If you're serious about your home entertainment and value picture and sound quality and want to own one of the best TVs money can buy, then the Samsung neo QED 8K QN990F is an investment in that passion that your whole family and friends can enjoy.
- RATING
The new Neo QLED 8K QN990F is the hero product in Samsung’s new TV lineup – and the market in general to be fair – thanks to an irresistible combination of cutting edge technologies.
Tech Guide took a look at the 85-inch Neo QLED 8K QN990F and enjoyed one of the best TV viewing experiences we can remember.
There are so many innovations packed in and supported and empowered by AI it’s no wonder our jaws dropped when we were watching it.
Under the hood is the most advanced processor Samsung has produced for its TVs – the NQ8 AI Gen 3 which leverages, count them, 768 AI neural networks which are used to upscale any content on the screen to near 8K quality.
That’s twice as many neural networks as last year’s model.
At the helm is Samsung’s new Vision AI which is the technology that drives the 8K AI Upscaling Pro, AI Mode and Adaptive Sound Pro so it can automatically optimise the picture to near 8K quality.
The TV looks at its surroundings and the content you’re watching and then goes ahead and optimises it to near 8K quality and enhances the audio at the same time.
Some customers may be wondering why Samsung is one of the only companies offering 8K resolution TVs and while there is hardly any native 8K content – you can upscale existing 4K content to another level.
So whether you’re watching sport, streaming, watching a physical disc or gaming, the Neo QLED 8K QN990F will examine and enhance all 33 million pixels in real time to offer the sharpest image ever seen before on a Samsung TV.
For us it created the fascination for what was possible.
We watched movies we knew very well, including Star Wars and Mission Impossible and was surprised to see even more detail than we could remember.
Also on board is the new Quantum Matrix Technology Pro which does all the heavy lifting to control the Mini LED backlight and deliver stunning contrast and beautiful inky black levels and so much added detail in the darkest and brightest parts of the screen which would normally be unseen on an inferior television.
The TV also employs AI once again to improve the colour levels in various scenes to ensure the optimal colour intensity required.
It also brings to the table Auto HDR remastering which was seen in last year’s model and helps to enhance the colour and brightness of SDR (standard dynamic range) content to match HDR high dynamic range content levels.
This time out the TV goes all out to further deepen and enrich colours by analysing them frame by frame.
But the Samsung TV also leaves it up to the viewer to choose the best way to watch their content which is why it has Filmmaker Mode as well as AI Mode.
In Filmmaker Mode, all the upscaling bells and whistles are turned off and what you are seeing is exactly what the filmmaker created.
A lot of cinephiles prefer this more film-like mode which offers a warts and all look at the image and all the inherent characteristics of film that you would enjoy in a cinema.
But then there’s AI mode which works in the background to work on the brightness and colour tones to suit your taste.
Customers can dive into the settings and go through a setup process that allows you to choose the different levels of brightness and contrast and colour tone.
Picture quality, after all, is quite subjective and one person’s idea of a good picture may not entirely match that of someone else.
And there’s also AI Auto mode which can do the optimization on your behalf.
Whatever way you choose and whatever you prefer the Samsung TV more than delivers a stunning viewing experience with enhanced picture and audio quality.
The TV has a stunning edge-to-edge border free design and is just 13.3mm thick.
Samsung has brought Glare Free technology to the Neo QLED 8K QN990F for the first time.
This is the cherry on top for viewers so they can enjoy the remarkable picture quality even further without distracting reflections.
As it does on Samsung’s OLED range, the Glare Free technology diffuses any light that hits the screen and absorbs it rather than bouncing it back to the viewer.
We reviewed the TV in a bright and well-lit hotel room complete with down lights and large windows and it did not have any impact on our viewing.
This will be an attractive feature for Australian customers who like to place their TVs in large bright open plan living areas.
The Glare Free technology will ensure you will still enjoy the TV to its fullest even in the harshest and brightest conditions.
On the audio side, the Samsung TV has a 90W 6.2.4 channel sound system and has up, down, side and centre firing speakers built into the edges of the TV along with true Dolby Atmos support.
It also has Object Tracking Sound Pro and uses the eight speakers around the edges of the TV to play the sound relative to the movement on the screen.
It also has Active Voice Amplifier Pro to ensure viewers can hear even clearer dialogue after analysing the ambient noise in your room and the background sounds from your content.
It makes quite a difference that means you’re no longer required to rewind to hear what was said or ask others in the room.
There was the Samsung Q Series HW-Q990F soundbar connected to the TV and that, naturally, enhances the audio even further and adds a completely new dimension to your enjoyment.
But the Samsung Neo QLED 8K QN990F offers a decent audio experience on its own.
But our recommendation is, if you’re spending this sort of money on your TV, spend a little extra and add the Samsung soundbar to vastly improve the experience.
One of our favourite new features is the Wireless One Connect Box which means all you need where the TV is located is power.
The Wireless One Connect Box can be placed within 10m of the TV and wirelessly transmit up to an 8K 120Hz signal without any issues.
The box and the TV create a wireless high bandwidth peer to peer connection.
Users can even place the box inside furniture, as long as it’s not metal, without any signal degradation or interruption.
This makes the TV even easier to mount without the need to connect sources at the back of the TV.
Instead you can easily connect other devices like set top boxes, 4K players and gaming consoles into the Wireless One Connect Box wherever you’ve placed it in the room.
Another amazing addition to the TV is Samsung’s Art Store, usually only seen with Samsung’s The Frame TVs, which provides access to artwork from the world’s leading galleries and artists.
This allows users to display works of art when not watching the TV rather than having a large black rectangle on the wall.
Vision AI also makes it possible to generate your own wallpaper to use as your screensaver.
On the gaming side, it makes perfect sense to use the Samsung Neo QLED 8K QN990F to take your experience to another level.
It is no doubt the best screen in the house but also has features to improve gameplay including HDMI 2.1 compatibility to allow access for ultra-high bandwidth compatible devices while Game Bar puts features like VRR (variable refresh rate) at your fingertips to help give you the edge over your competitors.
The TV is even smart enough to detect your game console type and choose the optimal settings.
Also onboard is the Samsung Gaming Hub and Xbox Game Pass which means the Neo QLED 8K QN990F allows you to stream more than 100 blockbuster titles. It’s like Netflix for games.
The Samsung Q Series HW-Q990F 85-inch is the jewel in the crown of the Samsung range and naturally that comes at a price.
The recommended retail price of this TV is $13,799 and the Samsung Q Series HW-Q990F soundbar is priced at $2,099.
These are top of the range products and Samsung offers other series of televisions that cheaper.
They won’t be 8K but they still deliver most of the features that you see with the Neo QLED N990F.
The Samsung Q Series HW-Q990F 85-inch is available now from leading electrical retailers.
VERDICT
If you’re serious about your home entertainment and value picture and sound quality and want to own one of the best TVs money can buy, then the Samsung Neo QLED 8K QN990F is an investment in that passion that your whole family and friends can enjoy.
