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We published new results of an investigative study on the long-term durability of TVs, revealing significant durability issues with popular edge-lit models. Read the full details here.

Samsung QN900D 8k QLED TV Review

Tested using Methodology v1.11
Reviewed Sep 11, 2024 at 09:15 am
Latest change: Writing modified Oct 03, 2024 at 03:25 pm
Samsung QN900D 8k QLED Picture
8.3
Mixed Usage
Value for price beaten by
: LG G3 OLED
7.9
TV Shows
Value for price beaten by
: LG G3 OLED
8.1
Sports
Value for price beaten by
: LG G3 OLED
8.6
Video Games
Value for price beaten by
: LG G4 OLED
8.3
HDR Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Sony A95L OLED
8.6
HDR Gaming
Value for price beaten by
: Samsung S90C OLED
8.8
PC Monitor
Value for price beaten by
: LG G4 OLED

The Samsung QN900D 8k QLED is Samsung's 2024 flagship 8k option that sits above the Samsung QN800D 8k QLED. The TV replaces the Samsung QN900C 8k QLED and features Samsung's proprietary Quantum Matrix Technology Pro, which allows for more precise control of the TV's local dimming zones when compared to their regular Quantum Matrix Technology. It supports 8k @ 60Hz on all four of its HDMI 2.1 ports, but it's also capable of up to 4k @ 240Hz, with full VRR functionality. It utilizes the latest NQ8 AI Gen3 Processor, which is said to be at least twice as fast as the processor used in Samsung's 2024 4k Neo QLED TVs, leading to better upscaling performance in general. Like many of Samsung's super high-end offerings, the TV uses the external One Connect Box to help keep your setup tidy and organized. It uses the 2024 version of Samsung's Tizen OS and is available in 65, 75, and 85-inch sizes.

Our Verdict

8.3 Mixed Usage

The Samsung QN900D is a great TV for mixed usage. It overcomes glare easily in a bright room thanks to its excellent SDR peak brightness and reflection handling, so it's very good for watching TV shows or sports. It's great for use in a dark room due to its fantastic contrast, making it a solid option for watching movies. It's an excellent TV for gaming or to use as a PC monitor due to its incredibly low input lag, 4k @ 240Hz or 8k @ 60Hz with VRR capabilities, quick response time, and chroma 4:4:4 support, so it delivers a colorful and responsive experience that has little noticeable blur behind fast-moving objects. Unfortunately, its viewing angle is a bit tight, leading to color shifting when you're sitting too close to the screen.

Pros
  • Effective Local Dimming feature leads to fantastic contrast.
  • Excellent SDR peak brightness and reflection handling to overcome glare.
  • Excellent upscaling capabilities.
  • Easy-to-use smart interface with a wide selection of streaming apps.
Cons
  • Its viewing angle is only alright.
7.9 TV Shows

The Samsung QN900D is very good for watching TV shows in a bright room. The built-in Tizen smart interface is loaded with a big selection of streaming apps, so it's easy to find your favorite shows. It has excellent SDR peak brightness and reflection handling, so it easily overcomes glare in a bright room. It has an okay viewing angle, especially for an LED TV, but anyone watching from a more aggressive angle will see a washed-out image. The TV has excellent upscaling, which helps it upscale content to its 8k screen. Unfortunately, it has unremarkable low-quality content smoothing, so there are still noticeable artifacts with low-quality streaming content.

Pros
  • Excellent SDR peak brightness and reflection handling to overcome glare.
  • Excellent upscaling capabilities.
  • Easy-to-use smart interface with a wide selection of streaming apps.
Cons
  • Its viewing angle is only alright.
  • Passable low-quality content smoothing.
8.1 Sports

The Samsung QN900D is great for watching sports. The TV has an amazing response time, so fast motion is clear, with little noticeable blur behind fast-moving balls and players. It also has excellent SDR peak brightness and reflection handling, making the screen easy to see in a bright room. While its viewing angle is alright, especially for an LED TV, it's still not the best option for a wide seating arrangement. The TV's uniformity is good, so while there's some dirty screen effect when watching sports with large areas of the same color, like hockey or football, you kind of need to look for it to notice it.

