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Panel type: LCD VA Refresh rate: 165Hz Brand: SAMSUNG Resolution: 3840x2160 System: Tizen Model year: 2025
The Samsung QN900F is the younger sibling of the flagship QN990F. While it may not feature the wireless One Connect module or the extremely minimalist bezel, the core and essence of the design remain the same. It's still Mini-LED, still has a matte panel, and still offers 8K – a combination that in itself makes a huge impression. The QN900F is not a showcase of space gadgets, but rather a more "down-to-earth" premium 8K television that still aims to compete with the best screens on the market. How does it do this? And does it do so effectively? You can read about it in our review!
7.7
Overall rating
The Samsung QN900F is a television that can make a huge impression. The biggest strength of this model is the combination of Mini-LED backlighting with a matte panel. Thanks to this, we not only have decent blacks but, above all, incredible brightness and excellent readability in any conditions. During the day, in a brightly lit living room, it is probably the best-performing television in Samsung's offering this year. Gamers will also find plenty to enjoy here – even though it's an 8K screen, it can operate at a frequency of up to 165 Hz in 4K. Additionally, it comes with a full suite of HDMI 2.1, VRR and ALLM features, and low input lag, so the QN900F works well with both next-generation consoles and PCs. The design also deserves applause – when hung on the wall with a thick metal frame, this model resembles a more luxurious version of the iconic The Frame. Combined with the matte panel and Art Store mode, it can indeed be treated as a piece of equipment that not only plays and shines but also decorates the living room.
However, not everything is perfect. Despite its impressive specifications, managing local dimming doesn't always perform as well as one might expect. With such a large number of zones, Samsung could refine the control over blacks and HDR effects – it's clear that the potential is immense, but it doesn't always translate into top-tier picture quality. Also, it’s worth remembering that 8K resolution is still more of a novelty than a real necessity, and the price of this model makes it easy to start looking for cheaper alternatives, even within Samsung's own range. Despite these reservations, the QN900F is a television that can certainly impress. Its strength doesn't lie in 8K alone, but in how it presents the image, how it looks, and the enjoyment it provides during use.
Good black
Very high brightness - up to 2000 nits in HDR
Great motion fluidity - 4k@165hz with low motion blur
Many features for gamers: VRR, ALLM, Game-bar, low input lag
Decent viewing angles
High usability efficiency in difficult lighting conditions: Matte panel + high brightness
Pleasant and very fast operating system: Tizen
Pleasant sound from built-in speakers
Local dimming algorithms could be better refined
No recording support from built-in tuners
No DTS:X (home theater)
No HGiG*
*This is likely an update error, and we are monitoring the situation closely.
Movies and series in UHD quality
7.3
Classic TV, YouTube
7.3
Sports broadcasts (TV and apps)
7.4
Gaming on console
8.8
TV as a computer monitor
8.4
Watching in bright light
7.1
Utility functions
7.2
Apps
8.7
Sound quality
8.2
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HDMI inputs: 0 x HDMI 2.0, 4 x HDMI 2.1 (40Gbps) Other inputs: Toslink (Optical audio), IR (remote) Outputs: Toslink (Optical audio), eARC (HDMI), ARC (HDMI) Network Interfaces: Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, Wi-Fi 5GHz, Ethernet (LAN) 100Mbps
Build quality: Premium
Stand type: Legs
Kolor ramki: Graphite
The QN900F is a television that, at first glance, looks like a piece of premium equipment. And indeed – it is. Although the bezels are quite thick by today's standards, their solid, metal finish in a dark graphite shade makes a great impression. Combined with the matte screen, the whole can remind one of The Frame television... only in a "super extra pro" version 😉. A nice addition is the ability to flush-mount the television to the wall despite its uniform shape. It’s a pity that such a well-crafted piece of equipment comes with rather mediocre, wobbly plastic legs. They don’t fit with the overall design and look more like something from a lower segment. On the positive side, it should be noted that the legs can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally – in total, we have four combinations of settings available.
Select size:
7.2/10
Local dimming function: Yes, number of zones: 1056 (24 x 44)
Result
126,000:1
Result
41,650:1
Result
49,800:1
Result
5,350:1
Result
2,250:1
Visibility of details in the lights:
The QN900F is equipped with a VA panel, which on its own provides decent contrast, but that’s not its biggest strength. It’s a mini-LED TV, so we’re dealing with local dimming technology that allows selected areas of the image to be dimmed. In the 65-inch variant, we counted as many as 1056 zones, which resulted in truly solid results. In the best possible scenario, the QN900F achieved a contrast exceeding 100,000:1, which is an absolutely impressive result – at that moment, the black really managed to resemble that of an OLED. However, it should be noted that it is not an OLED and has its classic mini-LED traits. Since the TV has to decide which zone to brighten and which to dim – there are moments when the algorithm doesn’t quite know what to do. This was the case, for example, in one of our test scenes, where the QN900F prioritized brightness over black depth, resulting in a significant drop in contrast to a level of 2300:1. Yes, elements on the screen were brighter, but around them, there was a characteristic halo effect – the black then resembled more of a navy blue. Overall, the black in the QN900F is really very good – but not quite enough to compare it to TVs with organic panels.
