When you look at TV ads from 1998 , a 56 - inch Panasonic fanny - forcing out TV — in 4:3 format , no less — be $ 5,500 . Adjusted for inflation , that is about $ 10,500 today . We ’ve come a long way . you’re able to now get a 98 - inch TV for that kind of money , or even way less . TCL is selling its 98 - inch Q6 — with free installation if you buy from Costco — for $ 1,600 . That ’s about $ 8,000 less than the 98 - in Samsung QN90D.
Of of course , the QN90D is a much better TV than theTCL Q6.TCL offers 8 - serial TVs with like image timber to the QN90D for $ 4,000 , which is still a lot of money , but much less than the $ 10,000 or so you could find the Samsung for decently now .
So it ’s fair to say : The98 - in Samsung QN90D , with its muscular price tag end , has a lot to prove . What does it do well and what does it do not - so - well ? And what does it do that should not happen at all ? Let ’s find out .
Samsung 98-inch QN90D specs
Solid and robust
The TV is build well . It ’s gravid , but it ’s solid . Any 98 - inch TV is likely get to be gravid and experience satisfying , but this one feels supernumerary robust for a 98 - incher .
It make out with a pedestal stand , which is telling . The TV ’s considerable massiveness makes it a good candidate to be hop on on a bulwark — where I think it looks its best — and well - suited for a dedicated entertainment quad as it may be too big for a vulgar country . Samsung could have just outfitted the telly with a couple of feet , but they included an attractive pedestal pedestal that ’s built like a tank , and I apprize that .
There is some flex to the TV when get on on the stand , which is unavoidable on a telecasting this size , shy of having a 300 - British pound alloy chassis . Even so , this TV is n’t going to topple unless there ’s a major seism or you ’re doing parkour in your living way with reckless wantonness .
It ’s surprising not to see an array of freshwater bass transducers — or little mini subwoofer — lining the back of the TV . That ’s classical high - conclusion Samsung these days . The 8Ks have it . Samsung ’s OLED get it . Why not here ? If there ’s a reasonableness , it skirt me .
Samsung ’s in vogue remote control is very small , rechargeable via solar and USB - C , and shy on buttons . piloting find via Samsung ’s Tizen port , which is due for a face lifting soon , as Samsung is blend in to put a rendering of its One UI , port over from its mobile devices , over its current Tizen operating organisation . It will still be Tizen — and Bixby will still be around — but you ’ll have Alexa as an alternative , too .
Speedy response, but needs a soundbar
Samsung deserves praise for offering a smart calibration feature , but …
The audio system on this TV is better than the rivalry at this size , but as beneficial as it is , it wo n’t blow you away . A picture this big penury better sound . And Samsung pretend some astral soundbars . I paired the QN90D boob tube with theQ990D soundbarand turned on Samsung ’s Q - Symphony sound , and I soundly enjoyed the sound and picture combining . The whole parcel was insanely cinematic .
One more thing : Samsung deserves congratulations for offering a smart calibration feature film . you could use theSmartThings appto calibrate your TV , and when it work out , it form really well . Unfortunately , the modish version of the SmartThings app does not work on on my iPhone 16 Pro Max , iPhone 16 , and iPhone 15 . Also , you’re able to only apply Samsung speech sound — no other Android sound — to calibrate the television . Sure , Samsung necessitate to check that the camera is adequate , but not allowing any other Android twist ? arrive on .
Numbers for Nit Nerds
For the numbers eccentric person , here ’s what the measurements say .
I used a Calibrate HL Plus tintometer , Video Forge Pro pattern generator , and Calman Ultimate standardisation software program to lam it through a retinue of run . I also change up the window size several time to seek to frustrate any cheat on behalf of the telly .
In SDR Filmmaker mode , the 98 - inch QN90D came in at 120 nits , which is textbook for this picture fashion . Juicing up the brightness resulted in a 700 - nit reading .
The two - peak snowy balance and grayscale in SDR Filmmaker looked quite good until it reached the shining White River . At that power point the blood-red channel falls off a bit , which is unearthly for a picture mode with a ardent color temperature context . That said , the mistake was just barely in the apprehensible territory with a max Delta vitamin E around 4 . I have seen much , much worse from most of the 98 - inch telecasting I have screen , so respect to Samsung .
The gloss truth in SDR and HDR is phenomenally good — I receive top - level OLED phone number on the coloring accuracy . The TV did n’t cover quite as much of the BT.2020 colouration blank as I ’d hoped , but the colors produced in Filmmaker Mode were exceptionally good . Again , regard to Samsung ’s engineer .
I tested Movie mode , too , and it had similar results with coloring material truth and grayscale . The real difference between Filmmaker Mode and Movie mode is that Filmmaker followed the EOTF curve ball perfectly , and Movie modal value was intentionally and importantly over - brightened , which , while not exact , is what most folks seem to wish .
Peak luminance number were not as intense as I was expecting : about 1,700 nit with everything maxed out ( in Filmmaker and Movie way ) . Generally the other modes wo n’t in reality be brighter , they ’ll just attend brighter due to the cooler color temperature .
A 1,700 - nit peak is respectable , but the TCL and Hisense telly are in 3,000 - nit territory . I never felt like this tv set was n’t bright enough in HDR , but in SDR I was surprised that I had to max out the brightness to be really happy with the video .
