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Samsung Q80B [Q80, Q80BD] QLED TV Review

Tested using Methodology v1.11
Review updated Sep 05, 2023 at 02:19 pm
Samsung Q80B [Q80, Q80BD] QLED Picture
7.5
Mixed Usage
Value for price beaten by
: Hisense U8/U8K
7.7
TV Shows
Value for price beaten by
: Hisense U8/U8K
7.8
Sports
Value for price beaten by
: Hisense U8/U8K
7.7
Video Games
Value for price beaten by
: TCL QM8/QM850G QLED
6.9
HDR Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Hisense U8/U8K
7.8
HDR Gaming
Value for price beaten by
: TCL QM8/QM850G QLED
8.7
PC Monitor
Value for price beaten by
: TCL QM8/QM850G QLED
This TV was replaced by the Samsung Q80C [Q80, Q80CD] QLED

The Samsung Q80B QLED is a mid-range 4k TV in Samsung's 2022 QLED lineup. Replacing the Samsung Q80/Q80A QLED, it sits below the Samsung QN85B QLED in the higher-end Neo QLED lineup and above the Samsung Q70/Q70B QLED. The Samsung Q80C QLED is the replacement model in their 2023 lineup. This TV comes with the user-friendly Tizen platform and has a few useful features, like the ability to choose between the Google Assistant, Alexa, and Bixby voice assistants, as well as support for Google Duo, allowing you to make video calls with a compatible webcam. On top of that, it has gaming features like variable refresh rate (VRR) support and HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four ports. It's available in a few different size variants, but some don't perform like the others, as the 50-inch model has fewer gaming features, and both the 50-inch and 85-inch models use different panels than the other sizes.

Our Verdict

7.5 Mixed Usage

The Samsung Q80B is good for most uses. It's great for watching shows in well-lit rooms as it has decent reflection handling and gets bright enough to fight glare. It also has a wide viewing angle so that everyone sees a consistent image from the sides. It's very good for gaming because it has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, VRR support to reduce screen tearing, and a quick response time for good motion handling. It's also alright for watching SDR or HDR movies as it upscales lower-resolution content well, but it doesn't perform well in dark rooms as blacks look gray, and the local dimming feature causes blooming.

Pros
  • Upscales lower-resolution content well.
  • Excellent SDR peak brightness.
  • Decent reflection handling.
  • Image remains consistent from the sides.
Cons
  • Low contrast ratio.
  • Blooming around bright objects.
  • Some uniformity issues.
7.7 TV Shows

The Samsung Q80B is very good for watching TV shows in a well-lit room. It has excellent SDR peak brightness, enough to fight glare in most bright environments, and it has decent reflection handling. It's also a good choice for watching shows in a wide seating area because it has a wide viewing angle, so the image looks consistent from the sides. It even upscales lower-resolution content well, which is important for watching cable TV. Lastly, the Tizen smart platform lets you stream your favorite shows, and it supports various voice assistants that make it easy to navigate the menu.

Pros
  • Upscales lower-resolution content well.
  • Excellent SDR peak brightness.
  • Decent reflection handling.
  • Image remains consistent from the sides.
Cons
  • Some uniformity issues.
7.8 Sports

The Samsung Q80B is very good for watching sports. Fast-moving scenes look great, thanks to the quick response time. It also gets bright enough to fight glare in a well-lit room, and it has a wide viewing angle if you want to watch the game with a few friends, meaning everyone sees the same consistent image from the sides. Unfortunately, it has some uniformity issues with dirty screen effect in the center, which can be distracting with large areas of uniform colors, like a basketball court or football field.

Pros
  • Upscales lower-resolution content well.
  • Excellent SDR peak brightness.
  • Image remains consistent from the sides.
  • Quick response time.
Cons
  • Some uniformity issues.
7.7 Video Games

The Samsung Q80B is very good for gaming. It has advanced gaming features like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and VRR support to deliver a nearly tear-free gaming experience. It also has low input lag for a responsive feel and a 120Hz panel with a quick response time for smooth motion handling. Sadly, it doesn't perform well if you want to game with it in the dark, as it has a low contrast ratio, and blacks look gray. On the plus side, it easily gets bright enough to fight glare if you want to use it in a well-lit room.

Pros
  • Quick response time.
  • HDMI 2.1 bandwidth with VRR support.
  • Low input lag.
Cons
  • Low contrast ratio.
  • Blooming around bright objects.
  • Mediocre local dimming.
6.9 HDR Movies

The Samsung Q80B is alright for watching movies in dark rooms. The main downside is that it has a low contrast ratio that makes blacks look gray in dark rooms. Its full-array local dimming feature fails to improve the picture quality in dark scenes, which means there's blooming around bright objects. It upscales lower-resolution content well but loses details in compressed content, like from streaming services. If you want to watch HDR content, it supports HDR10+ but not the widely supported Dolby Vision, which is disappointing.