Halo effect and black detail visibility:
6.4/10
Supported formats: HDR10, HDR10+, HLG Color gamut coverage: DCI P3: 90.6%, Bt.2020: 66.0%
Luminance measurements in HDR:
Result
1200 nit
Result
609 nit
Result
850 nit
Result
214 nit
Result
1415 nit
QN900F is really a bright TV – it can generate nearly 2000 nits, which is a value that remains unattainable for most models available on the market. But the mere ability to achieve such brightness is not everything – it also matters whether the TV can use it well. And this is not always perfect. Our tests on movie scenes showed that in scenes such as those from Life of Pi or The Meg, the QN900F can truly shine – literally and figuratively. In such moments, its greatest advantage, which is brightness, makes a huge impression. However, in more challenging scenes, the issues begin – similar to assessing contrast. When smaller, bright elements appear on the screen, the TV often struggles with the decision: whether to highlight them at the expense of black levels, or perhaps maintain deep black but tone down the brightness. The result of this is situations where, for example, in the movie Sicario 2, the brightness dropped to just 200 nits, making details barely visible. The dimming algorithms could definitely be better for a TV of this class.
Scene from the movie “Pan” (about 2800 nits)
Scene from the movie “Billy Lynn” (about 1100 nits)
When we compared the QN900F to the best TVs on the market, what we saw looked really good. The image – despite a slight warming compared to the director's actual vision – presented itself very well due to excellent tone mapping. The brightest scenes, like those from the movie Pan or Billy Lynn, were truly impressive, and elements like the sun or fireworks practically blinded with light, just as the creators intended. It's hard to have major objections here aside from slight deviations in the visibility of details and the way Mini-LED manages black levels with local dimming.
HDR luminance chart:
Luminancja HDR
Luminance of RGB colors
Thanks to excellent tone mapping, the QN900F performs very well even with static metadata, meaning in the standard HDR10 format. The image detail is at a decent level, and combined with the very high screen brightness, it results in truly solid outcomes. In most scenes, it looks how it should, and it's hard to have serious reservations. Of course, there are moments when brightness alone and good tone mapping are not enough – that's when HDR10+ comes to the rescue. It's a dynamic format that can manage details even better, especially in challenging scenes. Although it's not as popular as Dolby Vision, the effects of using it are very similar – we see more details, and the image becomes more natural and true to the creators' vision. It's also great that HDR10+ is slowly becoming more common on streaming platforms, so we can increasingly take advantage of its capabilities. And it is indeed the dynamic formats that provide the best detail reproduction in HDR.
Static HDR10
Dynamic: HDR10+
5/10
Testing the QN900F in Filmmaker mode, one quickly noticed the characteristic features of the image despite the fact that this mode is designed to reflect the director's vision. The white balance was not perfect – the television had noticeable deficiencies in blue color. This made the entire scene take on a warmer tone, as if someone had applied a subtle filter in shades of yellow and orange. In movies where bright shots dominate – for example, scenes in the snow or in strong daylight – this created a slight warming effect, which does not always convey the director's intent. The second noticeable element was brightness management. The QN900F sometimes managed to brighten the image more than necessary. It looked as if the exposure had been slightly "pulled up," causing the scene to lose its naturalness. Shadows were sometimes too shallow, and contrast was slightly weakened. These are not disqualifying errors, but for a television in this price range, it is evident that Filmmaker mode has not been perfected one hundred percent. This is particularly evident when comparing its image to what was visible after screen calibration.
8.7/10
After calibration, we were able to eliminate the errors in white balance and adjust them to a level that can be considered acceptable. It's not perfect, but definitely better than the factory settings. Most color errors are now within the deltaE 2–3 range, so in practice they shouldn't be noticeable during everyday viewing. The biggest improvement is seen in how the television manages brightness in SDR content. Shadows and details are no longer flattened, giving the image depth and naturalness. When it comes to 4K HDR materials, colors themselves are no longer an issue, but some imperfections of the Mini-LED technology can still be observed. The QN900F tends to dim the smallest bright elements too much, causing them to sometimes disappear from view. However, it should be added that this is a much better solution than boosting the entire screen, which would spoil the contrast. It's more of a characteristic of this technology than a typical flaw, but it's worth keeping in mind. The effects of calibration are really very good.
