Samsung Q70T QLED – An all-rounder with gaming ambitions?

The Q70T has an almost identical look as the Q60R, which also makes a high-quality impression. The minimalist design is underlined by the screen’s narrow feet and very thin frame, and generally looks classy and modern. What’s also positive is that the TV sits very close to the wall due to its shallow depth when a suitable mount is used. Unfortunately, the TV is made entirely of plastic, which is well made but gives a less valuable impression than metal.

When using the feet, they are easy to mount, as no screws are needed and the feet snap into a bracket on the bottom. Even without screws, the TV stands firmly and only wobbles a little when pushed.

The interfaces point to the side of the back, so that the cables do not interfere even when using a wall mount and all interfaces are easily accessible. There are also cut-outs on the back for cable management and clips are included to keep the cables neatly in place on the feet – simple but effective for good cable management.

By using a VAVertical Alignment, type of LCD Panel type panel, a deep and even black is produced, which is especially effective in dark rooms. However, due to the VA type panel, the  viewing angle is quite narrow. The picture therefore looks blurred and not very attractive when viewed from the side. The wide color gamut provides rich colors and is very beneficial for HDRHigh Dynamic Range – image/video with more dynamic range (contrast range). Although there is no Local Dimming, the use of Dual LED Technology produces good contrast and image quality. Although the Q70T can not provide cinema-like picture quality, the result is quite good. Reflections on the display are somewhat dispersed by a semi-gloss layer. But in a brightly lit room or in sunlight, strong reflections are unavoidable with this method, which is typical in this price category. However, the device can also be used well in brighter rooms due to a sufficiently high maximum brightness.

In summary, the picture is quite convincing and the brightness of the colours makes a good impression when the device is placed just in front of the couch and in a room that is not too bright.

The Q70T’s motion handling is good with its Refresh Rate of 120 HzHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second.. It scores very well in terms of Response TimeTime it takes for a pixel to change color, so the color change of an LED only takes 7 ms, which only leads to minimal motion blur with fast moving objects. But this will hardly be visible in bright scenes. The backlighting flickers at a frequencyHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second. of 600 Hz, which is perceived by the human eye as a continuous fluid illumination and therefore isn’t disturbing. In Game Mode Plus, this frequency is reduced to 120 Hz, which should not be noticeable either. This mode is intended to minimize motion blur and judder in games with fast frame changes. Motion interpolationArtificial calculation of more frames than the source material has to offer is available, but it can lead to many artifacts in intense scenes and also to doubling in fast scenes.

For gamers with a Playstation 4 Pro or Xbox One X, the TV has all the features you need for a great gaming experience with 4K HDRHigh Dynamic Range – image/video with more dynamic range (contrast range) games. The incredibly low Input LagTime it takes for the input signal to appear on the screen (delay) of 9 ms in combination with the Auto Low Latency Mode ensures that the TV feels extremely responsive immediately after switching on your gaming console. Therefore it is perfect for very fast or hectic games. It is also equipped with VRRVariable Refresh Rate – synchronizes the display’s refresh rate with the output refresh rate of the graphics card via FreeSyncVariable Refresh Rate with AMD graphics cards or consoles and can thus avoid Screen Tearing. That Samsung TV is also aiming for new consoles becomes clear when you consider that this mid-range TV is equipped with an HDMI 2.1 port. The HDMI 2.1 standard supports a 4K resolution with 120 fps. Both Microsoft and Sony have announced that their new consoles will have a 4K resolution with a refresh rateHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second. of 120 HzHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second.. So with the Q70T, all the tracks are laid for the Playstation 5 or the Xbox Series X.

However, it must be mentioned that it is more likely to be played alone or online. The low viewing angle due to the VAVertical Alignment, type of LCD Panel type panel in combination with the problem of delivering a good picture result in bright rooms limits the gaming experience when several people want to play together at the same time. Playing the latest FIFA in the afternoon with the whole team will be difficult as long as not everyone is sitting straight in front of the Q70T and the afternoon sun does not light up the room too much.

Of course, the built-in speakers in this price category are no mere revelation, but they do deliver quite reasonable sound quality. The bass is naturally a bit weak with built-in speakers, but still better than in most other TVs. The two speakers with a total of 20 W (RMS) are sufficient for a normal sized living room to be able to clearly understand dialogues and create a good atmosphere. For the cinema feeling, however, you should consider an upgrade with a soundbar. These are available for small living rooms or as a huge sound system, which will improve the sound experience significantly. If you want to know more about the purchase and the right soundbar for you, we have collected everything you need to know about soundbars in another article.

The Q70T supports Dolby formats, but not DTSMulti-channel-sound-system (Surround Sound) competing with Dolby Digital – as always with Samsung devices. However, thanks to the HDMI eARC interface, Dolby AtmosObject-based surround sound format with 3D-Sound from any direction is available via Dolby True HD.

Just like all other QLED TVs from Samsung and all devices that came out in 2020, the Q70T uses the Smart Os Tizen 5.5 The operating system has some useful features integrated, such as Apple AirPlay 2 and Samsung Bixby. For Amazons Alexa an additional device is required, but it is otherwise also compatible with the Q70T. Unlike the EU model of the Q70T the US model has also the ability to use Google Assistant. A Twin Tuner is also integrated and also functions like PVRPersonal Video Recorder, recording TV programs to a USB-Memory Device and Time Shift.

A number of streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Disney+ are also pre-installed. A smart home application is also integrated for all QLED models from Samsung. With Samsung Smart Things, the TV becomes the control centre for all smart home applications, which can then also be controlled with the supplied remote control, the Smart OneRemote.