Samsung Neo QLED QN800A – 2021 8K Neo QLED Mini LED TV

The Samsung 8K NEO QLED QN800A has a great build. Visually, the Infinity One design ensures an extremely thin frame of just under 17 mm. This grants the TV a minimalistic and almost frameless look. The center stand is typical for high-end Samsung TVs. Due to this design, the device has a quite solid hold and has enough space for a soundbar. The overall design is very similar to its previous model, the Q800T, but there are a few changes as well.

This year, the Samsung QN800A has received a one-connect box, which makes cable management very simple, with only one cable going to the TV. This box can also be attached to the back or stand. The rear of the device has also changed. In addition to a plastic and metal design, four visible speakers have been installed at the back of the TV, which is quite untypical for Samsung TVs.

Due to the great design and also the changes in the appearance, the TV also looks great on the wall. Despite the (almost) frameless design and the very small depth, the picture quality is really great.

The Samsung QN800A can display 8K, but there is hardly any content for this pixel density yet. The 8K resolution is not really used yet, but the content is simply beautiful to look at. The native contrast ratio of 1600:1 is not particularly high for a VAVertical Alignment, type of LCD Panel panel, but the built-in local dimming function with 1344 zones can increase the contrast up to 10600:1.

Such a high number of dimming zones in QLED TVs can only be achieved by the Mini LED lighting. This improves black tones and the picture even more. However, this feature is rather weak compared to 4K devices.

Due to a great brightness level of up to 1300Nits, the picture is very nice to look at in a bright environment.  Reflections are also handled well by the Neo QLED, though the Ultra Viewing Angle layer provides a slight shimmer when light falls directly on the device. This layer also ensures that the viewing angle is slightly better than is the case with other devices with VA panels.

The color coverage of the TV is also very good. Especially in HDRHigh Dynamic Range – image/video with more dynamic range (contrast range), the TV shows what it is really capable of. The brightness is increased once again here and the picture is simply breathtaking as a result. The problem with the picture quality is, that all these functions and the not properly developed local dimming feature result in a blooming effect. This is quite noticeable, mostly during sport events like ice hockey or basketball.

Dolby VisionDynamic HDR-format with a color depth of up to 12 Bits and Mastering of up to 10,000 Nits is also still missing, even if HDR10+License-free, dynamic HDR-format in competition with Dolby Vision is available. Dolby Vision is used more often, but unfortunately you cannot benefit from this feature with the Samsung QN800A.

Samsung’s 8K TVs are known for their great motion handling. There is hardly any motion blur due to a very low response time of just 5ms. The device also has an outstanding Black Frame InsertionProcess that inserts black “blank images” as intermediate images. This makes movements appear finer and clearer. feature. This can reduce the blur effect even further. There is hardly any stutter on the 120Hz panel due to these technologies, which does not lead to stuttering images even with slow camera movements.

The QN800A automatically removes all judder without having to change anything in the settings. The backlight also flickers at 960Hz in standard mode, which looks like constant backlighting to the eye.

Gaming is truly amazing on the Samsung QN800A. With a very low input lag of 6ms at 4K@120Hz, games can be played at high resolutions and without any noticeable input lag. Even at 4K@60Hz, the input lag is just 10ms. Thanks to the great motion handling, even fast games like shooters or racing games do not have any problems. The Samsung GameBar is also added this year. If you press the “Play/Pause” button for a longer time, a window will appear that gives you information about the current frame rate, VRRVariable Refresh Rate – synchronizes the display’s refresh rate with the output refresh rate of the graphics card or other interesting facts.

The TV also has ALLMAuto Low Latency Mode – Automatically detects connected consoles and keeps input lag as low as possible., which automatically switches your TV into gaming mode, when you start a game. VRR FreeSync Premium ProVariable Refresh Rate with AMD graphics cards or consoles with at least 120fps at Full HD and HDR reduces the input lag a bit more. Four HDMI 2.1 compatible ports are also installed, which should especially please owners of the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X. The TV can display all formats of the new consoles without any problems as well, but keep in mind, that Playstation does not have a VRR feature yet and the Xbox Series X supports Dolby VisionDynamic HDR-format with a color depth of up to 12 Bits and Mastering of up to 10,000 Nits, which is not supported by the Q800T. Therefore, the TV is well-equipped for the latest console generation.

Those who would like to use the Samsung QN800A as a PC screen, should keep in mind that BGR subpixels are used. This means that the picture can appear a bit blurry. The Ultra Viewing Angle layer also means that an 8K resolution cannot be displayed that well.

That built-in sound systems are not outstanding in many TVs is no surprise. Unfortunately, that is also a problem here. The 4.2.2 channel speakers on the back of the model produce a good sound during dialogs. However, the Samsung QN800A lacks any kind of bass. For a TV in this price range, you should definitely consider buying a suitable soundbar to get a real cinema feeling at home.

Q-Symphony is built into the TV. This improves the sound of your soundbar and the TV a bit more, since sounds are played on the TV and the soundbar at the same time, which allows more channels to be served and creates a surround sound. DTSMulti-channel-sound-system (Surround Sound) competing with Dolby Digital is not supported, but that is not a big deal since Dolby AtmosObject-based surround sound format with 3D-Sound from any direction is available. Uncompressed Dolby Atmos can be played via the eARC connection so the cinema can also find its way into your own four walls.

The Samsung 8K Neo QLED QN800A comes with many great smart features. The new operating system Tizen 6.0 offers a nice interface and works even smoother than the previous model. The TV’s remote control has also been revised. The remote comes in a new, gray design and has most of the functions of common smart remotes. The buttons allow you to quickly access the most important TV apps like Netflix, Prime Video or Samsung TV Plus. The big change to the remote, is that you no longer have to replace batteries. You can charge it with a USB cable or use the solar panels on the back for charging.

Those who don’t like to use the remote control, can navigate through the device via voice control with the help of the integrated Alexa or the integrated Google voice assistant. Beyond that, the selection of apps is incredibly large, but there are ads that cannot be turned off. The integrated twin tuner is also a great feature on the Samsung QN800A. You have the option to access features like time shift or a recording function.