Our Verdict
Very good TV for a mixed usage. The Samsung Q8C offers a versatile set of features and good overall picture quality, which makes it a good choice for most situations. It does have a narrow viewing angle, which makes it less suitable for wider living rooms.
- Very good color volume for HDR
- Low input lag for gaming
- Great handling of reflections
- Picture quality degrades at an angle
Decent TV for watching movies in a dark room. Samsung's Q8C has a good contrast ratio which allows it to reproduce blacks well, but its local dimming performance is lackluster and stops it from properly reducing blooming in a darker environment.
Great TV for watching TV shows, the Q8C is one of the best TVs at handling reflections thanks to its very good screen coating. It also gets quite bright, so viewing in environments with lots of ambient light is not an issue.
Very good Sports watching TV. The Q8C handles motion well, and its better than average gray uniformity means grassy fields won't have a dirty, blotchy look. Unfortunately, its viewing angle could be better, so it doesn't offer the best picture quality when viewed from the sides.
The Samsung Q8C is a great choice for playing video games. Its low input lag, great handling of motion and good picture quality make it a safe choice and overall great performer for a gaming TV.
Better than average HDR performance. The Q8C gets decently bright, and it displays one of the widest color gamuts we've measured making HDR content vibrant and very saturated. Unfortunately, its local dimming falls a bit short, so it doesn't have the most uniform blacks around.
The Q8C provides a satisfactory HDR gaming experience thanks to its good HDR capabilities and input lag that remains low regardless of the type of input.
Great PC monitor. The Q8 has support for all the essential resolutions, and its low input lag and response time means that mouse movement is responsive and intuitive. Its curved screen also helps enhance its viewing angle when sitting up close, where edges will sometimes darken on flat-screen TVs.
Changelog
- Updated Mar 30, 2018: It was discovered that many 2017 Samsung TVs change their BFI frequency to 60 Hz when a lot of 60 Hz motion is detected on screen. The scores have been updated.
- Updated Mar 12, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Sep 18, 2017: Review published.
- Updated Sep 16, 2017: Our testers have started testing this product.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 55" (QN55Q8C) version AA01. For the most part, we expect our review to be valid for the 65" version (QN65Q8C) and 75" version (QN75Q8C).
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Samsung Q8C doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review.
| Size | Model | Model Short | US | Canada | UK | Warehouse | Warehouse long |
| 55" | QN55Q8C | QN55Q8 | QN55Q8CAMFXZA | QN55Q8CAMFXZC | QE55Q8C | N/A | N/A |
| 65" | QN65Q8C | QN65Q8 | QN65Q8CAMFXZA | QN65Q8CAMFXZC | QE65Q8C | N/A | N/A |
| 75" | QN75Q8C | QN75Q8 | QN75Q8CAMFXZA | QN75Q8CAMFXZC | QE75Q8C | N/A | N/A |
Popular TV Comparisons
The Samsung Q8C is a good, premium LED TV with good picture quality, but its price is hardly justified by its performance. Just about any of the TVs it competes with is a better pick.
The Samsung Q8C/Q8 QLED 2017 is slightly better than the Samsung Q7F/Q7 QLED 2017. Overall performance is very similar between the two. The Q8C is slightly brighter with SDR and HDR content. The main difference between the two TVs is the shape, as the Q8C is curved while the Q7F is flat.
The Sony X900F is better than the Samsung Q8C/Q8 QLED 2017. The X900F has a full-array local dimming feature that delivers better dark room viewing than the Q8C's edge lighting. The X900F is brighter with SDR and HDR, and is better able to overcome glare in a bright room, although the Samsung Q8C has better reflection handling.
The Samsung Q8FN/Q8/Q8F QLED 2018 is better than the Samsung Q8C/Q8 QLED 2017. The Q8FN features a full-array local dimming system that delivers a better dark room experience than with the Q8C's edge-lighting. The Q8FN is much brighter, good for overcoming glare in a bright room and has new features for gamers including VRR and Auto Low Latency Mode.
The LG C8 OLED is significantly better than the Samsung Q8C/Q8 QLED 2017, unless the possibility of burn-in is a concern for you. The LG C8 has an OLED panel which delivers a perfect dark room experience, and has very good viewing angles, although there is the risk of temporary image retention or permanent burn-in. The LG C8 has better motion handling, as the OLED pixels have a near-instantaneous response time. The Samsung Q8C doesn't have any risk of burn-in.
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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