SAMSUNG 85 Inch QN900B

I desperately tried to love this display… Coming from an 83 inch LG C1 OLED, I was excited about the high peak brightness levels on the 85 inch QN900b, paired with near OLED black levels. Alas, after 4+ hours of settings switches and pixel-peeping, I’m returning it for the LG G2 83 inch.

Pros:
– Insane brightness, like 2500+ nit brightness
– Impressive blacks (for an LED/LCD)
– Faithful and saturated colors (after tweaks)
– Q-Symphony sync with Samsung soundbar
– “Infinity” bezel-free design
– The BEST blooming suppression and backlight I’ve ever seen in an LED/LCD
– Impressive shadow detail and near-black handling vs. OLED

Cons:
– The WORST OS of any major TV Brand… glitchy, slow, buried settings and input menus, BLOATWARE, etc. (Roku box solves this but for $7k we shouldn’t need a Roku)
– Washed out look when compared to OLED (regardless of gamma, shadow detail, contrast, etc. settings)
– Brightness causes clipping in SDR and HDR even at lower settings, regardless of gamma
– Odd artifacts when upscaling even normal 1080p (looks like incorrectly lit pixels)
– Blurring in motion, regardless of judder/stutter settings
– Lack of richness in gaming images (due to worse backlight control in game mode)
– Bent bezel cover (may be isolated but the strip is THIN)

Overall, side by side with the C1, this “flagship” was lackluster to the point of embarassment. Does it blow away the C1 on brightness??? Emphatically YES!!! But I preferred the OLED in 80% of content.
– The Balrogs fire in bridge scene in Khazad-dum in FOTR looked punchy on the QLED but looked rich and polished on the OLED.
– Blackwater Bay episode of GOT had better shadow detail on the QLED, but was by far more vibrant and textured on the OLED and never clipped the explosion details when the wildfire ignited.
– Book of Boba Fett Ep. 1 again had more shadow detail in the QLED, but was so artificially brightened that it didn’t look like pitch black night, as the scene was intended, and as the OLED showed.
– etc. etc. etc.

If you’ve never owned an OLED and you want the BEST LCD/LED ever made (for blooming and backlight control) then this TV is it. However, if you’ve ever lived with an OLED for a week or more (even an A1 or C7), the QN900B will be a step down for you.

I dislike the entire experience of delivery, as well as the low quality of the screen itself. I think Amazon sold me a defective tv. Pixels on the top of my screen are messing up. Please refund me
(Edited) I was able to return the original. Awaiting replacement. I am a fan of the tech itself, but original unit was damaged in shipping. Will report any changes in impressions upon arrival. Setup is pretty insane as well

[Edited again]

Dec 2022 I returned the damaged item, refunded it in full, and then repurchased the same item. It’s incredible. This is the top tv on the market closing Dec 2022. Insanely bright, super high quality screen. People are truly shocked when they see it. 0 bezels, remote input box, and vivid ultra bright screen. I would buy a 2nd one in a couple years if the price ever drops. Holy cow I love this freaking tv. Works great with Google tv accessories, Sony home theater receiver, and series x Xbox. 8k can only be viewed on this screen and this screen alone.

Great picture and sound and g rear quality but purchases a 75 inch and should have purchased a 85 inch, other than that I love the TV

When my ordered QN800B was DOA I upgraded my order to the QN900B and am glad I did. The picture is outstanding but there is some blooming now and then but not enough I can’t live with. Hope Samsung will do some firmware updating. One complaint was that the one connect box gets very hot after 6 or more hours but I solved that with a fan unit.