Pros
  • Excellent SDR peak brightness and reflection handling to overcome glare.
  • Amazing response time for clear motion with minimal blur.
  • Excellent upscaling capabilities.
  • Easy-to-use smart interface with a wide selection of streaming apps.
Cons
  • Aggressive automatic brightness limiter.
  • Its viewing angle is only alright.
8.6 Video Games

The Samsung QN900D is an amazing TV for playing video games. It has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four of its ports that allows you to play games in up to 4k @ 240Hz or 8k @ 60Hz with VRR, so you have many options when pairing the TV with a modern console or gaming PC. The TV gives a responsive gaming experience thanks to its incredibly low input lag, and motion is clear, with very little blur behind fast-moving objects due to its amazing response time.

Pros
  • Incredibly low input lag.
  • Amazing response time for clear motion with minimal blur.
Cons
8.3 HDR Movies

The Samsung QN900D is very good for watching movies in a dark room. The TV has fantastic peak brightness in HDR, so bright highlights pop. With the TV's very effective local dimming feature turned on, contrast is also fantastic, and blacks are deep and uniform, leading to a very impressive presentation even when there's some blooming around subtitles and other bright objects. The TV has a wide color gamut, so it displays a wide range of colors, and those colors appear vibrant and bright due to its impressive color volume. Unfortunately, the TV supports HDR10+ but lacks support for the more widespread Dolby Vision format. It also has mediocre low-quality content smoothing, so there are some noticeable artifacts present with low-quality content.

Pros
  • Fantastic HDR peak brightness.
  • Effective Local Dimming feature leads to fantastic contrast.
  • Easy-to-use smart interface with a wide selection of streaming apps.
  • Wide color gamut leads to vibrant colors in HDR content.
Cons
  • No Dolby Vision support.
  • Aggressive automatic brightness limiter.
  • Passable low-quality content smoothing.
8.6 HDR Gaming

The Samsung QN900D is an excellent TV for HDR gaming. Games look vibrant and lifelike in HDR thanks to the TV's great color gamut and impressive color volume, and highlights pop due to the TV's fantastic HDR peak brightness. The TV has an amazing response time, so there's little noticeable blur behind fast-moving objects, and the incredibly low input lag delivers a responsive gaming experience. The TV supports the latest gaming features, such as the ability to game in up to 4k @ 240Hz or 8k @ 60Hz with VRR, thanks to the TV's four HDMI 2.1 bandwidth ports.

Pros
  • Incredibly low input lag.
  • Fantastic HDR peak brightness.
  • Effective Local Dimming feature leads to fantastic contrast.
  • Amazing response time for clear motion with minimal blur.
  • Wide color gamut leads to vibrant colors in HDR content.
Cons
  • No Dolby Vision support.
  • Aggressive automatic brightness limiter.
8.8 PC Monitor

The Samsung QN900D is an amazing TV to use as a PC monitor. The TV's good uniformity means that while there's some dirty screen effect when looking at large areas of the same color like when browsing the web, you need to be looking for it to notice it. It provides a responsive desktop experience thanks to its incredibly low input lag, and there's very little blur behind fast cursor movements due to its amazing response time. The TV's excellent SDR peak brightness and reflection handling make it a great choice in a bright room, as it overcomes glare easily, and the TV properly displays chroma 4:4:4, so text is clear and easy to read. Unfortunately, its viewing angle, while alright for an LED TV, is a bit tight, leading to some color shifting when you're sitting close to the panel.

Pros
  • Incredibly low input lag.
  • Amazing response time for clear motion with minimal blur.
  • Chroma 4:4:4 is displayed properly for clear text from a PC.
Cons
  • Its viewing angle is only alright.
  • No 1440p @ 240Hz support.
  • 8.3 Mixed Usage
  • 7.9 TV Shows
  • 8.1 Sports
  • 8.6 Video Games
  • 8.3 HDR Movies
  • 8.6 HDR Gaming
  • 8.8 PC Monitor
  1. Updated Oct 03, 2024: Updated the information on panel technology in the Pixels section of this review.
  2. Updated Sep 25, 2024: Added a link to the TV's spectral power distribution chart and included some information on the panel technology in the Pixels section of this review.
  3. Updated Sep 11, 2024: Review published.
  4. Updated Sep 05, 2024: Early access published.
  5. Updated Aug 20, 2024: Our testers have started testing this product.
  6. Updated Jul 26, 2024: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
  7. Updated Jul 16, 2024: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
  8. Updated Jul 16, 2024: The product has won our suggestion poll, so we'll buy and test it soon.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

We bought and tested the 65-inch Samsung QN900D, but these results are also valid for the 75 and 85-inch models. Note that the last five letters in the model number (DFXZA in this case) vary between retailers and individual regions, but there's no difference in performance. 