Pros
  • Automatically removes 24p judder from any source.
  • Displays wide color gamut.
  • Good HDR brightness.
Cons
  • Low contrast ratio.
  • Blooming around bright objects.
  • Mediocre local dimming.
  • No Dolby Vision support.
7.8 HDR Gaming

The Samsung Q80B is very good for HDR gaming, mainly due to its gaming features. It has a 120Hz panel and HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, allowing you to take full advantage of gaming consoles and high-end graphics cards. It also has VRR support for a nearly tear-free gaming experience, low input lag, and a quick response time. Although it displays a wide color gamut and has good HDR peak brightness, its HDR performance still is just alright because blacks look gray in the dark, and there's blooming in dark scenes.

Pros
  • Quick response time.
  • HDMI 2.1 bandwidth with VRR support.
  • Low input lag.
  • Good HDR brightness.
Cons
  • Low contrast ratio.
  • Blooming around bright objects.
  • Mediocre local dimming.
8.7 PC Monitor

The Samsung Q80B is excellent for use as a PC monitor. The excellent SDR peak brightness and decent reflection handling make it a great choice for a well-lit room, as visibility won't be a problem. It also has a wide viewing angle, meaning the image remains consistent at the edges even if you sit up close. Text looks sharp thanks to its RGB subpixel layout and proper chroma 4:4:4 support. However, it has some uniformity issues that can be distracting with large areas of uniform color, like when you have a webpage open.

Pros
  • Excellent SDR peak brightness.
  • Decent reflection handling.
  • Image remains consistent from the sides.
  • Quick response time.
Cons
  • Some uniformity issues.
  • 7.5 Mixed Usage
  • 7.7 TV Shows
  • 7.8 Sports
  • 7.7 Video Games
  • 6.9 HDR Movies
  • 7.8 HDR Gaming
  • 8.7 PC Monitor
  1. Updated Sep 05, 2023: Updated text for clarity throughout to match the results after various Test Bench updates.
  2. Updated Jul 10, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 1.11. With this update, we've added a new Upscaling: Sharpness Processing test and revamped our Blooming test so the scores and picture better match the real world experience. With this change, it was necessary to remove the Black Crush test. Finally, we've updated our usage scores to better align our scores with user expectations.
  3. Updated Jun 14, 2023: We've added a mention of the newly-reviewed Samsung Q80C QLED in the Contrast section of this review.
  4. Updated Apr 21, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 1.10. With this update we've revamped our Gradient testing, added a new test for Low Quality Content Smoothing, and expanded our Audio Passthrough testing.
  5. Updated Mar 06, 2023: We removed the initial measurements from the Accelerated Longevity Test for this TV, as it was removed from the test.
  6. Updated Feb 15, 2023: Updated to Test Bench 1.9, modifying our Contrast testing and splitting our local dimming testing into multiple sections covering Blooming, Black Crush, and Lighting Zone Transitions. You can see our full changelog here.
  7. Updated Dec 16, 2022: Updated to Test Bench 1.8, adding a new box for PQ EOTF tracking and updating our Color Volume and Color Gamut tests to better reflect real world usage. You can see our full changelog here.
  8. Updated Nov 17, 2022: We uploaded the initial brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
  9. Updated Oct 26, 2022: Updated to Test Bench 1.7 with an updated HDR Brightness test that better reflects real world usage. We've also split the console compatibility boxes into separate PS5 Compatibility and Xbox Series X|S Compatibility tests. You can see our full changelog here.
  10. Updated Oct 13, 2022: We updated the Variable Refresh Rate section, as the 50" model is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate.
  11. Updated May 24, 2022: Updated text for clarity regarding the variants.
  12. Updated May 20, 2022: Review published.
  13. Updated May 17, 2022: Early access published.
  14. Updated Apr 20, 2022: Our testers have started testing this product.
  15. Updated Apr 18, 2022: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
  16. Updated Apr 01, 2022: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

We tested the 65-inch Samsung Q80B, and the results are valid for the 55 and 75-inch models. The 50-inch version has a lower refresh rate and doesn't support HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, and both the 50 and 85-inch models have different panel types, so those sizes perform differently. The last four letters of the model code (in this case, FXZA) vary between regions and even retailers, and it's known as the Samsung Q80BD at Costco and Sam's Club. As Samsung's European lineup is different, these results are only valid for the North American Q80B and not the European version.

