Samsung Q60T QLED Review 09/2020

The Samsung Q60T’s makes a very high quality robust impression. The screen’s frame hardly distracts from the picture itself as the edges are very thin, which looks fantastic on a wall. Compared to the Samsung Q60R,  assembly is much easier because the feet don’t have to be screwed down. Unfortunately, the Q60T is completely made of plastic, which is well made, but doesn’t look as high-quality as metal. Instead, they are pushed into the frame and click into place. In addition, cables can be hidden behind the feet, giving the TV a minimalist design.

The image quality is as good as with the predecessor. The Samsung Q60T uses a VA panel and thus has a very even and deep black, which looks great in dark rooms.Despite a good contrast ratio, HDR content is not displayed very well because the peak brightness of 500 nits is not high enough to make highlights of HDR content stand out. For normal use the brightness should be sufficient. In bright rooms, the peak brightness is not sufficient and the image quality is not as good anymore, which can also be due to the display’s moderate reflection behavior. Enthusiasts and fans of cinematic picture quality will have to dig a little deeper into their pockets, as the Q60T does not support local dimming, for example. Nevertheless, it is better than the Q60R in terms of picture quality thanks to the Dual LED feature.

Unfortunately, the VA panel also means that the TV’s viewing angle is significantly limited. In this case, it’s advisable to place the device just in front of the sofa, as the luminosity of the colors would otherwise noticeably decrease.

In comparison to its predecessor, the Samsung Q60T has become a bit worse in terms of motion handling. The response time is still very good, at 8ms, and the dimming frequency is also 600 Hz, which means that flickering is not noticeable to the naked eye. In gaming mode, the dimming frequency drops to 120 Hz, which is still very high and should hardly be noticeable. Motion interpolation to 60 fps works well, but Black Frame Insertion can cause a few problems – which aren’t too bad, though.

For content with a lower frame rate – for example movies shot at 24 fps by default – stuttering is almost non-existent, but the Samsung Q60T is not capable of removing judder. We think that’s a pity, as the Q60R had this feature.

Gaming is fun with the Samsung Q60T – no question about it. Gamers who own a Playstation 4 Pro or an Xbox One X will enjoy the full gaming experience with 4K HDR games. The input lag is extremely low at 10ms and there is an Auto Low Latency Mode. The performance potential is already exhausted with that, though, because the Q60T can’t make use of the possibilities of the Playstation 5 or Xbox Series X.

For example, HDMI 2.1 is missing, so 4K @ 120 fps is not possible. This is no wonder in the price range of the TV, but both Sony and Microsoft have both announced that both consoles will support this resolution.

What is surprising in this price range, however, is that the Q60T doesn’t support VRR. Its predecessor was able to do so and could therefore be the better alternative for gamers with AMD graphics cards or an Xbox One X or S.

The sound is, simply put, nothing special. There are two speakers, each with 10 W, which are loud enough to fill the living room with sound and reproduce dialogues clearly. Only Dolby formats are supported and, as usual for Samsung, no DTS. However, thanks to the HDMI eARC connection, there is Dolby Atmos via Dolby True HD – which is a nice thing.

Especially because of the latter feature, it makes absolute sense to think about a soundbar. From small devices for smaller living rooms to fully-grown sound systems, there is everything on the market that the heart of the sound enthusiast desires. We have discussed the available options in another article about soundbars.

As usual for the 2020 Samsung QLED series, the Samsung Q60T runs on Smart OS Tizen 5.5, which enables voice control with Samsung Bixby, Amazon Alexa (third device required) or Google Assistant. Apple AirPlay 2 is also supported. There is no Twin Tuner, but PVR and Time-Shift are supported.

For streaming fans there are a plethora of streaming services from which you can choose freely: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ – everything comes already pre-installed. New in the T-series of QLED TVs is support for smart home applications, for which Samsung Smart Things acts as the control center. There is also the Smart OneRemote.