Size US Model Short Model Code UK Short Model Code
65" QN65QN900DFXZA QN65QN900D QE65QN900D
75" QN75QN900DFXZA QN75QN900D QE75QN900D
85" QN85QN900DFXZA QN85QN900D QE85QN900D

Our unit was manufactured in March 2024; you can see the label here.

Compared To Other TVs

The Samsung QN900D is a great TV, but it has rather limited appeal due to the lack of 8k content available. This means that other high-end 4k TVs, such as the LG G4 OLED or the Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED, offer better image quality overall even with the lack of 8k capability, as they are brighter, have better contrast, and with better image processing overall. Still, for gamers with extremely powerful PCs, the Samsung is an enticing proposition due to its 4k @ 240Hz and 8k @ 60Hz with full VRR support, but you'd still be better off buying another high-end 4k LED or OLED TV.

For more options, check out our recommendations for the best 8k TVs, the best 4k TVs, and the best QLED TVs.

LG C4 OLED
42" 48" 55" 65" 77" 83"

In most ways, the LG C4 OLED is better than the Samsung QN900D 8k QLED. While the Samsung is an 8k TV, there is almost no 8k content available, so it doesn't provide it with an advantage over the 4k LG C4. The LG is an OLED, so it has even better contrast than the otherwise fantastic contrast of the Samsung, with no blooming or lighting zone transitions. While the Samsung can get brighter in HDR, the LG is close in real content, although the Samsung does have the edge in SDR brightness. Otherwise, LG is the far better gaming TV due to its faster response time, although Samsung is interesting for those with extremely fast computers because of its 4k @ 240Hz or 8k @ 60Hz support with VRR. Finally, the LG has a far better viewing angle, making it far superior for a wide seating arrangements.

Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED
65" 75" 85"

The Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED is definitely better than the Samsung QN900D 8k QLED. The Samsung is an 8k TV, but due to the lack of 8k content, it doesn't give it any advantage in image quality over the Sony since almost all content is at 4k resolution or lower. While the Sony has slightly worse contrast with local dimming enabled, it has, in turn, far less blooming and less visible zone transitions than the Samsung. The Sony is also brighter in HDR and SDR, and has far better image processing overall, leading to better image quality in all scenarios. The Samsung is, however, capable of playing games in 4k @ 240Hz or 8k @ 60Hz, which is enticing for gamers with very powerful rigs, but it can't quite make up for the Sony's edge in image quality.

LG G4 OLED
55" 65" 77" 83" 97"

The LG G4 OLED is better than the Samsung QN900D 8k QLED in almost every way, with the exception of the Samsung's ability to play games at 4k @ 240Hz and 8k @ 60Hz. Aside from gaming, there is almost no 8k content, so 8k doesn't give the Samsung TV a noticeable advantage in image quality over the 4k LG G4. The LG OLED also has far better contrast than the otherwise fantastic contrast of the Samsung. Plus, the LG is extremely bright for an OLED, almost matching the brightness of the Samsung LED, except in SDR, where the Samsung still has the edge. Overall, there are a few contexts where the Samsung is the better-looking TV, and the LG has a far better viewing angle, making it far superior for wide seating arrangements.

Samsung QN900C 8k QLED
65" 75" 85"

The Samsung QN900D 8k QLED is an incremental improvement over the Samsung QN900C 8k QLED. The newer QN900D has slightly better contrast, gets a bit brighter in HDR, and is capable of 4k @ 240Hz and 8k @ 60Hz with full VRR support. The QN900C is, however, slightly brighter in SDR content, but overall the QN900D has the edge in every other metric.

Test Results

perceptual testing image
Design
Design
Style
Curved No

The Samsung QN900D has a nice premium design. It has very thin bezels with a sleek metallic stand, making the TV look quite nice overall.

Design
Accelerated Longevity Test
Uniformity Pictures N/A
Design
Stand

The center stand is great if you have a small table or cabinet since it takes up very little space. It supports the TV well enough, but the TV wobbles when pushed, although it settles quickly. The included One Connect box can be attached to the back of the stand, or you can place it elsewhere.

Footprint of the 65-inch stand: 14.7" x 10.4". The stand lifts the screen about 3.4 inches above the table, so almost any soundbar fits in front of it without blocking the screen.