Size US Model Panel Type Refresh Rate VRR HDMI 2.1
50" Samsung QN50Q80BAFXZA VA 60Hz No No
55" Samsung QN55Q80BAFXZA ADS 120Hz Yes Yes
65" Samsung QN65Q80BAFXZA ADS 120Hz Yes Yes
75" Samsung QN75Q80BAFXZA ADS 120Hz Yes Yes
85" Samsung QN85Q80BAFXZA VA 120Hz Yes Yes

Our unit was manufactured in March 2022, and you can see the label here.

Compared To Other TVs

The Samsung Q80B is a good overall TV that performs well in bright rooms thanks to its excellent peak brightness. It's a good choice if you need the wide viewing angle for a wide seating arrangement or want to use it as a PC monitor. It also has great gaming features like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and VRR support. However, it lacks dark room performance as blacks look gray, and there's blooming around bright objects. The Samsung QN85B QLED is a better TV that costs just a little bit more, and even its successor, the Samsung Q80C QLED, improves in a few areas, like the contrast. If those TVs don't interest you, you can get other more budget-friendly TVs with better value, like the Hisense U6/U6H.

See our recommendations for the best TVs for sports, the best TVs for bright rooms, and the best TVs to use as a PC monitor.

Samsung Q80C [Q80, Q80CD] QLED
50" 55" 65" 75" 85" 98"

The Samsung Q80C QLED and Samsung Q80B QLED are extremely similar TVs, with the Q80C slightly improving over its predecessor. The Q80C has improved contrast, helped by having double the local dimming zones over the Q80B. While both TVs have similar peak brightness in both SDR and HDR, the Q80C's HDR brightness is much higher when in Game Mode, so it's the better choice for fans of HDR gaming. Sadly, its color profile is inaccurate without calibration, with the Q80B not requiring nearly as much work to look good as its successor.

Sony X85K
43" 50" 55" 65" 75" 85"

The Samsung Q80B QLED and the Sony X85K are both good TVs with different uses. The Sony is better in dark rooms as it has improved contrast and better black uniformity. Even if the Samsung TV has a local dimming feature that the Sony model doesn't have, the Sony still looks better in dark rooms. However, the Samsung is the better choice if you have a well-lit room as it gets brighter and has a wider viewing angle if you want to use it in a wide seating arrangement.

Samsung Q70/Q70A QLED
55" 65" 75" 85"

The Samsung Q70/Q70A QLED and the Samsung Q80B QLED are both good TVs with different strengths and weaknesses. Although the Q70A doesn't have a local dimming feature like the Q80B, it's still better for dark rooms because it displays deep blacks and has less blooming around bright objects. However, the Q80B gets brighter, especially in HDR, and it's a better choice for wide seating arrangements because it has a wider viewing angle. They each have HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, but the Q80B has it on all four inputs, while it's just limited to one input on the Q70A.

Samsung Q80/Q80A QLED
55" 65" 75" 85"

The Samsung Q80/Q80A QLED and the Samsung Q80B QLED are very similar overall, but there are a few differences. The Q80A gets brighter in HDR to deliver a more impactful HDR experience, but the Q80B performs better in dark rooms because there's less blooming around bright objects, although its local dimming feature is still mediocre. However, the local dimming in Game Mode is better on the Q80B than the Q80A. Also, the Q80B has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four of its HDMI ports, as opposed to just one on the Q80A, meaning you can connect multiple HDMI 2.1 devices.

Samsung QN85B QLED
55" 65" 75" 85"

The Samsung QN85B QLED is better overall than the Samsung Q80B QLED because it uses Mini LED backlighting, which the Q80A doesn't have. This means that the QN85B has a much better local dimming feature for improved dark room performance, and it gets brighter overall. It also has much better reflection handling, making the QN85B a better choice for well-lit rooms. However, the Q80B has better motion handling as there's less motion blur behind fast-moving objects.

LG QNED80 2022
50" 55" 65" 75" 86"

The Samsung Q80B QLED is better overall than the LG QNED80. Although they both have the same panel type with low native contrast, the Samsung has a much better local dimming feature that helps improve the picture quality in dark scenes, and it has less blooming than the LG. The Samsung also gets brighter, making it a better choice for well-lit rooms and making highlights pop more in HDR.

Sony X90J
50" 55" 65" 75"

The Sony X90J is better overall than the Samsung Q80B QLED mainly due to their panels' different strengths and weaknesses. The X90J is a better choice for dark rooms because it has a much higher contrast, the local dimming is better, and there's less blooming around bright objects. On the other hand, the Q80B is better for wide seating areas because it has a wider viewing angle. Although they have many of the same gaming features, like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, the Q80B is still a better choice for gaming because it has FreeSync support and lower input lag.