8.3/10
The QN900F performs really well in terms of gradation. The tonal transitions are smooth and natural, without distinct outlines or banding. Interestingly, it is one of the few TVs that handles dark transitions better than bright ones – we only noticed slight imperfections in heavily brightened scenes like the one from the movie Kingsman. In most cases, the picture simply looks very good and we have nothing to complain about.
7.5/10
Smooth transition function
Image without overscan on the SD signal
If we would like to eliminate non-fluid tonal transitions that can be annoying, for example while watching YouTube, we can use a feature called noise reduction. It works really effectively – it removes the issues with color blending when we set it to Standard level. However, as with most Samsung televisions, this comes with compromises. Although we did not notice that this feature significantly affects the structure of objects in the image, it unfortunately reacts rather aggressively to film grain. Most people will appreciate this effect – the noise is simply removed – but if someone is looking for an image as close as possible to reference settings, then we definitely recommend turning off this option.
As for scaling, which means handling very low-quality content, the QN900F performs really well. On the test screen with the model, the image looked clear, with only slight aliasing that should not bother most viewers. However, it is worth mentioning one issue – the television has problems with so-called overscan, which can cause older content to be slightly cropped. This can manifest itself, for example, with subtitles disappearing from the bottom of the screen.
7.8/10
Maximum refresh rate of the panel: 165Hz
Film motion smoothing option: Yes
Blur reduction option: Yes
BFI function 60Hz: Yes, 60Hz (image flickers)
BFI function 120Hz: No
Brightness drop with BFI: 74%
There really isn't anything to complain about here – the QN900F looks very good when it comes to motion. Thanks to the 165 Hz panel in 4K, one can confidently say that this TV is suitable for both watching sports and gaming. The motion smoothness feature plays a key role here. It works remarkably well – not only during sports broadcasts, where it can eliminate blurring and image jitter, but also in games, where the animation becomes clearer and smoother. And of course, if someone likes to experiment with movies – they also have that option. At lower settings, there's a slight graininess and filmic character, while at higher settings, it reaches soap opera effect territory. So everyone can adjust the picture to their preferences, and the TV has the power to handle it.
Blur (native resolution, maximum refresh rate):
Blur (BFI function enabled):
Image flickers in this mode
Smużenie (4K@165Hz):
The QN900F performs really well in terms of motion blur. For a TV with a VA panel, this is quite rare – in our test with the "little green man," it was difficult to spot any significant issues. Of course, on dark backgrounds, typical LCD imperfections appear, but this is something that almost all models with this technology struggle with. Samsung also added the "Clear Motion LED" option, which is also known as BFI. This allows for even further reduction of motion blur, but there’s a catch – the screen starts to flicker, which becomes quite unpleasant to view. This is more of a curiosity than something you'd use on a daily basis, and we generally do not recommend using this option.
8.2/10
It is really nice here. The QN900F offers a full set of features that we would expect from a top-tier gaming television – we have VRR, ALLM, Game Bar, and also cloud gaming applications. However, the biggest highlight is the proprietary motion smoothing, which also works in games and – importantly – does not add noticeable delays. This is something we won't find in its other competitors.
Unfortunately, there is also something concerning. This year, Samsung has apparently messed something up with its televisions. During the test of the QN900F before its update, it had the HGIG feature, which allowed for perfect adjustment of HDR settings for the console. However, according to our procedures, we always update the equipment to the latest version – to give the manufacturer a chance to fix any shortcomings. And here… it turned out the opposite.
After the update, the HGIG feature disappeared from the menu, making the proper configuration of the console for HDR practically impossible. It was supposed to be complete – 165Hz, four HDMI 2.1 ports, a full gaming package… but unfortunately, it turned out to be a little blunder. Such a shame.
9.8/10
In terms of input lag, the QN900F presents a class of its own. Regardless of the resolution or refresh rate set, the response time remains lightning fast. It's one of those TVs where it's really difficult to feel any delay. Gamers can count on full responsiveness and the certainty that every action from the controller will be immediately reflected on the screen. In this category, it's simply top-notch.
