Our Verdict
The Q7CN is a great TV for mixed usage. It is a very good TV for watching TV shows as it can get very bright and a great TV for watching sports since it has a very fast response time and excellent motion handling. Watching movies is also a good experience although the poor local diming will not allow you to enjoy deep blacks in a dark room. Finally, it is an excellent TV for playing video games or for use as a PC monitor as it has a low input lag and great gaming features like FreeSync variable refresh rate support.
- Great gaming features including variable refresh rate support
- Very wide color gamut
- Can get very bright and easily overcome glare.
- Image deteriorates when viewed at an angle
The Q7CN is a good TV for watching movies. Although you will not get the deepest blacks in a dark room, the TV has a very wide color gamut and excellent motion handling features like motion interpolation and 24p judder removal. It has decent out of the box color accuracy and you can always make it perfect with the help of a professional calibration. Upscaling of Blu-rays is excellent, and native 4k content looks perfect.
This a very good TV for watching TV shows. It can handle the reflections of a bright room well and at the same time, it can get bright enough to fight glare. Unfortunately, the viewing angles are not good and you will notice some image degradation if you are moving around doing house chores while watching your favorite TV show. However, the TV has good upscaling of cable content, and a good smart platform with many apps to help you find your favorite shows without much hassle.
The Samsung Q7CN is a very good TV for watching sports. If you place it in a bright room with many light sources, you will not have any problems as it can get very bright and at the same time, it can handle reflections very well. It has a very fast response time and fast action in sports like hockey look great with very little motion blur. Unfortunately, the image deteriorates if you are watching from the side so it is not a good option for a room with wide seating arrangements. Upscaling cable content looks good and due to the TVs good gray uniformity, the pitch will look uniform with hardly any shades or clouding.
This is an excellent TV for playing video games. The Q7CN has a very low input lag even when it is interpolating low fps games, or even when it is engaged it a FreeSync mode. The response time is fast and you will hardly notice any motion blur. The TV has excellent 1080p upscaling for those older consoles and perfect native 4k display for the newer ones. It has a good native contrast ratio, but can't display deep blacks in a dark room due to the inefficient local dimming. You can instead place it in a bright room where it will fight glare and handle reflections very well, offering you an exciting gaming experience.
The Q7CN performs very well when you watch HDR movies. Although the blacks are not very deep in a dark room due to the inefficient local dimming, you will enjoy the rich colors and the bright highlights this TV offers you when displaying HDR content. It can get very bright, so most scenes will look close to what the creator intended. This is something that only a few TVs, from the ones we've tested, can deliver.
This is an excellent TV for playing HDR games. It has a very low input lag when displaying HDR content and a fast response time to closely follow fast action scenes with minimal blur. Although dark room performance is not the best out there, the rich colors and the bright highlights this TV can display will make your HDR gaming experience a memorable one. This Q7CN also incorporates many nice goodies to further improve your HDR gaming experiences like support for black frame insertion or FreeSync.
The Q7CN is an excellent TV for use as a PC monitor. It has a very low input lag that allows it to respond immediately to your actions like moving the mouse around the screen. At the same time, the fast response time only leaves a small motion blur trail behind it. The TV can display crisp text as it supports chroma 4:4:4 and there is no risk of any permanent burn-in when you display the same OS interface for extended periods of time. Unfortunately, the edges of the screen might look slightly dark when you sit close to the TV as the viewing angles are poor and will cause uniformity issues.
Changelog
- Updated May 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
- Updated Feb 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Feb 28, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Nov 16, 2018: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 55" Samsung Q7CN (QN55Q7CN) and we also expect our review to be valid for the 65" version (QN65Q7CN).
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Samsung Q7CN doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review. Note that some tests such as gray uniformity may vary between individual units.
| Size | US | Canada | Panel Type | Refresh Rate |
| 55" | QN55Q7CNAFXZA | QN55Q7CNAFXZC | VA | 120Hz |
| 65" | QN65Q7CNAFXZA | QN65Q7CNAFXZC | VA | 120Hz |
The model we reviewed was manufactured in August 2018.
The Samsung Q7CN is the curved version of the Samsung Q7FN which we have reviewed earlier in the year. The two TVs are almost identical in design and in performance.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Samsung Q7CN is a TV with a very good performance that will please most people.
The Sony X900F is slightly better than the Samsung Q7CN/Q7C QLED 2018. The X900F has a much better dark room performance due to the efficient full array local dimming. The Samsung Q7CN, on the other hand, has a lower input lag and support for gaming features like auto low latency mode and FreeSync, which make it a better choice if you play a lot of games. Finally, the Q7CN can handle reflections slightly better.
The Samsung Q7CN/Q7C QLED 2018 is somewhat better than the Samsung Q8C/Q8 QLED 2017. The Q7CN has better black uniformity, which matters when you watch dark scenes in a dark room. The Q7CN can also overcome the glare of a bright room better since it can get significantly brighter. Finally, the Q7CN is a better choice for playing video games as it has lower input lag and supports the FreeSync variable refresh rate.
The Samsung Q7FN/Q7/Q7F QLED 2018 and the Samsung Q7CN/Q7C QLED 2018 both have very similar performance. The Q7CN is the curved version of the Q7FN. Most of the differences between them can be attributed just to panel variance.
The Samsung Q7CN/Q7C QLED 2018 is a bit better than the LG SK9500 unless you'll be watching from the side, in which case the LG is a better choice due to the wider viewing angles. When sitting directly in front, the Samsung Q7CN has deeper blacks in a dark room due to the higher native contrast ratio and better black uniformity. The Q7CN also has better gray uniformity and is better at handling bright room reflections. Finally, the Samsung Q7CN is a better choice for HDR gaming due to the lower input lag and support for the FreeSync variable refresh rate.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
Older Test Bench: This product has been tested using an older TV test methodology, before a major update. Some of the test results below aren't directly comparable with other TVs. Learn more
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