Samsung AU8000
43" 50" 55" 60" 65" 70" 75" 85"

The Samsung Q80B QLED is better than the Samsung AU8000. The Q80B has much higher peak brightness in SDR, so it overcomes glare better in a bright room, and its wider viewing angle makes it the better choice for watching TV with friends. The Q80B also has much higher HDR peak brightness, a wider color gamut, and better color volume, so HDR content has more vibrant and lifelike colors, and highlights really standout. Finally, the Q80B is better for gaming as it has a faster response time, VRR support, HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, and the ability to play games in up to 4k @ 120Hz.

Hisense U7H [U7, U75H]
55" 65" 75" 85"

The Hisense U7H and Samsung Q80B QLED are better than each other in different ways. The Hisense performs much better in a dark room due to its more effective local dimming feature, better contrast and black uniformity, and highlights pop a bit more in HDR thanks to its slightly better HDR peak brightness. When it comes to gaming, the Samsung is the better option due to its faster response time and lower input lag. The Samsung is also better for watching TV as a group due to its wider viewing angle.

+ Show more

Test Results

perceptual testing image
Design
Design
Style
Curved No

The Samsung 65Q80B is a simple-looking TV with a center-mounted stand and thin bezels. It doesn't look as premium as some higher-end models, but it's still nice enough to look good in any room.

Design
Accelerated Longevity Test
Uniformity Pictures N/A
Design
Stand

The center-mounted stand doesn't take up much space, but with a large TV like this 65-inch model, there's wobble front to back and side to side, so it isn't the most stable. It raises the screen enough off the table that placing most soundbars in front won't block the screen, but thicker ones might.

Footprint of the 65-inch stand: 15.4" W x 9.4" D x 2.95" H to the bottom bezel

Design
Back
Wall Mount VESA 400x300

The back panel features textured plastic with horizontal lines. You can route all your cables through the stand for cable management, but that means there's nothing for the cables if you wall-mount it. The inputs are set into the back, so they're hard to access if you wall-mount it.

Design
Borders
Borders 0.43" (1.1 cm)
Design
Thickness
Max Thickness 2.13" (5.4 cm)
7.0
Design
Build Quality

The build quality is decent, but it's worse than other Samsung TVs because our unit came with some issues. The back panel doesn't connect properly to the borders on the upper left-hand side, exposing the internal electronics. Even putting glue doesn't solve the issue because it melts with the TV on. This is the biggest concern with our unit, but it doesn't mean that all units come like this, either.

Picture Quality
5.7
Picture Quality
Contrast
Contrast
5,626 : 1
Native Contrast
1,486 : 1

This TV has a disappointing contrast ratio, even with local dimming enabled. Blacks look gray in the dark next to bright highlights, but the 50 and 85-inch models have VA panels with much better contrast. Also, note that you can't easily disable the local dimming on Samsung TVs, as you need to do it through the service menu, and the contrast is much worse without it. The Q80B's successor, the Samsung Q80C QLED, has better contrast, so check that one out if you're shopping for this TV.

6.0
Picture Quality
Blooming

Unfortunately, there's blooming around bright objects in dark scenes. This is because the local dimming feature isn't effective at reducing blooming, and you can easily notice it.

5.5
Picture Quality
Lighting Zone Transitions
Local Dimming
Yes
Backlight
Full-Array
Dimming Zones Count Of Tested TV
48

The TV handles transitions between dimming zones poorly. The local dimming algorithm is slow to keep up with fast-moving objects. These small objects also cause many surrounding dimming zones to turn in, resulting in blooming.

5.5
Picture Quality
Contrast And Dark Details In Game Mode

While the local dimming performs similarly in Game Mode than outside of it, it's still poor, and the picture quality in dark scenes is disappointing. The same issues with raised black levels, blooming, and slow zone transitions occur, which is distracting if you play a lot of games with dark scenes.

7.4
Picture Quality
HDR Brightness
Hallway Lights (~1950 cd/m²)
439 cd/m²
Yellow Skyscraper (~700 cd/m²)
400 cd/m²
Landscape Pool (~300 cd/m²)
169 cd/m²
Peak 2% Window
724 cd/m²
Peak 10% Window
839 cd/m²
Peak 25% Window
642 cd/m²
Peak 50% Window
526 cd/m²
Peak 100% Window
512 cd/m²
Sustained 2% Window
716 cd/m²
Sustained 10% Window
828 cd/m²
Sustained 25% Window
640 cd/m²
Sustained 50% Window
524 cd/m²
Sustained 100% Window
511 cd/m²
Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)
0.028

The Samsung Q80B has decent HDR peak brightness. Small highlights stand out against the rest of the image, but it doesn't get as bright in real content as the Samsung Q80/Q80A QLED. You can see the difference between the Q80B (top) and the Q80A (bottom) in this photo.