SDR | HDR | Dolby Vision |
---|---|---|
1080p60: 13 ms | 2160p60: 13 ms | |
1080p120: 12 ms | 2160p120: 10 ms | |
2160p60: 14 ms | 4320p60: 18 ms | |
2160p120: 11 ms |
8.4/10
Chroma 444 (maximum resolution and refresh rate): Yes
Font clarity: Good
Readability of dark text and shapes: Average
Input lag in PC mode (4K, maximum refresh rate): 18ms
Matrix subpixel arrangement: BGR
Max refresh rate: 165Hz
G-Sync: Yes
QN900F is an 8K television, so even in a larger size, it can be considered a full-fledged work monitor—as long as someone can actually fit such a colossus on their desk. The device supports chroma 4:4:4, so overall text readability is good, although we noticed some issues with the thinnest lines. This may be due to the fact that at the native resolution of 8K, some texts are simply so microscopic that the television isn't necessarily perfectly adapted for it. It sounds a bit ridiculous, but how else can one explain it? 😉
On the other hand, the QN900F can be a great choice for PC gamers. It supports G-Sync technology and offers a refresh rate of up to 165 Hz at 4K resolution. So, if you have a very powerful computer, the QN900F will allow it to spread its wings and showcase its gaming prowess in full splendor.
5/10
Brightness drop at an angle of 45 degrees: 67%
The viewing angles on the QN900F are really good, but we have the impression that the "Ultra Viewing Angle" coating that Samsung heavily advertises performs worse than last year. Sure – the effect is still much better than in most LCD TVs with VA panels, but it still falls short of OLEDs or good IPS panels. The picture holds up decently when viewed from the side, colors do not fade as quickly as in standard VAs, but we expected something more, especially since previous Samsung generations were able to perform better. Perhaps the additional matte coating that appeared this year in the 8K series has an impact on this.
7.1/10
Matrix coating: Matte
Reflection suppression: Very Good
Black levels during daytime: Average
One of the innovations in 8K from Samsung is the matte display. This year, the Koreans have been progressively "matting" their televisions, and it must be admitted that the QN900F is at the very top in this regard – reflections are suppressed better than in any other model on the market. In practice, this means that even in a brightly lit living room, the image remains clear, and reflections virtually disappear from the screen. Of course, such a coating also comes at a price. Colors lose some intensity, and black doesn't look as deep in bright light as it does on glossy screens. But that's more of a detail than a real problem, because after all, the richness of colors and the depth of black matter most in the evening, with the lights off – and then this effect completely disappears.
Matrix brightness
Average luminance SDR
Samsung QN900F: 723 cd/m2
7.2/10
System: Tizen
System performance: Very Good
The QN900F has quite a lot to offer. In addition to standard connections and tuners, it also includes many typical television features. There is teletext, a clear EPG, and even a PiP function, which is rare these days. The QN900F easily supports other devices using the included solar remote, which somewhat compensates for the lack of recording from the built-in antenna tuners.
When it comes to smart features, Samsung once again provides a lot – there are many applications available (though not all), and Tizen on the QN900F ran very smoothly. It's also hard to find a better TV for connecting external devices – AirPlay, Miracast, Chromecast – everything works flawlessly. An interesting feature is the Art Gallery mode, which – similar to The Frame – allows you to display images on the turned-off screen. Thanks to the fairly thick, massive frame, the effect is really impressive – it looks like a digital painting on the wall and may impress someone. The QN900F can thus be jokingly referred to as The Frame Super Extra Pro 😉
8.7/10
9.1/10
Maximum photo resolution: | Supported photo formats: |
---|---|
The built-in media player in the QN900F works really well. During testing, we didn't notice any major issues with handling various audio and video formats – in fact, you can check it out yourself in our file list. The only conundrum arose with the subtitles – only those saved in the .txt format worked for us, even though according to Samsung's information, the TV should support many more extensions. What could be the reason for this? It's hard to say. It’s possible that this is just a temporary bug that will be fixed in one of the upcoming updates.
8.2/10
-
Maximum volume
Supported codecs
(TV speakers)
Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Dolby True HD 7.1
Dolby Atmos in Dolby Digital Plus (JOC)
Dolby Atmos in Dolby True HD
DTS:X in DTS-HD MA
DTS-HD Master Audio
The QN900F performs really well – just as a premium television should. The bass is quite strong, but slightly subdued. We wouldn't compare it to top-tier audio systems, but for built-in speakers, it does the job. The high tones also stand out – quite clear and distinct, which is particularly useful when watching movies with a lot of dialogue. Unfortunately, Samsung still does not support the DTS:X format in its televisions. This means that if we want to hear sound recorded in that standard, we need to connect an external home theater system via an amplifier – the television simply won't play it back on its own.
Acoustic Measurements
No acoustic data
Software version during testing: T-OSCPFDEUC-0090-1110.7, E2500007, BT-S
Panel uniformity:
Backlight Type: Mini-LED QLED
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Journalist, reviewer, and columnist for the "ChooseTV" portal
1/15/2025
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