Design
Back
Wall Mount VESA 400x300

From the back, the TV looks very similar to other premium Samsung TVs, like the Samsung QN900C 8k QLED and the Samsung S95D OLED. It uses Samsung's One Connect Box, so only one cable goes into the TV, and you can place the box anywhere you want, giving you many options when it comes to cable management. This also means that there a no clips or channels for cables on the back of the TV for cable management, as most of the cables come out of the One Connect Box itself.

Design
Borders
Borders 0.08" (0.2 cm)
Design
Thickness
Max Thickness 0.59" (1.5 cm)
8.5
Design
Build Quality

The Samsung QN900D has excellent build quality overall and is an improvement over the Samsung QN900C 8k QLED. It's not perfect, however, as there's noticeable wobble when pushed, but it settles quickly. Just like the QN900C, the back panel doesn't seem to be properly attached to the TV, and there's noticeable flex in the corners where the speaker grills are. Still, none of these will cause any issues in practice.

Picture Quality
9.0
Picture Quality
Contrast
Contrast
413,400 : 1
Native Contrast
1,984 : 1

The Samsung QN900D has fantastic contrast with local dimming on 'High.' The TV's native contrast ratio is inadequate, but its effective local dimming feature provides very deep blacks in a dark room, and they stay deep when bright highlights are also on screen.

8.0
Picture Quality
Blooming

The TV has very good blooming performance, but there's some noticeable blooming around bright objects and subtitles when displayed against a black background.

7.0
Picture Quality
Lighting Zone Transitions
Local Dimming
Yes
Backlight
Full-Array
Dimming Zones Count Of Tested TV
1,344

The TV has decent lighting zone transitions. Unfortunately, the leading edge of bright highlights when they quickly move across the screen is visibly dimmer, and there's very noticeable haloing.

8.0
Picture Quality
Contrast And Dark Details In Game Mode

When the TV is set to Game Mode, its local dimming performance is slightly worse overall, with more noticeable blooming and zone transitions.

9.0
Picture Quality
HDR Brightness
Hallway Lights (~1950 cd/m²)
816 cd/m²
Yellow Skyscraper (~700 cd/m²)
563 cd/m²
Landscape Pool (~300 cd/m²)
294 cd/m²
Peak 2% Window
1,459 cd/m²
Peak 10% Window
1,467 cd/m²
Peak 25% Window
1,214 cd/m²
Peak 50% Window
730 cd/m²
Peak 100% Window
460 cd/m²
Sustained 2% Window
1,412 cd/m²
Sustained 10% Window
1,429 cd/m²
Sustained 25% Window
1,192 cd/m²
Sustained 50% Window
730 cd/m²
Sustained 100% Window
458 cd/m²
Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)
0.064

The Samsung QN900D has fantastic HDR brightness. Highlights really pop out during darker scenes, and the TV is bright enough that very bright specular highlights even stand out in well-lit scenes, although not if you're watching in a brighter room. Combined with its fantastic contrast, this TV provides an impactful HDR viewing experience.

These measurements are after calibrating the HDR white point with the following settings:

  • HDR Picture Mode: Filmmaker
  • Brightness: 50
  • Contrast: 50
  • Contrast Enhancer: Off
  • HDR Tone Mapping: Static
  • Color Tone: Warm 2
  • Color Space: Auto
  • Peak Brightness: High

If you prefer a brighter but less accurate image, here are the results with HDR Tone Mapping set to 'Active':

  • Hallway Lights: 966 cd/m²
  • Yellow Skyscraper: 688 cd/m²
  • Landscape Pool: 419 cd/m²

8.4
Picture Quality
HDR Brightness In Game Mode
Hallway Lights (~1950 cd/m²)
551 cd/m²
Yellow Skyscraper (~700 cd/m²)
447 cd/m²
Landscape Pool (~300 cd/m²)
280 cd/m²
Peak 2% Window
1,418 cd/m²
Peak 10% Window
1,428 cd/m²
Peak 25% Window
1,178 cd/m²
Peak 50% Window
704 cd/m²
Peak 100% Window
448 cd/m²
Sustained 2% Window
1,379 cd/m²
Sustained 10% Window
1,390 cd/m²
Sustained 25% Window
1,158 cd/m²
Sustained 50% Window
704 cd/m²
Sustained 100% Window
446 cd/m²
Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)
0.065

The Samsung QN900D is visibly dimmer when set to Game Mode. It's still bright enough for highlights to stand out, however, and it provides an impactful HDR experience while gaming.