These results are from after calibrating the HDR white point, with the following settings:

  • Picture Mode: Movie
  • Brightness: Max
  • Contrast: Max
  • Local Dimming: High
  • Color Tone: Warm2

7.1
Picture Quality
HDR Brightness In Game Mode
Hallway Lights (~1950 cd/m²)
387 cd/m²
Yellow Skyscraper (~700 cd/m²)
367 cd/m²
Landscape Pool (~300 cd/m²)
162 cd/m²
Peak 2% Window
362 cd/m²
Peak 10% Window
826 cd/m²
Peak 25% Window
814 cd/m²
Peak 50% Window
578 cd/m²
Peak 100% Window
494 cd/m²
Sustained 2% Window
334 cd/m²
Sustained 10% Window
809 cd/m²
Sustained 25% Window
806 cd/m²
Sustained 50% Window
578 cd/m²
Sustained 100% Window
493 cd/m²
Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)
0.052

The HDR brightness in Game Mode is also decent. Like other Samsung TVs, it overbrightens most images in Game Mode as it doesn't follow the target EOTF well, even if the peak brightness isn't that much different. If that bothers you, you can set ST.2084 to '-3' to get a more realistic image, as you can see in this EOTF. Also, small highlights don't pop as much due to frame dimming.

The results are from after calibrating the HDR white point with the following settings:

  • Picture Mode: Game
  • Brightness: Max
  • Contrast: Max
  • Local Dimming: High
  • Color Tone: Warm2
  • Color Space: Auto

7.4
Picture Quality
PQ EOTF Tracking
600 Nit Tracking Delta
0.0206
1000 Nit Tracking Delta
0.0206
4000 Nit Tracking Delta
0.0080

The PQ EOTF tracking is decent, but it overbrightens content mastered at 600 and 1,000 nits, which is the majority of content. It's better with 4,000-nit content, though. No matter the content, there's a slow roll-off at the peak brightness, meaning it preserves details well. The EOTF in 'Filmmaker' mode looks better than 'Movie' mode, but there's a sharper cut-off. Unlike the Samsung S95B OLED, the EOTF doesn't change depending on the content.

If you find the image too dim, you can set Contrast Enhancer to 'High' and ST.2084 to its max. It results in a much brighter image, as you can see in this EOTF, but it doesn't change the peak brightness.

8.7
Picture Quality
SDR Brightness
Real Scene Peak Brightness
677 cd/m²
Peak 2% Window
851 cd/m²
Peak 10% Window
898 cd/m²
Peak 25% Window
722 cd/m²
Peak 50% Window
569 cd/m²
Peak 100% Window
506 cd/m²
Sustained 2% Window
783 cd/m²
Sustained 10% Window
880 cd/m²
Sustained 25% Window
719 cd/m²
Sustained 50% Window
568 cd/m²
Sustained 100% Window
504 cd/m²
Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)
0.031

The SDR peak brightness is excellent. It gets bright enough to fight glare in most well-lit rooms. It maintains its brightness fairly consistently between different content, but larger areas are dimmer. This can be noticeable when watching sports, but it isn't overly distracting.

These results are from after calibration with the following settings:

  • Picture Mode: Movie
  • Brightness: Max
  • Local Dimming: High
  • Color Tone: Warm2

8.0
Picture Quality
Color Gamut
Wide Color Gamut
Yes
DCI P3 xy
89.65%
DCI P3 uv
92.87%
Rec 2020 xy
65.15%
Rec 2020 uv
70.38%

The Samsung Q80BD has a great HDR color gamut. It has amazing coverage of the commonly-used DCI-P3 color space, but it has more limited coverage of the Rec. 2020 color space. Unlike some other Samsung TVs, setting Color Space to 'Auto' works as intended and uses the correct color space.

8.0
Picture Quality
Color Volume
1,000 cd/m² DCI P3 Coverage ITP
76.0%
10,000 cd/m² Rec 2020 Coverage ITP
35.5%
White Luminance
712 cd/m²
Red Luminance
157 cd/m²
Green Luminance
551 cd/m²
Blue Luminance
54 cd/m²
Cyan Luminance
612 cd/m²
Magenta Luminance
220 cd/m²
Yellow Luminance
646 cd/m²

The color volume is great. While it's limited by its incomplete color gamut, it still displays some bright colors well.

