SAMSUNG 85″ QN90B Series TV

I did what I thought was enough due diligence before buying this set. Consumer Reports ranks it the highest among 65″ LED sets. The first thing I put on after mounting this new TV (65″ version) was Dune which was near the halfway point when I fired it up. I immediately was disgusted with the streaky rainbow-like pattern across the screen from any point of light in the room (see photo) as the sand worm examined the hero. Did I miss taking off a second protective film? No. Something wrong with the screen? After some research, also no. I put this in my main upstairs living room that is an extension of the kitchen (some lights are almost always on) to have a brighter TV and moved a 2 month old LG OLED C2 to the basement where the inky blacks could be better enjoyed and initially regretted the purchase but have softened on that view after more typical use.

Main Comment – if you are shopping for your movie night TV and you will have any lights in use in the room, don’t get this model (unless the 50″ version). The “Ultra Viewing Angle” feature is a sheet of vertical prisms/lenses that helps provide a bright picture when viewed from the side (seems like a lenticular lens in sheet form). For that purpose, it works very well. It’s not the reflection reducing treatment, it is for sure the wide angle viewing layer causing the scattered light from any light source (ceiling light, table lamp, sunny window, etc.). View the “Specifications Sheet” under “Product Guides” on this (or any) Samsung TV page to look if the Samsung model you are interested in has the wide angle viewing filter or not. I installed it on a mount with 10 degree down angle tilt which has helped some.

It turns out that watching Dune (half the movie is set at night) as my first experience with the set was a bit unfair to the set and after I did some more research and had more use under normal conditions my determination to return the set has faded quite a bit. The picture can be set VERY bright – a lot brighter than the C2 and unless viewing dark content the light scattering isn’t too noticeable. The main use for this set for us will be daily TV viewing – news, sports, etc. For watching real movies / serious TV shows under ideal conditions I’ll use the LG OLED in the basement where the lights can be set low and the 5.1 receiver can kick out the surround sound (that set in the dark is amazing). The QN90 has an ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) OTA receiver and I do have an antenna hooked up for occasional use. It’s pretty cool to get HD (and soon UHD) picture over the air. Just a few channels so far but they look as good as streaming content.

Summary thoughts:
– Great picture, not as perfect as a similarly priced OLED but can get so much brighter
– The light scattering effect of the wide viewing filter should be considered. Where will you use this? Can you live with it? You can check in store models with your phone light.
– Best use in my opinion is regular viewing in a living room area, or movie viewing in a room with lights you can shut off completely or dim very very low. Dark content looks terrible if any lights on.
– The provided remote is too minimalist, takes several steps just to change inputs. Much better experience with a full Samsung remote such as this one for $10 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AQ6OWAG
– Does not process Dolby Vision which is output from several streaming services, odd omission at this price point
– Does have an ATSC 3.0 tuner which is a bonus if you ever use an antenna as a backup for cable/streaming

Lot of detail can be found at Rtings.com (that’s not a typo) on this or any set. Great resource.