These measurements are after calibrating the HDR white point with the following settings:

  • HDR Picture Mode: Game Mode
  • Game HDR: Basic
  • Brightness: 50
  • Contrast: 50
  • HDR Tone Mapping: Static
  • Local Dimming: High
  • HDR10+ GAMING: Basic
  • Game HDR: Basic
  • Color Tone: Warm 2
  • Color Space: Auto
  • Gamma: ST.2081 (0)

Results with 'HDR Tone Mapping' set to 'Active':

  • Hallway Lights: 664 cd/m²
  • Yellow Skyscraper: 584 cd/m²
  • Landscape Pool: 287 cd/m²

Results with 'HDR Tone Mapping' set to 'Off':

  • Hallway Lights: 596 cd/m²
  • Yellow Skyscraper: 475 cd/m²
  • Landscape Pool: 285 cd/m²

9.7
Picture Quality
PQ EOTF Tracking
600 Nit Tracking Delta
0.0020
1000 Nit Tracking Delta
0.0022
4000 Nit Tracking Delta
0.0022

The Samsung QN900D has fantastic PQ EOTF tracking, as the TV follows the curve almost perfectly until it reaches the TV's maximum brightness. With content mastered at 600 or 1000 nits, there's a sharp cutoff at the TV's peak brightness, but since the TV is often bright enough to display content mastered at those levels, a roll-off isn't necessary. With content mastered at 4000 nits, there's a more gradual roll-off to preserve detail in very bright highlights.

8.7
Picture Quality
SDR Brightness
Real Scene Peak Brightness
573 cd/m²
Peak 2% Window
1,475 cd/m²
Peak 10% Window
1,454 cd/m²
Peak 25% Window
1,268 cd/m²
Peak 50% Window
758 cd/m²
Peak 100% Window
476 cd/m²
Sustained 2% Window
1,427 cd/m²
Sustained 10% Window
1,413 cd/m²
Sustained 25% Window
1,241 cd/m²
Sustained 50% Window
757 cd/m²
Sustained 100% Window
475 cd/m²
Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)
0.062

The Samsung QN900D has excellent peak brightness in SDR and easily overcomes glare in a well-lit room, although it doesn't perform as well as 2023's Samsung QN900C 8k QLED in real content.

These measurements are after calibration with the following settings:

  • Picture Mode: Movie
  • Brightness: 50
  • Local Dimming: High
  • Color Tone: Warm 2
  • Gamma: 2.2
  • Color Space: Auto

8.1
Picture Quality
Color Gamut
Wide Color Gamut
Yes
DCI P3 xy
90.55%
DCI P3 uv
94.53%
Rec 2020 xy
65.65%
Rec 2020 uv
70.14%

The Samsung QN900D has a great color gamut. It has fantastic coverage of the commonly used DCI-P3 color space, but most colors are a bit undersaturated. The TV has okay coverage of the less common Rec. 2020 color space, but highly saturated greens and cyans are inaccurate and very undersaturated; other colors are also off the mark.

8.6
Picture Quality
Color Volume
1,000 cd/m² DCI P3 Coverage ITP
86.5%
10,000 cd/m² Rec 2020 Coverage ITP
42.9%
White Luminance
1,453 cd/m²
Red Luminance
322 cd/m²
Green Luminance
1,037 cd/m²
Blue Luminance
118 cd/m²
Cyan Luminance
1,146 cd/m²
Magenta Luminance
434 cd/m²
Yellow Luminance
1,326 cd/m²

The Samsung QN900D has excellent color volume. Colors are very bright and vibrant, and dark, saturated colors are displayed well due to its fantastic contrast.

7.9
Picture Quality
Pre Calibration
White Balance dE
3.39
Color dE
2.26
Gamma
2.37
Color Temperature
6,491 K
Picture Mode
Movie
Color Temp Setting
Warm 2
Gamma Setting
2.2

The Samsung QN900D has very good pre-calibration SDR accuracy, although its white balance is only decent, with most colors underpresented in all shades of gray. Gamma is off our target of 2.2, and the entire image is darker than it should be. Thankfully the TV's color temperature is very close to the 6500K target, and color accuracy is great overall, with only whites showing noticeable mapping errors.

