Samsung Q80T QLED 4K HDR TV Review

Samsung Q80T

QN75Q80TFZXA Ultra HD 120Hz Smart TV

Review Summary
Samsung Q80T

Product Name: QNQ80TFZXA

Product Description: QLED Series | 4K HDR | Direct Full Array 12X LED backlight with Supreme UHD Dimming | Ultra Viewing Angle | Quantum HDR 12X | Real Game Enhancer+ | Tizen OS smart TV platform | HDMI 2.1 certified

Brand: Samsung

  • Samsung QN75Q80T
4.5

See full review below

Model year: 2020

Screen size reviewed: 75”

Bottom Line:

The QLED Q80T is an exceptional performing 4K HDR TV and delivers some of the best HD picture images currently available. I really didn’t have much to criticize about this TV with the exception of not having Dolby Vision HDR support, which Samsung doesn’t offer on any of its TVs.

Overall, the Q80T produced stunning picture quality that I truly enjoyed watching thanks in part to its great contrast and black levels and excellent color accuracy, in addition to delivering eye-catching detail and clarity.

Dimensions:

With stand: (W x H x D) 65.8” x 40.8” x 12.5”

Without stand: (W x H x D) 65.8” x 37.7” x 2.1”

Weight:

With stand: 88.8 lbs.

Without stand: 75.8 lbs.

Warranty:  One year parts and labor

Pros

  • Impressive contrast, black levels and color accuracy
  • Very good wide-angle viewing performance for an LED/LCD TV
  • Great TV for video gaming
  • HDMI 2.1 certified
  • Excellent 4K upscaling

Cons

  • No Dolby Vision HDR support
  • Slight backlight blooming may be noticed

Intro

Samsung’s Q80T is one of four models in the company’s top-tier premier line of QLED series 4K TVs which also includes the Q60T, Q70T and Q90T. The Q80T is offered in five different sizes which include 49”, 55”, 65”, 75” and 85″ screen options. The 75” model was used for this review; this review can be applied to the additional screen sizes as well.

Last year I reviewed two of Samsung’s premium QLED models – the Q70R and Q90R – this year I decided to go with a QLED series model I had not reviewed in the past which led me to evaluate the Q80T. The Q80T is of course a high-end model and sits right below the flagship Q90T in Samsung’s current QLED lineup.

Design and Features

Q80T Side View

Side View

The Q80T is a classy-looking TV and quite appealing visually. It has razor-thin bezels that flank the top and sides of the TV’s screen, whereas the bottom portion is a bit thicker. The screen surface contains a glossy finish and is illuminated with full-array LED backlighting with local dimming which enhances contrast and black levels and also allows for more precise localized screen dimming when needed depending on the content being viewed.

The Q80T has a pedestal-type stand that Samsung refers to as a “Floating Plate” design. It does provide decent support, although with a bit of wobble when the panel is gently rocked back and forth. Panel depth is relatively thin and measures approximately 2.1-inches at its deepest point. The Q80T is primarily constructed of plastic and has overall solid build quality.

Remote control – The supplied OneRemote has a built-in microphone for voice control – via Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant – and basically has the same design and functionality as the previous year’s remote models and features direct access buttons for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Samsung TV Plus. The remote is very compact and easy to use once you get accustomed to how the buttons actually work. The remote does not require a direct line of sight for most TV functions. The remote is not backlit.Samsung 20202 remote

Key Features

  • Direct Full Array 12X LED backlight with Supreme UHD Dimming (local dimming)
  • Ultra Viewing Angle film layer reduces glare and improves off-angle viewing for a vibrant picture when seated at wide viewing angles
  • Quantum HDR 12X (HDR10, HDR10+, HLG) for extended picture contrast and brightness when viewing HDR content (no Dolby Vision support)
  • Quantum Dot technology provides 100% Color Volume — full color with full brightness
  • Quantum Processor 4K improves contrast, shadow detail, and color accuracy
  • 4K AI Upscaling enhances standard-def and high-def video signals for optimum display on a 4K screen
  • Motion Rate 240 blur reduction (120Hz refresh rate)
  • Real Game Enhancer+ optimizes settings for minimal lag and smooth gameplay
  • HDMI 2.1 (input 4) supports 4K @ 120Hz, ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) – supports variable refresh rate – AMD FreeSync
  • Ambient Mode+ helps the TV blend into your room when it’s wall-mounted, or shows screen savers featuring photos, artwork, or info like weather
  • Object Tracking Sound uses up-firing and down-firing speakers to create sound that tracks every motion on the screen while adding a more expansive and enveloping sound field
  • Active Voice Amplifier analyses ambient room noise and enhances voices for clear dialogue

Smart TV features

  • Tizen-powered OS smart TV platform
  • Use the OneRemote’s microphone to access Bixby, the TV’s built-in intelligent voice assistant. Bixby makes it easy to change channels, search for content, or even ask about the weather, using only your voice
  • The TV supports voice control of compatible apps and works with Google Home compatible voice control assistants and Amazon Alexa-compatible voice control assistants
  • Built-in Apple AirPlay 2 allows wireless streaming from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac
  • TV-to-mobile and mobile-to-TV wireless mirroring

Connectivity

  • 4 HDMI inputs (one 2.1/three 2.0b) – HDCP 2.2 compliant
  • 1 Digital optical out
  • 2 USB 2.0 inputs
  • 1 Ethernet port
  • 1 RF input for antenna/cable signals
  • eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) HDMI input 3
  • Dual-band 802.11ac built-in Wi-Fi
  • Bluetooth wireless audio streaming to a compatible speaker or set of headphones

Note: The TV’s HDMI 4 input is the only HDMI input that is HDMI 2.1 certified and can support up to 10-bit color, 4:4:4 color upsampling, and 120Hz frame rate. The other HDMI inputs are HDMI 2.0b and are limited up to 4:4:4 (8-bit; 60Hz) or 4:2:2: (12-bit; 60Hz).