In the ending , the QN90D offer some stunning HDR images — and SDR , too . I just would n’t call it the serious bright - way TV you could purchase . TCL and Hisense win amber and silver grey in that airstream because they get more vivid in SDR .
When it comes to measurements , the QN90D is a solid TV — definitely a flagship .
Day-to-day watching
I put a lot of hours in on this TV : some 18 episode ofMythbusters , five episode ofSuits , four episodes ofBosch : Legacy , three episodes ofCHiPs , eight hours ofYouTuber Golf , as well as watchingInterstellartwo and a one-half times — once on YouTube and once on 4 K Blu - ray , and about half of it on each political platform again . This is in addition to all the usual content I use to judge TVs .
I just was n’t blown away .
For the overpowering majority of the time , I enjoyed watching the QN90D very much . It does a lot of thing really well .
But I was not blown away . And if I pass $ 10 K on a TV ? I want to be float aside . To be bonny , I ’ve seen all of the TVs , and I am jaded . Most folks will be blown by by this telly . I just expect more because many of Samsung ’s TVs on a regular basis blow me aside .
With the QN90D , though , something just is n’t model right with me . This TV , on uncommon occasions , would make me go … hold off … what ?
Like , the backlight system : 99 % of the time it ’s awesome . When it is playing content , it ’s just amazing . There ’s very little gloriole or bloom , which is better than the TCL QM8 and Hisense U8N , I intend — neck - and - neck at the very least . And the backlight is speedier , too . Transitions between bright and dim happen very tight .
But sometimes , like when pull up info screens on YouTube or Prime Video , the APL fit way up . Why ?
There ’s also some bizarreness ( that can be seen on the rampart by the stairs in the clip above ) , which I call up is a processing offspring — it does n’t behave like a backlight upshot . I see it most often with moving people against sure color backgrounds like green and dark yellow amber . It ’s worse on low - quality content , which may be basically tied to upscaling and exacerbated by pixel - degree allowance to enhance demarcation .
To be fair , inInterstellar — a three - hour movie — it happened for less than 15 seconds . I watched this TV for four days and did n’t see it once . The percentage of time this is seeable was paltry for me , but this should n’t go on on a TV this modern and this expensive .
Most of the meter the question resoluteness is undischarged . And then sometimes — especially on YouTube , and even with comparatively high-pitched - lineament subject matter — it ’s a stutter fest .
Did I get a dud ? I do n’t cogitate so . Perhaps the processor is not felicitous driving this size of it of panel . I ’ll mould with Samsung on this : They ’ve been gracious about taking feedback and working to make their product better .
A word on what “premium” means these days
The TV cut-rate sale ad from 1998 cue us that the price of a top - grade , large - screen agio TV today is in line with that it was 26 years ago . What ’s convert is the competitive landscape painting . Hisense and TCL have TVs with competitive exposure performance sell for unbelievably low damage — so low , I sometimes wonder if they ’re make much margin .
The cardinal enquiry here is : What is Samsung offering that those guys are n’t ? countenance ’s revisit those and then you may place your own sense of time value on which premium aspects are significant to you .
pop out with build quality , the QN90D does feel like a better - progress telecasting than large screens from TCL and Hisense . The pedestal stand itself — and its comprehension — is premium . You just do n’t seem them with competition at this size of it . Then there are build up lineament things pass on inside the television that are n’t obvious from the outside . There are alternative about how the TV is wire up and where the power supply goes , which can make the idiot box easier to repair , if necessary , and also makes the TV thinner .
Samsung in the past times has also severalize me that part of its design philosophical system is to beef up components around common bankruptcy points — little electric connection or the tone of the king provision , for example . The kind of thing that be given to fail on less - expensive TVs will hopefully not fail on a Samsung .
Another exemplar of premium is the remote , which is rechargeable in two different way — something you do n’t see from comptetitors . Samsung is also proud of its Knox security system feature of speech built into its TVs . I ca n’t talk to how effective they are or how that compares to the competition , but protection has been a focal point .
The legal calibre , even though I encourage you to get a soundbar , is significantly best than compete TVs . Then there ’s Samsung ’s support of smart devices , which goes way beyond just Chromecast , HomeKit , and AirPlay . to boot there ’s Multi View , which permit you to put content side - by - side on the screen , the implementation of cloud gaming options through Samsung ’s Gaming Hub , object dog strait , and Q - Symphony .
This is n’t an thorough leaning , as Tizen hides all kind of stuff within it , but that ’s a jolly long tilt of agiotage features . So the dubiousness is : How much of that is stuff that you want , and are you unforced to ante up a lot more for it ?
For now , here ’s my takeout food . This TV looks first-class 99 % of the clip . It ’s a posh TV . It will bollix up many kinsfolk away .
But the cost of admittance is too outrageous . I seldom let cost get in the agency of a recommendation when I ’m talk about a exchange premium production , because this is the sort of telly that mostly wealthy folks and business owner will purchase . In this case , though , I ca n’t rent it slide . I think the television is too expensive . It pains me to say it . And if it is kick the bucket to cost this much , it necessitate to blow me away like Samsung ’s other excellent TVs do .