9.4
Picture Quality
Post Calibration
White Balance dE
0.24
Color dE
1.35
Gamma
2.21
Color Temperature
6,519 K
White Balance Calibration
20 point
Color Calibration
Yes

The TV is easy to calibrate, and Gamma, white balance, and color temperature are all nearly perfect afterwards. Color accuracy is much better now, but all colors are still a little bit off the mark, albeit barely.

You can see our full calibration settings here.

7.6
Picture Quality
Gray Uniformity
50% Std. Dev.
2.701%
50% DSE
0.187%
5% Std. Dev.
0.741%
5% DSE
0.093%

The Samsung QN900D has good gray uniformity. The corners of the screen are a bit darker than the center, but it's slight. There's also some dirty screen effect towards the middle of the screen with large areas of uniform color. On a very dark or near-black screen, its uniformity is excellent, but the edges are a bit brighter than the center.

9.1
Picture Quality
Black Uniformity
Std. Dev.
0.198%
Native Std. Dev.
1.644%

With local dimming enabled, the TV has fantastic black uniformity, and there's no noticeable clouding. Blacks are deep and uniform across the screen, with only a bit of blooming around bright objects on a dark background.

6.5
Picture Quality
Viewing Angle
Color Washout
24°
Color Shift
20°
Brightness Loss
45°
Black Level Raise
27°
Gamma Shift
48°

The Samsung QN900D has an okay viewing angle. As you move off-center color shifting, color washout, and raised blacks occur. This makes it a generally poor choice for a wide seating arrangement, although it's alright overall for an LED TV.

8.5
Picture Quality
Reflections
Screen Finish
Glossy
Total Reflections
3.0%
Indirect Reflections
1.9%
Calculated Direct Reflections
1.1%

The TV has excellent reflection handling. Its glossy coating significantly reduces the intensity of direct reflections, so glare isn't too noticeable in a bright room. Unfortunately, there's rainbow smear across the screen, which is noticeable even with lights that aren't directly opposite the TV, like overhead lights.

7.3
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
8.0
100% Black to 50% Green
4.0
50% Green to 100% Green
8.0
100% Black to 50% Blue
8.0
50% Blue to 100% Blue
6.0

The Samsung QN900D has decent HDR native gradient handling. Most colors have minimal banding, but dark greens have very noticeable banding in them, and brighter blues have some visible banding.

6.4
Picture Quality
Low-Quality Content Smoothing
Smoothing
6.5
Detail Preservation
6.0

The TV has mediocre low-quality content smoothing. It smoothes out a bit of macro blocking from low-bitrate content, but with only passable preservation of details.

8.5
Picture Quality
Upscaling: Sharpness Processing

The Samsung QN900D does an excellent job at upscaling low-resolution content like from DVDs or lower-resolution streams. Details are clear, but finer details are still hard to make out.

Sharpness processing was calibrated with no over-sharpening for low-resolution content, with the following setting:

  • Sharpness: 8

Picture Quality
Pixels
Subpixel Layout
BGR
Type LED
Sub-Type
VA

The TV uses a BGR (Blue-Green-Red) subpixel layout instead of the traditional RGB layout. For video or gaming content, this doesn't cause any issues, but for PC monitor use, it can be a problem as it impacts the text clarity, although not everyone notices this.

The TV uses quantum dot color converters to produce red and green light, as confirmed by the TV's spectral power distribution (SPD).

Motion
8.7
Motion
Response Time
80% Response Time
3.9 ms
100% Response Time
7.8 ms

The Samsung QN900D has an excellent response time for minimal blur behind fast-moving objects. Unfortunately, the response time is slower when coming out of dark states, so there's some noticeable black smearing in dark transitions.

Here are the results when testing the TV with our monitor methodology for those of you considering using this TV as a monitor:

Refresh RateCAD HeatmapRT Chart Pursuit Photo Compliance Sequence
239HeatmapChartPhotoSequence
165HeatmapChartPhotoSequence
144HeatmapChartPhotoSequence
120HeatmapChartPhotoSequence
100HeatmapChartPhotoSequence
80Heatmap Chart PhotoSequence
60Heatmap Chart PhotoSequence

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

The TV uses pulse-width modulation (PWM) to dim its backlight, which introduces flicker that can bother people who are sensitive to it. The amount of flicker varies depending on what picture mode the TV is set to, and what settings are being used.

