QE65Q80A review: Samsung’s latest 100 Hz Full Led TV

The Samsung QE65Q80A TV is compatible with the HDR10 + dynamic metadata format in addition to the classic HDR10 and HLG. Samsung is still ignoring Dolby Vision.

In Filmmaker mode, with a maximum HDR signal at 10,000 cd / m², Display Tone Mapping perfectly follows the reference EOTF curve up to 50% luminance. Beyond that, the signal is gradually smoothed up to the maximum capacities of the television; a particularly healthy behavior which makes it possible to distinguish all the nuances, even in the very bright areas of the image.

We measured the peak brightness at 747 cd / m²; a good number for an LCD TV, which allows it to compete with Oled TVs. The latter display a peak in brightness around 700 cd / m², and even a little more for those equipped with the new panel (such as the LG G1 where the Sony A90J). In Oled, only the Panasonic JZ2000 with its Oled Professional Edition panel does better, for a lot more money. On the LCD TV side, we must look to the TCL 65C825 with its Mini-Led reaching 932 cd / m², the Samsung QE65QN95A with its Mini-Led system which peaks at 1570 cd / m² or even towards the Sony 65XH9505 and its Full-Led system which still reach 1070 cd / m².

With an average delta E measured at just 4.2, the colors cannot be considered faithful. Another disappointment, the color space coverage: the Samsung QE65Q80A is satisfied with 63% of Rec. 2020 and 85% of DCI-P3, mainly used by Ultra HD content. However, this coverage remains sufficient to display the majority of colors.

Measured at 11 ms, the afterglow time equals that of the best LCDs on the market, such as Samsung QE65Q85R and Sony KD-65XH9096. Only Oled televisions – whose afterglow time is necessarily zero – do better. On the display delay side, it is also flawless for the Samsung Q80A since it displays only 12 ms behind the source, or less than one image delay at 60 Hz. between the action performed on the joystick and its repercussion on the screen is almost zero.

Switching to Game mode requires some manual adjustments to get roughly correct colors. Whether in SDR or HDR, you have to go to expert settings to disable contrast enhancement, set the color shade to “Warm2” and the color space to Auto. We thus measured the delta E at 5 in SDR, and 7.6 in HDR; fairly average values, but which are not completely fanciful either.

This television has four HDMI inputs, one of which is compatible with HDMI 2.1 4K 120 Hz (the HDMI 4) and with the VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) which makes it possible to suppress the tearing of the image (tearing) and saccades (stuttering). The other inputs also support ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) which allows automatic switching to game mode and eARC (enhanced audio feedback).

The Samsung Q80A retains a very classic black chassis. This model opts for a large and imposing central foot, but airy enough to leave room under the TV.

The foot is composed of a very heavy and rather discreet central metal plate. There is 7 cm between the panel and the foot, while the latter protrudes about 10 cm in front of the television.

The screen edges are quite thin, especially for a 65-inch model, and the finishes are exemplary; a constant on the range of Qled televisions of the Korean manufacturer.

Despite the use of a Full Led backlighting system, the television displays a contained thickness of 5.4 cm. The occupation on the TV cabinet is always linked to the depth of the feet, which is limited here to 29 cm; a very good figure for a 65 inch television. The Samsung QE65Q80A television is at ease on our benchmark unit measuring 160 x 40 cm.

The back of the TV is pretty neat, with the use of a black streaked plastic that gives the TV a premium edge. The connection is placed on the left, while we find the power supply on the right. The TV can be wall mounted via a wall bracket to VESA 400 x 300 mm.

The basic cable passage consists of a plastic cover which groups all the cables at the rear of the central foot. The ridges on the back of the TV also allow you to run some cables along the chassis.

The connection consists of three HDMI 2.0a inputs compatible with HDCP 2.2 and HDR, one HDMI 2.1 input (HDMI 4), two USB ports, one optical digital audio output, one Ethernet port, one PCMCIA port (Common Interface CI +) and the sockets TNT / cable and satellite antennas. This television has a dual DVB-T / T2 / C / S / S2 tuner. It also has wifi and bluetooth to connect a speaker or wireless headphones. Please note that there is no headphone output, but the TV has the Sound Mirroring feature which allows you to use a smartphone to listen to the sound. In addition, this model does not include component / composite video input.

Developed by Samsung, the Tizen system is still as fluid as ever, but less so than when it started. Samsung engineers still seem to have worked on Tizen’s responsiveness since the release of the QN95A since the system has fewer slowdowns. Access to the various settings is quick and the various instructions are clear, as is access to the applications located in the lower banner. Tizen remains one of the most complete systems on the market, with many applications (Netflix, YouTube, myCanal, Prime Video, Rakuten, Google Play Video, SFR Sport, Molotov, etc.). On this point, the manufacturer’s televisions clearly do not have to be ashamed of Android TV models.

This new version of Tizen starts in just 7 seconds, with a wake-up call that takes less than 2 seconds. It’s very fast. The extinction is always instantaneous.

If the minimalist One Remote is no longer in aluminum as on last year’s models, it now includes a battery and a small solar panel allowing it to be completely autonomous. It also includes buttons for direct access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Samsung Plus, as well as a microphone. The keys are not backlit, but there are few and that’s not really a weak point here as the Tizen interface is optimized to work with this remote.