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Updated text for clarity throughout to match the results after various Test Bench updates. Also confirmed that 1440p works with the PS5. The entire process is slow and clunky, if a necessary evil given the remote’s limitations (see the next section). Other interfaces are much more user-friendly, some (particularly Google TV) while offering you even more up-front information and better suggestions about what to watch. Does Tizen get the job done? Yes, but Samsung could do better, and hopefully will in the not-too-distant future. Samsung QN90B Neo QLED TV: Remote We updated the text with new information on the number of dimming zones. The 75 inch model has been confirmed to have around 900 zones, but we don't know how many zones the other sizes have. We updated the text in the PQ EOTF box, as the results changed with our recent change in test methodology.
As what Samsung calls a Neo QLED TV, the QN90B fuses quantum dots and Mini LEDs into a display technology (“Quantum LEDs”) the company claims results in richer colors and higher contrast. We tested this by using an X-Rite i1 Pro spectrophotometer, a SpectraCal VideoForge Pro pattern generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman calibration software. Picture-wise, the 43-inch QN90B disappoints in three ways. First, like other Samsung TVs, it doesn’t support Dolby Vision, so you won’t get the most out of movies and TV that do. Its off-angle viewing isn’t the worst, but the screen’s colors lose a lot of their inherent richness and take a grayish cast if you’re positioned too far from the center of the screen in any direction. (Samsung touts a feature on the QN90B line called Ultra Viewing Angle, which is supposed to mitigate this, but it is included only on the 50-inch and larger models.) Because this is a smaller set, that’s unlikely to be a critical problem, but keep it in mind. It also has a little bit of trouble generating fine detail in some of its picture modes: In Cinema and Filmmaker, fine details occasionally get a little mushy in a way they don’t in Standard and Dynamic. (This was particularly evident in all the 1-pixel sections of one of our chief 4K test patterns.) Sit far enough away, and you’re unlikely to notice, but it has the potential to distract if you’re too close. Samsung QN90B Neo QLED TV: Audio The problem with Samsung Smart TV is its menu structure. It buries most settings, apart from a few very specific presets, two or three layers down from where other TV interfaces put them. It also seems to constantly nudge users away from any granular controls. Switching among inputs is also more complicated than it should be; the remote has a multiple-source split-screen Multi-View button, but no simple input-switcher button.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. 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.
While the QN90B’s advances over the QN90A might not earn it as many headlines as its predecessor, its picture improvements are targeted and effective. The addition of Dolby Atmos to the QN90B’s audio talents, too, brings it more in line in audio terms with most premium TV rivals. We uploaded the initial brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
Samsung QN90B
Bigger TVs aren’t always better, but they are where you usually see the most impressive performance and innovations in the market. Smaller sets may still get some of the good features, but it’s not just for purposes of showing off that TV lovers gravitate toward larger models. Most of the time, you really do get what you pay for. Accessing additional functions, including Search, Ambient, Game, and Media requires navigating over to the left side of the screen and selecting an option that behaves as though it’s opening a full new app. Menu, located in the same area, only opens a new panel, but then you have to further navigate to and select Settings, Connected Devices, or Multiview, or scroll down a row to change other options or up to work with your Samsung Account or notifications. In 2021 Samsung launched no less than six QN90A models, ranging in size from just 43 inches all the way up to a monster 98 inches, and with 50, 55, 65 and 75 inch models filling in the gaps. Some may feel a little disappointed by this – especially the apparent failure to substantially increase the number of dimming zones. We’ve seen plenty of evidence with premium ‘regular’ (not mini-) LED TVs, though, to know that it’s not always the number of dimming zones that counts; it’s what you do with them. And on that front, the new Samsung QN90B has a very promising new feature to shout about: Shape Adaptive Light Control.
The QN90B Tizen interface shifts to a full-screen presentation from the much more economical look of the QN90A, which only takes over around a third of the screen. The QN90A’s relatively minimal approach enables you to keep watching TV for the whole time you’re browsing the smart menus, whereas the new Tizen interface only lets you keep watching (in a fairly small box) what was on when you hit the Home menu button until you navigate away to a different area of the menus. With an HDR signal, the QN90B shows a peak brightness of 612.132cd/m If a TV gives you a good picture, you want good audio to go with it, and most TVs fall short in that area. The smaller QN90B does not, though it’s not really anything to writing home about, either. On the gaming front, the QN90B offers an improved version of the Game Bar interface that appeared on the QN90A. This will provide gamers with a fuller combination of information on the game graphics being received, and more options for enhancing the gaming experience. These include new Preset modes specifically designed to enhance FPS, RPG, RTS and Sports game genres, and options for sacrificing a little response time speed in return for improved picture quality with games that aren’t built around response speed. Samsung QN90B vs Samsung QN90A: ConclusionWe uploaded the brightness measurements and uniformity photos after running the TV for two months in our Accelerated Longevity Test. We discovered a flaw with the equipment used to force an HDR signal when measuring color volume and the color gamut. We've switched to a new tool and updated our measurements. The color gamut and volume have changed slightly. So it gives the appearance of the extra lighting precision that people want from having more dimming zones, and as we’ve already seen in our Samsung QN95B review, it’s highly effective. We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
Both the QN90B and QN90A are among the best TVs available today, but let’s go through all the differences, to help you decide which is best for you. Samsung QN90B vs QN90A: Price and sizes The QN90B range also includes six models, but tops out at 85 inches rather than 98. The other five QN90B screen sizes match those of the QN90A range. With their robust, centrally mounted metal desktop stands, exceptionally slim screen frames, silver metallic outer trims and monolithic design approaches (where the rear sides look as flat as their screen sides) the QN90B and QN90A adopt a pretty similar design approach. Both ship with a cool solar-powered ‘smart’ remote control, too. That higher refresh rate is still rare on televisions—this TV is one of the first to have it—and it’s nice for both current gaming uses as well as future-proofing. Samsung QN90B Neo QLED TV: Test results and performance Both of these potentially significant new picture advantages are powered by an even more powerful version of Samsung’s AI-based picture analysis/processing system. This is able to draw on the accumulated picture analysis knowledge of a massive 20 neural networks versus the 16 deployed for the QN90A, delivering even more accurate, effective and natural enhancements to every image.We uploaded the brightness measurements and uniformity photos after running the TV for four months in our Accelerated Longevity Test. If this is not the best gaming TV we’ve seen, or even the best 43-inch gaming TV we’ve seen, it’s nonetheless up there. Its input lag time of 9.8ms (as measured with a Leo Bodnar Lag Tester) is terrific — not just below the 20ms threshold we’ve established for good gaming TVs but below the 10ms threshold by which we classify great gaming TVs. Note that all the recent sets we’ve seen that meet that criteria are by Samsung, including the best small gaming TV: the Q60B, with a mind-blowingly low input lag of 9.1ms.
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