  • In 'Dynamic', 'Standard', 'Eco', and 'Filmmaker' modes, the backlight constantly flickers at a low flicker frequency of 120Hz, which can cause headaches if you're sensitive to flicker.
  • In 'Movie' and 'Game' mode, the backlight flickers at 960Hz with blips of 120Hz.
  • With the input label set to 'PC', it flickers at 120Hz in both 'Entertain' and 'Graphic' modes, but it flickers at 960Hz with blips of 120Hz when in 'Game' mode.
  • Finally, enabling any of the 'Picture Clarity' settings changes the flicker to 120Hz.

Motion
Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
Optional BFI
Yes
Min Flicker For 60 fps
60 Hz
60Hz For 60 fps
Yes
120Hz For 120 fps
No
Min Flicker for 60 fps in Game Mode
60 Hz

The TV has an optional backlight strobing feature, commonly known as black frame insertion (BFI). The feature works well, even if the timing is a tad off, causing a slightly duplicated image. It's hard to notice with the naked eye, however.

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

This TV has an optional motion interpolation feature to improve the clarity of motion. It does a good job at smoothing out slower scenes, with only some minor artifacts present, although it does lead to a softer background image. In faster-moving scenes, it can't keep up, leading to distracting artifacts.

6.2
Motion
Stutter
Frame Hold Time @ 24 fps
33.9 ms
Frame Hold Time @ 60 fps
8.9 ms

Due to the TV's quick response time, there's some noticeable stutter when watching movies or TV shows, and it's most apparent in slow panning shots.

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

The TV automatically removes judder from all sources when watching movies or shows that are in 24p, even if they're in a 60Hz signal, like from a cable box.

9.8
Motion
Variable Refresh Rate
Native Refresh Rate
120 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
Yes
HDMI Forum VRR
Yes
FreeSync
Yes
G-SYNC Compatible
Yes
4k VRR Maximum
240 Hz
4k VRR Minimum
< 20 Hz
1080p VRR Maximum
240 Hz
1080p VRR Minimum
< 20 Hz
1440p VRR Maximum
120 Hz
1440p VRR Minimum
< 20 Hz
VRR + Local Dimming Yes

The Samsung QN900D supports all three types of variable refresh rate (VRR) technology to reduce screen tearing. It works well across a wide refresh rate range and supports sources with Low-Frame-Compensation (LFC), which ensures your games remain nearly tear-free even when your frame rate drops very low. It caps out at 240Hz at 4k and 1080p, but VRR isn't properly supported above 120Hz in 1440p. For those of you with powerful PC rigs wanting to game at 8k, the TV has a VRR range of 48-60Hz at that resolution.

Inputs
9.6
Inputs
Input Lag
1080p @ 60Hz
11.3 ms
1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
121.7 ms
1080p @ 120Hz
8.0 ms
1080p @ 144Hz
N/A
1440p @ 60Hz
11.6 ms
1440p @ 120Hz
8.1 ms
1440p @ 144Hz
N/A
4k @ 60Hz
11.5 ms
4k @ 60Hz + 10-Bit HDR
11.7 ms
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
11.6 ms
4k @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
88.7 ms
4k @ 60Hz With Interpolation
28.5 ms
4k @ 120Hz
8.2 ms
4k @ 144Hz
N/A
8k @ 60Hz
15.3 ms

This TV has incredibly low input lag when set into Game Mode, which ensures a very responsive gaming experience with very little delay between your actions with your controller or mouse and the action on-screen. The TV doesn't support 144Hz, but it does support 240Hz at 4k through Display Stream Compression (DSC) technology, as well as 1080p @ 240Hz. The input lag at 240Hz is 5.1ms.

10
Inputs
Supported Resolutions
Resolution 8k
480p @ 59.94Hz (Widescreen)
Yes
720p @ 59.94Hz
Yes
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes
1080p @ 120Hz
Yes
1080p @ 144Hz
No
1440p @ 60Hz
Yes (forced resolution required)
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
Yes
8k @ 60Hz
Yes

The Samsung QN900D supports most common resolutions up to 4k @ 240Hz or 8k @ 60Hz, both achieved with the help of Display Stream Compression (DSC). Chroma 4:4:4 signals are displayed properly with all supported resolutions when the TV's input label is set to 'PC,' which is important for text clarity. Unfortunately, the TV can't display 1440p @ 240Hz natively with both AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards and instead displays a scaled 4k image. 1440p @ 120Hz works without issue. 144Hz doesn't work at any resolution, but the TV supports 240Hz at 4k, with DSC and 1080p.