8.1
Picture Quality
Pre Calibration
White Balance dE
2.74
Color dE
2.40
Gamma
2.21
Color Temperature
6,409 K
Picture Mode
Movie
Color Temp Setting
Warm 2
Gamma Setting
2.2

The Samsung QN65Q80B has great accuracy before calibration. Most colors are accurate; the color temperature is close to the 6500K target, and gamma follows the 2.2 target well. However, the white balance is slightly off, meaning brighter shades of gray are off.

The 'Filmmaker' Picture Mode looks very similar to 'Movie', with nearly identical accuracy:

9.5
Picture Quality
Post Calibration
White Balance dE
0.25
Color dE
1.17
Gamma
2.19
Color Temperature
6,594 K
White Balance Calibration
20 point
Color Calibration
Yes

The accuracy after calibration is fantastic. You won't be able to spot any inaccuracies in the white balance and colors, but it's a bit difficult to calibrate the TV.

You can see our full calibration settings here.

7.1
Picture Quality
Gray Uniformity
50% Std. Dev.
4.459%
50% DSE
0.207%
5% Std. Dev.
0.558%
5% DSE
0.064%

The gray uniformity is decent, but there are some issues. The edges are noticeably darker throughout, and there's dirty screen effect in the center. This is distracting when watching sports with large areas of uniform colors or when using the TV as a PC monitor.

4.3
Picture Quality
Black Uniformity
Std. Dev.
3.561%
Native Std. Dev.
1.955%

This TV has poor black uniformity. Blacks look blue due to the low contrast, and there's a ton of blooming around bright objects with local dimming enabled. The 50 and 85-inch versions have a different panel with better dark room performance. Also, note that you can't easily disable the local dimming on Samsung TVs, as you need to do it through the service menu.

7.7
Picture Quality
Viewing Angle
Color Washout
33°
Color Shift
67°
Brightness Loss
34°
Black Level Raise
70°
Gamma Shift
44°

The viewing angle is good. The image remains consistent from the sides, so it's a good choice for watching content in a wide seating area.

7.3
Picture Quality
Reflections
Screen Finish
Semi-gloss
Total Reflections
5.3%
Indirect Reflections
0.4%
Calculated Direct Reflections
4.9%

The reflection handling is decent. Reflections from strong light sources like windows are a bit more distracting, but the TV gets bright enough to fight glare.

8.5
Picture Quality
HDR Native Gradient
100% Black to 50% Gray
8.0
50% Gray to 100% White
8.0
100% Black to 50% Red
8.0
50% Red to 100% Red
10
100% Black to 50% Green
10
50% Green to 100% Green
6.0
100% Black to 50% Blue
10
50% Blue to 100% Blue
8.0

This TV has excellent gradient handling. There's minimal banding throughout, but darker colors, especially dark greens, have some banding.

6.3
Picture Quality
Low-Quality Content Smoothing
Smoothing
6.0
Detail Preservation
7.0

The TV isn't bad at smoothing out content from low-quality sources. There's macro blocking, which is disappointing for watching content from sources that use compression, like streaming sources, but it's decent at keeping details.

7.5
Picture Quality
Upscaling: Sharpness Processing

The Samsung Q80B QLED is good at upscaling lower-resolution content. Text looks blurry, and the image isn't perfectly sharp, but it still preserves details well, and it's good enough for watching content from DVDs and cable boxes. The recommended settings are with Picture Clarity off and Sharpness at '5'.

Picture Quality
Pixels
Subpixel Layout
RGB
Type LED
Sub-Type
IPS

This TV has an ADS panel, which is a type of IPS panel that shares many of the same characteristics. It uses an RGB subpixel layout that provides better text clarity than TVs with a BGR subpixel layout when using it as a PC monitor.

Motion
8.5
Motion
Response Time
80% Response Time
3.8 ms
100% Response Time
10.1 ms

This TV has an excellent response time. There's very little ghosting behind fast-moving objects, but because there's significant overshoot in dark transitions, it has some inverse ghosting in dark scenes.

9.9
Motion
Flicker-Free
Flicker-Free
No
PWM Dimming Frequency
960 Hz

This TV uses pulse width modulation (PWM) to dim its backlight, and the flicker frequency changes depending on the picture modes and settings you use. The flicker-free modes and those with a 960Hz flicker are good if you're sensitive to flicker, but a 120Hz flicker is noticeable, and it also causes image duplication. Below, you can see which combination of settings results in flicker.

