While most of the world progresses towards 4K TVs, Samsung has already released the first few mainstream 8K TVs in the market. One might have expected them to only show up half a decade later, but they are here on Reliance Digital. Is it the right time to upgrade to 8K TV though? These few TVs can give us a sign of things to come. We look at the features these TV bring along, and how they might be a great future-proof technology. Many early adopters also made a similar move during the advent of flat panel TVs more than a decade ago, and those products have lasted the test of time.
8K TVs aren’t a gimmick; there are some obvious advantages. The biggest one is the increased resolution that offers a lot more workspace and more pixel density. It’s obvious when you watch content on it. 4K content might look decent on it but native 8K content looks massively impressive. Some online streaming services have already started testing out 8K content and it also includes YouTube. Most of us don’t realize it but most photos shot on mobile phones as well as professional DSLRs 8K-ready. They look spectacular on a 8K TV, whereas lower resolution TVs need to resize them or pan them. You could literally play all your stored photos on an 8K TV and it would be like a large photo frame. Seeing it in action is really something.
8K TVs could also be connected to high-end PCs and laptops, and they can offer an extraordinary level of productivity by reducing the number of times you need to switch between windows. 4K TVs could render up to 4 full HD screens at once while 8K TVs can hold up to four, 4K sized windows at once. This means, you could have 16, full HD resolution windows open at once, without losing quality. The possibilities are endless. Imagine being able to watch 4K movies while working on other applications at the same time.
There aren’t many 8K TVs in the market so we’re excited by the launch of these four new Samsung 8K TVs models. They are available in two different ranges, the Q950T and the Q800T.
The Samsung Q950T is the high-end series and it includes two models, a 75-inch and the other, the very massive 85-inch. It’s not just the sheer size that should be enough to impress you, but the magic realized, when you play some 8K content on it. The kind of detail, colour, contrast and cinema-like experience are characteristics no 4K TV can match. The resolution on these TVs is enormous. The horizontal resolution spans 7680 pixels and the height spans 4320 pixels. That’s the width of two 4K-sized windows and the height of two 4K TVs put together. At this size and resolution, the Samsung Q950 models come with very minimal bezels too, so it’s practically invisible. Samsung calls it the Infinity Screen.
Playing 8K content is no joke; it requires a lot of performance, capability and Samsung has no shortage of it. All these TVs come with Quantum Processor 8K, which not only play 8K content smoothly but can also upscale lower resolutions to 8K. Samsung’s Quantum Dot technology also ensures excellent contrast. Images look saturated and very detailed and Samsung also has a history of great colour rendition on their panels, regardless of the price. The benefits are also seen in the viewing angles. The Samsung Q800T models are not very different, and they have practically most of the features you see on the Q950T. The Q900T models have slightly better superior picture quality, being the premium model and it’s being spoken about by experts around the world, on AV-related user forums.
The Direct Full Array 32X Backlight is another feature responsible for the contrast ratios. The actual panel is usually responsible for only generating the colors and the detail. The difference in bright and dark parts on the TV comes from the quality and performance of the backlight. The Direct Full Array 32X backlighting technology is denser than other TVs, so you get deep blacks and bright whites across scenes.
When you buy a TV like this, you get much more for the price. It’s not just the thin bezels, it’s also the way the connectors and cables are set up. Take the Q900T for example, it can be setup to have a single connection that runs between the TV and the other devices. The result is that it’s not just the TV that looks good, but also your home. Other aesthetics are also taken care of. Take the stand for example. If you don’t wall-mount the TV, you might use the stand. The stand on these models don’t use a lot of space, and they are designed to carry the weight of the entire massive TVs, while keeping a low-profile. No space is wasted at the front or the back.
Samsung does not launch TVs like these without smart features and all the models come filled to the brim with them. They have support for Bixby, Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant. You can use voice commands to control the TV and ask for things, rather than fumble with the remote and complicated menus. You can choose one of those voice assistants. There is also a Universal Guide feature that lets you see recommendations and content from various streaming channels in one place, so you don’t need to go around searching for content. The content comes to you!
Most slim TVs come with small speakers and it’s quite difficult to listen to the dialogues in TV shows and movies, so Samsung integrated a feature called Active Voice Amplifier that boosts certain frequencies so that voices and conversations are clearer and stand out.
The TV even lets you stream content from multiple devices. So, if you wanted, you could have many people watching the same TV but their own personal streams of content. This lets you make the most of the large screen area. The remote controls on both these TVs also make it easy to get used to it. You won’t have to go through bulky user manuals and online tutorials to figure out how to use the interface. The remotes as just as stylish as the TVs too.
The TV isn’t only meant for movie binging, it is also made for gamers. The Game Enhancer+ feature reduces blurring in fast-paced games so you can see detailed images no matter how close or far you are from the TV. There is also integration with AMD’s FreeSync, which with a compatible graphics card on a laptop or TV adjusts the refresh rate of the TV to match the game. The end-result is no jitter and no screen tearing that you might have seen on lower-end TVs and monitors.
Some of the other features also include SmartThings. The modern home has a lot of smart devices, and the Samsung TV environment helps you communicate with others compatible devices such as lights, refrigerators, robot vacuum cleaners and so on, from the comforts of your sofa using either your mobile phone or the TV’s interface.
The other finer specifications are at the end of the list, because Samsung hasn’t skimped on them. There is everything you can think of. There are four digital inputs in the form of HDMI ports, 3 USB ports on the 950T series that you can use to connect peripherals or external storage devices. You can also share content from pen drives or even connect 360-degree cameras to the TV. Bluetooth is supported too, as is the latest Wi-Fi is 802.11ac (WiFi 6) technology so you can stream pristine quality content from the internet or other network devices without any problem.
Words can only describe to some extent, the impressiveness of these new Samsung 8K Q950T and Q800T TVs. They are now here in India, at reliancedigital.in. You can also buy the model of your choice, at your nearest Reliance Digital store.
