To have a great home theatre experience comes with great expenses. That is especially true if you want a comfortable movie-watching experience at home. Well, I recently tested the Samsung 75" Neo QLED 8K QN800C smart TV, so read on if you're serious about having a top-tier home theatre experience.
So, it goes without saying, but this TV is super huge. Together with a TV stand, it measures 1668.3 x 1023.8 x 286.4 mm and weighs 43.7kg. Yup, this is also the heaviest smart TV I have reviewed so far, so make sure you have at least two people to help you move it. Alternatively, you may mount the TV on a wall, and there are some tools for that. Also, make sure your TV bracket is strong. Otherwise... the fall would hurt both the TV and your wallet.
As usual, the Samsung Titan OS is easy to navigate. But if this is your first time using it, don't fret too much. Depending on the streaming service, the home page automatically displays recommended TV shows or content from Netflix, YouTube and others. Besides that, you can also set a wide variety of Ambiance wallpapers, including some Non-Fungible Token (NFTs) ones for when you're away.
The size of a 75" is humongous compared a standard 55" TV
Running on Tizen OS (you can manually download the Disney+ Hotstar app)
The home page will show your most visited apps
The Ambience page
There are lots of styles for the Ambience mode
Some Ambience wallpapers have animations and sounds
For this year's TV model, Samsung integrated lots of technologies for you to get the best out of everything. As marketed, its four features are the Quantum Matrix Technology Pro, Neutral Quantum Processor 8K, Dolby Atmos speakers, and Infinity One Design. Quantum technology sounds great on paper. But whether you want to use it is entirely up to your preference.
Before I start detailing my experience, let's do a quick breakdown of the features. The Quantum Matrix Technology Pro is said to bring out hidden detail, particularly from black areas, with 1.5x more lighting zones than the non-pro version. On the other hand, the Neural Quantum Processor 8K helps to upscale content to 8K with an AI that improves scenes.
As I've mentioned, all that sounds wonderful, and you should have a blast watching movies at home with the QN800C. However, if you are picky about how the visual presentation affects your viewing experience, you will need to do a lot of adjustments in the settings. Personally, I prefer to set the Intelligent Mode off, and my best viewing experience is setting Movie Mode with max brightness.
Before turning on Intelligent Mode
After turning on Intelligent Mode
Before turning on Intelligent Mode
After turning on Intelligent Mode
One of my other nitpicks about the Intelligent features is that sometimes, it enhances a certain colour too much. For example, the snowy field in The Mother (from Netflix) looked too blueish with Intelligent Mode on. Also, most non-8K YouTube videos don't translate well with that mode. As great as the content detail is, the movement fluidity can be jittery at times, even when not it's not fast-paced. On the other hand, it made dark scenes watchable without me having to squint my eyes.
Note that this is different for everyone as your environment also plays a factor (like if the sun is shining onto the TV panel). Your preference is probably different, so you may like this Intelligent Mode more than I do. Of course, I'm not entirely writing off Intelligent Mode, as it actually enhances my video gaming experience. Speaking of that, it also has Game Mode.
Game Mode can be easily access on the remote by press-hold the Play/Pause button
Before turning on Game Motion Plus
After turning on Game Motion Plus
A closer look at before and after using Game Mode
The Minimap zoom feature
Game Mode has several features for you to try, such as Game Motion Plus, Dynamic Black EQ, up to 4K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and more. I didn't have a PlayStation 5 to test it, But the Nintendo Switch performed well on the QN800C. Playing the Switch on Dock Mode would limit visuals to 30FPS. But this TV bumped it up to 60FPS, which was great.
Needless to say, movement and fast pace actions on the QN800C were seamless in Game Mode. However, that's the only thing I really like about the mode. I tried the other features but decided I was already quite satisfied with the gaming experience without altering too many settings. Also, the Dolby Atmos sound performance was mostly fine. But I didn't dive in too deeply because most consumers would have soundbars for their setup instead.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in 4K 120FPS is glorious
Some content samples of the visual presentation
At RM22,699, the 75" Neo QLED 8K QN800C is a premium flagship TV for those who want the best features and viewing experience. There are a few things to like about it, like the 75-inch screen panel that offers a truly cinematic viewing experience in your living room and the Intelligent Mode that further enhances it. I also enjoyed playing games on the TV!
Then again, how the TV enhances colour contrast, brightness, saturation and many other visual settings may not sit well with everyone. If you're fussy with how your content looks, you would most likely not use Intelligent Mode at all. But if you're not, then you would probably enjoy the visual presentation a lot.
75" Neo QLED 8K QN800C tech specs and features
- 75-inch OLED display with 7680 x 4320 pixel resolution
- Neural Quantum Processor 8K with Neo Quantum HDR 8K Plus, AI Upscaling, HDR10+, Quantum Matrix Technology Pro
- Other features - Game Mode, Game Motion Plus, Motion Xcelerator Turbo+, Filmmaker Mode, Auto HDR Remastering, Quantum Dot 100% Colour Volume, FreeSync Premium Pro
- Audio - 4.2.2CH Speaker, 70W output, Dolby Atmos, Adaptive Sound Pro, Q-Symphony, Dual Audio Support (Bluetooth), Surround Sound
- Tizen OS, compatible with Samsung SmartThings
- Supports NFC, Ambient Mode+, NFT, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2,
- Ports - 4x HDMI (4K 120Hz), 3x USB A, 1x USB C, 1x Ethernet (LAN), 1x Digital Audio Output (optical), HDMI-CEC, HDMI eARC
Pros - Offers high-tier features for the best viewing experience (especially 4K and 8K content) and is great for gaming
Cons - Not everyone may like the Intelligent feature it offers if they are picky about it, has a hefty price tag
Conclusion - A truly premium flagship TV for those who want a mini theatre experience at home
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