Picture ModeBrightness LevelFlicker FrequencyOther Settings Enabled
MovieAny960HzNone
Game30 and below960HzVRR
Game31 and above120HzNone
GameAny120HzGame Motion Plus
Dynamic47 and below120HzNone
Dynamic48 and above0HzNone
Standard47 and below120HzNone
Dynamic48 and above0HzNone
FilmmakerAny120HzNone
AnyAny120HzPicture Clarity

Motion
Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
Optional BFI
Yes
Min Flicker For 60 fps
60 Hz
60Hz For 60 fps
Yes
120Hz For 120 fps
Yes
Min Flicker for 60 fps in Game Mode
60 Hz

This TV has an optional backlight strobing feature to reduce persistence blur, commonly known as black frame insertion. You can make it flicker at either 60Hz or 120Hz, but it creates image duplication.

Motion
Motion Interpolation
Motion Interpolation (30 fps)
Yes
Motion Interpolation (60 fps)
Yes

The Samsung Q80B has a motion interpolation feature to interpolate low-framerate content. Like most TVs, it looks fine during dialogue and slow scenes, but there are artifacts with busier scenes. It doesn't stop interpolating when there's a lot of action on the screen, meaning the artifacts are always present in busy scenes.

6.8
Motion
Stutter
Frame Hold Time @ 24 fps
31.6 ms
Frame Hold Time @ 60 fps
6.6 ms

Due to the quick response time, lower framerate content appears to stutter as each frame is held longer. Try enabling the motion interpolation feature if it bothers you.

10
Motion
24p Judder
Judder-Free 24p
Yes
Judder-Free 24p via 60p
Yes
Judder-Free 24p via 60i
Yes
Judder-Free 24p via Native Apps
Yes

This TV automatically removes 24p judder from any source, which helps with the appearance of motion in movies.

9.4
Motion
Variable Refresh Rate
Native Refresh Rate
120 Hz (except 50")
Variable Refresh Rate
Yes
HDMI Forum VRR
Yes
FreeSync
Yes
G-SYNC Compatible
Yes
4k VRR Maximum
120 Hz
4k VRR Minimum
< 20 Hz
1080p VRR Maximum
120 Hz
1080p VRR Minimum
< 20 Hz
1440p VRR Maximum
120 Hz
1440p VRR Minimum
< 20 Hz
VRR + Local Dimming Yes

This TV works with all of the common variable refresh rate formats without any issue, and it has Low Framerate Compensation to continue working with lower frame rates. The 50-inch model doesn't support VRR and is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate.

Inputs
9.7
Inputs
Input Lag
1080p @ 60Hz
10.0 ms
1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
88.3 ms
1080p @ 120Hz
5.5 ms
1080p @ 144Hz
N/A
1440p @ 60Hz
10.0 ms
1440p @ 120Hz
5.4 ms
1440p @ 144Hz
N/A
4k @ 60Hz
10.0 ms
4k @ 60Hz + 10-Bit HDR
10.0 ms
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
10.0 ms
4k @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
79.5 ms
4k @ 60Hz With Interpolation
23.6 ms
4k @ 120Hz
5.4 ms
4k @ 144Hz
N/A
8k @ 60Hz
N/A

The Samsung Q80BD has an incredibly low input lag for a responsive feel while gaming. You need to be in Game Mode for the lowest input lag possible, and you can still enable the motion interpolation feature and get low enough input lag for casual gaming.

9.6
Inputs
Supported Resolutions
Resolution 4k
480p @ 59.94Hz (Widescreen)
Yes
720p @ 59.94Hz
Yes
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes
1080p @ 120Hz
Yes
1080p @ 144Hz
No
1440p @ 60Hz
Yes
1440p @ 120Hz
Yes
1440p @ 144Hz
No
4k @ 60Hz
Yes
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes
4k @ 120Hz
Yes
4k @ 120Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes
4k @ 144Hz
No
8k @ 30Hz or 24Hz
No
8k @ 60Hz
No

This TV supports all common resolutions up to 4k @ 120Hz. It also displays clear text with proper chroma 4:4:4 in all supported resolutions, except for 1440p @ 120Hz.

Inputs
PS5 Compatibility
Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM)
Yes
4k @ 120Hz
Yes
1440p @ 120Hz
Yes
1080p @ 120Hz
Yes
HDR
Yes
VRR
Yes

This TV works without issue with the PS5 thanks to its HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, and with Auto Low Latency Mode, it automatically switches the TV into Game Mode when you launch a game.

Inputs
Xbox Series X|S Compatibility
Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM)
Yes
4k @ 120Hz
Yes
1440p @ 120Hz
Yes
1080p @ 120Hz
Yes
HDR
Yes
VRR
Yes

This TV has no compatibility issues with the Xbox Series X|S, and with HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, it supports 4k signals up to 120Hz.