Performance

Note: Picture settings: Movie mode. Color Tone or temperature set to Warm2. Local Dimming set to High. If the Movie mode picture setting is too soft or flat for your liking, try using the Natural setting which will give the TV a more dynamic and vibrant picture without being harsh, but with a small loss in shadow detail. Personally, I like using the Natural mode when I want a more vibrant picture image, especially while watching sporting events.

The Q80T has excellent overall picture quality that immediately grabs your attention with a visually dynamic picture image that bursts with extremely robust and rich color reproduction that made images appear very realistic with intense vibrancy and pop, all while appearing natural with a very accurate tonal balance. All-in-all, I couldn’t have asked for a better color presentation.

The Q80T’s exceptional contrast range allowed this TV to deliver deeply saturated black levels and vibrant peak whites. This was most apparent with HDR content and made HDR images a pleasure to watch. HDR peak brightness output with HDR content was approximately 700 nits. SDR (standard dynamic range) peak brightness output was approximately 400 nits according to the info I obtained from a well-known and reliable source. The peak brightness measurements I just mentioned are very good, especially the SDR numbers which makes the Q80T a good choice for watching TV in a brightly lit room.

Black screen uniformity was excellent on this display thanks in part to its local dimming capability and was capable of rendering a completely black screen with no evidence of light leakage or clouding on any area of the screen.

Backlight blooming really wasn’t an issue with this TV, that’s with the picture mode set to Movie. However, you may experience some blooming around small white objects set against a black background if you choose to use the Standard or Natural picture mode settings. You can reduce blooming by setting the Local Dimming feature to Low.

Picture Detail was outstanding on this display, delivering pristine clarity that was very refined revealing great amounts of image texture that brought an abundance of realism to high def content – including 4K and 1080p – on this otherwise excellent performing QLED display. Furthermore, the Q80T also produced very life-like three-dimensional images that added to its image depth and transparency.

The Q80T’s wide-angle viewing performance was very good thanks to Samsung’s Ultra Viewing Angle technology. I was very impressed with the minimal amount of picture dimming, contrast and color saturation loss when viewing this TV at very wide angles. This makes the Q80T an excellent choice if your viewing environment will have seating placed at substantial off-axis angles from the TV screen.

Motion handling was very fluid and smooth on this TV with nothing to complain about where motion artifacts were concerned while viewing normal fast motion content.

If you’re a video gamer and desire a TV with very low input lag (approx. 9.8 ms with 1080p and 4K signals @ 60Hz), then the Q80T will make a very good choice thanks to its Real Game Enhance+ technology which combines AMD FreeSync (VRR), ALLM, Game Motion Plus, and Dynamic Black Equalizer to provide an enhanced gaming experience with less screen tearing and stuttering, plus cleaner and smoother motion video, as well as brighter and detailed images on-screen.

I’d like to point out that the input lag measurements listed above are with Game Motion Plus turned off. Turning the feature on still gives you very respectable input lag measurements of approx. 19.0 ms.

The sound quality on this TV was decent for a flat panel design. In general, the sound was crisp and clear in the high and mid-frequency range and produced decent imaging and stereo separation. I was surprised at the amount of bass I heard coming from the TV speakers; it wasn’t very deep but did have a decent amount of punch. Dialogue was easily discernible well defined and remained clear even at high volume levels.

Samsung’s Object Tracking Sound technology also added to this TV’s sound quality by providing a more expansive and enveloping sound presentation. Overall, the Q80T produced a well-balanced sound.

Conclusion

The Q80T is a great 4K HDR smart TV and delivers all the bells and whistles that a high-end TV of its caliber should offer. I was very impressed with its overall picture quality. Its great contrast ratio and deep black levels make this TV an excellent choice for watching TV in a dark room. Furthermore, its excellent contrast range and wide color gamut capability paid dividends when viewing HDR content allowing for a stunning viewing experience.

I was also very impressed with the 80T’s wide-angle viewing performance thanks to Samsung’s Ultra Viewing Angle technology, which means you can have seating placed at much wider angles from the TV screen with minimal picture quality loss.

I highly recommend the 80T to anyone looking for a 4K HDR TV that delivers top-notch picture quality in addition to excellent features which include Samsung’s easy-to-use Tizen OS smart TV platform. And if you’re into video gaming, Samsung’s Real Game Enhancer+ will take your gameplay to new levels of visual enjoyment.

The QN75Q80T is one of the better premium class displays currently available and will certainly provide a very satisfying viewing and entertainment experience in the comforts of your home.

Samsung QNQ80TFZXA

Q80T

You may also like this review of Sony’s XBR950H 4K TV.

17 Comments

  1. Shinji Mikami August 23, 2020
    • Milton Clark August 25, 2020
  2. Vada Morris November 2, 2020
    • Milton Clark November 4, 2020
  3. Enmanuel December 1, 2020
    • Milton Clark December 3, 2020
  4. Brian H January 11, 2021
    • Milton Clark January 11, 2021
  5. Brian Hickey January 11, 2021
    • Brian Hickey January 11, 2021
  6. Brian Hickey January 12, 2021
    • Brian Hickey January 12, 2021
    • Milton Clark January 12, 2021
  7. Brian Hickey January 12, 2021
    • Milton Clark January 12, 2021
  8. Brian Hickey January 13, 2021
    • Milton Clark January 14, 2021

Reply Cancel Reply