound Pro and Dolby Atmos. There's also a redesigned smart platform, a comprehensive choice of streaming services, and extensive next-gen gaming features.
The QN900B is available in 65-, 75- and 85-inch screen sizes, and we're reviewing the mid-range 75-inch QE75QN900B. While these 8K TVs aren't cheap, they promise to offer state-of-the-art performance. The question is: in the absence of any native 8K content, do they do enough to justify the price premium over the equally impressive QN95B Neo QLED 4K HDR TV?
Design
- Infinity One bezel-less design
- Slimline One Connect boxÂ
- Single fibre-optic cable that includes power
- 4 x HDMI inputs with eARC; 3 x USB; Ethernet
- Wi-Fi; Bluetooth; AirPlay 2
The Samsung QN900B uses the company's Infinity One design, with a sleek and stylish chassis that's only 15mm deep from top to bottom, which is amazing when you consider the full-array Mini LED backlight. The screen is bezel-less in appearance, and the build quality is excellent.
The solid stand provides robust support while only requiring a narrow surface for installation. There's also the option to wall-mount the QN900B, and thanks to Samsung's optional Slim Fit bracket and single cable connecting the TV to the One Connect box, it looks impressive.
The One Connect box houses four HDMI inputs, one of which supports eARC. All are capable of handling 8K/60, 4K/120, VRR (variable refresh rate) and ALLM (auto low-latency mode), making the QN900B ideal for next-gen gamers looking to get the most out of their new consoles.
There are also three USB ports (two 2.0 and one 3.0), twin tuners for terrestrial and satellite broadcasts, a CI slot, an optical digital output, and an Ethernet port. In terms of wireless connections, there's Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and support for Apple AirPlay 2.
One Remote is both ergonomic and eco-friendly thanks to a solar cell on the back that recharges the batteries. The layout is simple and intuitive, with direct access buttons for Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and Samsung TV Plus, along with a microphone for voice interaction.
Features
- Redesigned Tizen-powered smart platform
- Bixby, Google, Alexa, and Siri support
- Object Tracking Sound Pro
- Dolby Atmos decoding
The Samsung QN900B incorporates a redesigned version of the company's Tizen-powered smart platform, which drops the launcher bar along the bottom and replaces it with a full-screen homepage where the emphasis is on presenting apps, content and recommendations.
There's a comprehensive selection of the former, including Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, Now, Rakuten, YouTube, and all the UK catch-up services. All this content is presented in a sensible fashion, and the customisation and recommendation features are very effective.
There's a full-house of smart assistants, with Bixby, Alexa and Google Assistant built-in. The QN900B can also access Siri using AirPlay 2, while the SmartThings app allows for quick and easy setup, plus a degree of control if you don't fancy using the provided remotes or your voice.
The QN900B sports Samsung's Object Tracking Sound Pro (OTS Pro), which integrates a large number of multi-directional speakers in a seamless fashion, and delivers an open soundstage, greater height, plenty of bass thanks to six woofers, clear dialogue, and powerful amplification.
OTS Pro moves the sounds around the room based on analysis of the action on-screen, creating an immersive sonic experience. The onboard Dolby Atmos decoding combines psychoacoustic processing with all these speakers to produce an enjoyable object-based audio experience.
Samsung's SpaceFit sound tech optimises the audio by analysing the acoustic environment, while Q-symphony integrates the TV's speakers with supporting Samsung soundbars. However, the built-in sonic capabilities are certainly good enough for day-to-day TV viewing.
Finally there's a multi-view mode that allows users to watch two different sources simultaneously. You can adjust the size of the two picture-in-picture screens, change their relative position, and choose which has audio priority.
Performance
- HDR Support: HDR10; HLG; HDR10+ Adaptive
- Processing Engine: Neo Quantum 8K Processor with AI
- 100% of DCI-P3 and 2000nits of peak brightness
The Samsung QN900B delivers awesome big-screen images, whether it's with SDR or HDR material. The TV ships in Standard, but if you choose the Filmmaker mode the pictures on display offer a remarkable level of accuracy, retaining the artistic intent of the original content creators.
While there might currently be minimal native 8K content, the state-of-the-art image processing makes full use of over 33 million pixels in the panel to deliver stunning big screen images. The resulting pictures are incredibly precise and detailed, even with lower resolution content.
This TV delivers deep blacks and almost no blooming, even when watching very bright HDR content. The QN900B has 1,920 (60 x 32) local dimming zones, but more importantly Samsung applies its class-leading algorithms to produce impressive contrast without crush or clipping.
This contrast prowess is enhanced by 14-bit mapping that brings out all the fine details in shadows just above black, while still retaining a pleasing inkiness. The processing also handles mixed content admirably, ensuring bright and dark parts of an image are perfectly rendered.
The Quantum Matrix Technology (which controls the Mini LEDs) is made even more accurate with Shape Adaptive Light control, boosting the highlights where appropriate. This makes the QN900B extremely bright, although not quite as bright as some of Samsung's marketing specs.
Despite claims of 4,000 nits, in Filmmaker mode we measured a peak HDR brightness of 2,100 nits on a 10% window. While it can go higher in the less accurate Dynamic/Standard modes, it's still brighter than almost any other TVs, and most HDR is rendered without needing tone mapping.
What tone mapping is required proved spot-on in all our tests, taking advantage of the massive brightness and cutting-edge processing to produce impactful HDR images with specular highlights free of clipping, saturated colours, deep blacks and detailed shadows absent crush.
In Filmmaker mode the QN900B reached 96 per cent of the DCI-P3 colour space, which again isn't quite as wide as Samsung claims. There's support for high dynamic range in the form of HDR10, HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma), and HDR10+, but sadly Samsung still refuses to support Dolby Vision.
Thankfully the absence of the latter doesn't matter because the HDR images are simply stunning, with bright and punchy highlights, deep blacks, and vibrant colours. The level of detail in a native 4K picture is also remarkable, and any tone mapping that's needed appears seamless.
The native 4K visuals in Dunkirk are often breathtaking, while the super-saturated colours of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 are delivered with wonderful vibrancy. Stanley Kubrick's perfectly composed shots in The Shining look even better when viewed with HDR10+ enhancement.
The motion handling is also fantastic, and even with the Picture Clarity turned off in Filmmaker mode the QN900B delivers impressive movement. While best avoided for movies, TV dramas, and games, the motion features can be very useful when watching fast-paced sports action.
The QN900B offers a host of features aimed at owners of the latest gaming consoles, including VRR for syncing the TV's refresh rate with the console's frame rate, thus reducing tearing. There's also support for 4K 120Hz (and even 144Hz in some cases), plus AMD Freesync Premium Pro.
There's ALLM for automatically detecting a console and selecting the Game mode, which results in a class-leading input lag of 9.6ms. There's also Motion Xcelerator Turbo Pro tech, Game Motion Plus, and support for 21:9 and 32:9 ultra wide aspect ratios offered by a number of PC games.
The Game Bar 2.0 hub brings all the game-related information and features together in one convenient location. It pops up automatically when a game console is detected, but can also be selected manually and includes HDR, frame rate, and VRR info, plus gaming picture adjustments.
In more general terms, the overall screen uniformity is excellent, with no signs of banding, dirty screen effect or colour tinting anywhere on our review sample. The motion handling is also impressive, and our only real complaint is the lack of support for Dolby Vision.
There's no denying the QN900B delivers a superior 8K performance with SDR and HDR, and anyone looking for state-of-the-art performance should definitely consider it. However, if you're not bothered about 8K or have less budget, the excellent QN95B 4K TV is worth considering.
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