Inputs
Inputs Specifications
HDR10
Yes
HDR10+
Yes
Dolby Vision
No
HLG
Yes
HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth
Yes (HDMI 1,2,3,4)
HDMI 2.1 Class Bandwidth
Yes (HDMI 1,2,3,4)
CEC Yes
HDCP 2.2 Yes (HDMI 1,2,3,4)
ATSC Tuner
1.0
USB 3.0
No
Variable Analog Audio Out No
Wi-Fi Support Yes (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz)

All four HDMI ports support the full 48Gbps bandwidth of HDMI 2.1, but the 50-inch model supports HDMI 2.0 bandwidth. It doesn't support Dolby Vision, a common HDR format for streaming services, so you'll be limited to HDR10 with content that's mastered in Dolby Vision. The tuner supports only ATSC 1.0, not 3.0, meaning you can't use it to watch over-the-air 4k channels in the US.

Inputs
Input Photos
Inputs
Total Inputs
HDMI 4
USB 2
Digital Optical Audio Out 1
Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 0
Analog Audio Out RCA 0
Component In 0
Composite In 0
Tuner (Cable/Ant) 1
Ethernet 1
DisplayPort 0
IR In 0
Inputs
Audio Passthrough
ARC/eARC Port
eARC
eARC: Dolby Atmos Over Dolby Digital Plus
Yes
eARC: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Yes
eARC: LPCM 7.1 Over Dolby MAT
Yes
eARC: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Yes
eARC: DTS:X Over DTS-HD MA
No
eARC: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
No
eARC: LPCM Channels (Bitstream)
7.1
ARC: Dolby Digital 5.1
Yes
ARC: DTS 5.1
No
Optical: Dolby Digital 5.1
Yes
Optical: DTS 5.1
No

This TV has eARC support, allowing you to pass lossless Dolby Atmos audio to a compatible receiver. However, because it doesn't support any DTS or DTS:X signals, audio formats that many Blu-rays use, you'll need to connect your Blu-ray directly to your receiver to get the best sound experience.

Sound Quality
7.2
Sound Quality
Frequency Response
Low-Frequency Extension
59.93 Hz
Std. Dev. @ 70
3.44 dB
Std. Dev. @ 80
4.12 dB
Std. Dev. @ Max
5.51 dB
Max
88.7 dB SPL
Dynamic Range Compression
4.36 dB

The frequency response is decent. It actually produces much more bass than most TVs, but it still isn't as good as a dedicated subwoofer. It also gets loud, but there are some artifacts at max volume.

7.7
Sound Quality
Distortion
Weighted THD @ 80
0.112
Weighted THD @ Max
0.261
IMD @ 80
1.23%
IMD @ Max
2.44%

The distortion handling is good. Although there's a bit more distortion at max volume, it isn't that noticeable with most content.

Smart Features
8.5
Smart Features
Interface
Smart OS Tizen
Version 2022
Ease of Use
Easy
Smoothness
Very Smooth
Time Taken to Select YouTube
2 s
Time Taken to Change Backlight
5 s
Advanced Options
Many

The Samsung Q80BD comes with the easy-to-use Tizen interface, which has a full-page menu instead of the banner seen in past versions. It works well, but it feels slower for a bit when you turn the TV back on after a full shutdown.

0
Smart Features
Ad-Free
Ads
Yes
Opt-out
No
Suggested Content in Home
Yes
Opt-out of Suggested Content
No

Unfortunately, there are ads throughout the interface, and there's no way to disable them.

8.5
Smart Features
Apps and Features
App Selection
Great
App Smoothness
Average
Cast Capable
Yes
USB Drive Playback
Yes
USB Drive HDR Playback
Yes
HDR in Netflix
Yes
HDR in YouTube
Yes

The Samsung app store has a ton of apps you can download. It supports Google Duo to make video calls with a compatible webcam. You can also use the SmartThings feature to control other compatible devices in your household.

8.5
Smart Features
Remote
Size
Small
Voice Control
Many Features
CEC Menu Control
Yes
Other Smart Features
Yes
Remote App Samsung SmartThings

The included remote is the same as other Samsung TVs in 2022. It has an extra quick-access button to open popular streaming apps. The built-in mic is compatible with Bixby, Alexa, and Google Assistant, and you can ask it to open apps, switch inputs, and change certain settings like brightness. You can recharge the remote via the solar panel on the back or the USB-C port, but it doesn't come with a USB-C cable.

Smart Features
TV Controls

There's a single button underneath the center of the TV that allows you to change channels, adjust the volume, switch inputs, or turn the TV On/Off.

Smart Features
In The Box

  • Remote
  • Power cable
  • User guides and manuals

Smart Features
Misc
Power Consumption 76 W
Power Consumption (Max) 181 W
Firmware 1098