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

The TV is fully compatible with everything the PS5 offers, like 1440p @ 120Hz and 4k @ 120Hz, as well as HDMI Forum VRR. It also supports Auto Low Latency Mode, so you don't have to worry about manually switching to Game Mode to get the lowest input lag.

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

The TV is fully compatible with almost everything the Xbox Series X|S offers, including 1440p @ 120Hz, 4k @ 120Hz, HDMI Forum VRR, and FreeSync Premium Pro. It also supports Auto Low Latency Mode, so you don't have to worry about manually switching to Game Mode to get the lowest input lag. Unfortunately, Dolby Vision isn't supported on the TV, so gaming in Dolby Vision isn't possible.

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
3.0 (NEXTGEN TV)
USB 3.0
No
Variable Analog Audio Out No
Wi-Fi Support Yes (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz)

The Samsung QN900D has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four of its ports, which is great for connecting several devices that support 4k @ 120Hz or 240Hz. Due to the TV's One Connect box, the HDMI ports are limited to 40Gbps instead of the normal 48Gbps found on other HDMI 2.1 bandwidth ports, but this won't cause any issues with any current source.

Inputs
Input Photos

The TV itself only has two inputs: a USB-C port for service only and an input for the One Connect cable. All the audio/video and USB connections are housed on the external One Connect Box instead.

Inputs
Total Inputs
HDMI 4
USB 4
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

The TV has eARC support, which allows it to pass uncompressed high-quality audio from a connected source to your home theater system or soundbar. Unfortunately, it doesn't support any DTS formats commonly used on Blu-rays.

Sound Quality
6.9
Sound Quality
Frequency Response
Low-Frequency Extension
134.54 Hz
Std. Dev. @ 70
2.51 dB
Std. Dev. @ 80
2.06 dB
Std. Dev. @ Max
3.14 dB
Max
89.1 dB SPL
Dynamic Range Compression
4.63 dB

The Samsung QN900D has an alright frequency response. It barely produces any bass, but the sound profile is well-balanced overall, and dialogue is clear. It still sounds pretty good at maximum volume, which is nice as the TV does get decently loud.

7.4
Sound Quality
Distortion
Weighted THD @ 80
0.361
Weighted THD @ Max
0.543
IMD @ 80
0.87%
IMD @ Max
2.96%

The TV's distortion performance is satisfactory. There's more distortion at max volume than at moderate volume levels, but it performs well overall.

Smart Features
8.5
Smart Features
Interface
Smart OS Tizen
Version 2024
Ease of Use
Easy
Smoothness
Very Smooth
Time Taken to Select YouTube
2 s
Time Taken to Change Backlight
3 s
Advanced Options
Many

The Samsung QN900D runs the 2024 version of the Tizen OS, and it's fast and easy to use. Unfortunately, there's a problem when switching the input label from 'PC' to anything else, which we've also seen on other Samsung models. The label will change but the TV is still stuck in 'PC', so you're limited to the features that are available in 'PC' mode. You can hit the home button or turn the TV on/off to fix this.

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

Like most TVs on the market, it has ads throughout its interface, and although you can disable targeted ads, there's no option to disable them completely.

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

The Samsung QN900D has a great selection of apps, so it's easy to find your favorite content. You can also cast content from your phone onto the TV or play videos from a USB stick.

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

The remote is slim and compact, has quick access buttons for the most popular streaming apps, and is easy to use. The remote has a built-in rechargeable battery with a solar panel on the back of the remote. You can also recharge it via USB-C if it dies unexpectedly.

The TV is compatible with the Bixby and Alexa voice assistants, and its remote has an integrated microphone for voice commands. You can use your voice to launch apps, switch inputs, ask for the weather and time, and adjust certain settings like the TV's brightness.

Smart Features
TV Controls

A single button is located at the bottom right of the TV. You can use it to power the TV on/off, change channels, adjust the volume, and switch inputs. You can control the TV hands-free with your voice using the TV's built-in microphone, but you can also turn the microphone off using a small switch located next to the power button.

Smart Features
In The Box

  • One Connect box (not shown)
  • Short One Connect cable (8.6")
  • Long One Connect cable (98")
  • Power cable
  • Remote
  • Feet for One Connect box
  • Mounting screws for the One Connect box
  • Accessory clips
  • Manuals

Smart Features
Misc
Power Consumption 129 W
Power Consumption (Max) 320 W
Firmware 1120