Help me decide between TU8500/AU9000/Q60T or U7QF

Avrahammer

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I'm having a very hard time deciding which TV to buy because my selection is limited to Europe and my budget is limited as well so I basically have to decide between the lesser of evils.

First of all, I do not care about HDR because I know that I have to buy a premium TV to actually enjoy it so that's out of the question. Now, I looked into the TU and AU series and correct me if I'm wrong but TU8500 is considered the best. Now that the AU9000 is out, Is there a reason to get it instead? They are priced very similarly where I live.

Secondly, Is there a reason to pay more and get a QLED TV If It's a low end one and cannot handle HDR? I'm looking at the Q60T and U7QF and people bash the Q60T quite a lot but still recommend it over TU8500. On the other hand people say the U7QF is the best budget TV but there are also reports of motion issues and color banding/glare which is worrisome to me because dark scenes are important to me (I always watch movies/shows in the dark)

Last of all there is the matter of upscaling. Most of the content I intend to watch will be on Plex. So correct me if I'm wrong but in that case Upscaling is very important right? I saw mixed comments about which TV upscales better out of the models I mentioned.

Would appreciate any help because I feel really stuck here and don't wanna deal with buyers remorse. Thanks.
 
The reason the U7Q is so highly rated is because it has a FALD system and high peak brightness. For SDR usage this has limited benefit, so whilst it's still a good SDR TV you may prefer to go for another brand instead if you want a better smart OS, better picture processing or less problems with motion.

As for the Samsung models you mention, the important thing to remember is within a series of TVs, picture quality is typically identical. Not only that, but also the changes made in TVs from one year to the next does not tend to mean they have better picture quality.

So, in 2020 Samsung's lower end models had the prefix TU.
In 2021 that changed to AU.

So, with European models the AU9000 being top of that series is the replacement for the TU8500. Picture quality is identical.

The same is true with the Q60T (2020 model) and Q60A (2021) these models are essentially the same as the cheaper TU/AU series, but with quantum dot tech that can deliver more colours when you use HDR. The QLED models also have slightly better picture processing and features like ambient mode.

With Samsung, or TVs in general though you have to be careful with the panel that they put on each TV. Some sizes and some models will have different panels, and the type of panel can also differ based on the region too. In Israel I'm not sure you get American manufactured models or European, but there's some detail on the types of panels here.
For darker viewing environment, providing you only view the TV in front you'll want to avoid Samsung models with BOE/IPS type panels, and only look at models using VA. Lost in confusion....

If you watch a lot of low-quality material via plex you may find spending more on the Q60A is worthwhile just to get the better picture processing. Either that or looking at Philips models, which also put higher end picture processors in cheaper models. If it's mainly HD quality, then really any TV will upscale well, even the Hisense U7Q.

On the other hand people say the U7QF is the best budget TV but there are also reports of motion issues and color banding/glare which is worrisome to me because dark scenes are important to me (I always watch movies/shows in the dark)
Unfortunately, motion is definitely one of the areas that cheaper TVs are worse with compared to more expensive models. They come with 60hz instead of 120hz displays which will make for more motion blur, but less stutter. However, your average person is happy with motion on a 60hz display, and modern TVs definitely do a better job with it than in the past.

Glare is very situational, but it's something also that budget TVs never really excel with. They don't come with the high brightness or anti reflective coating that more expensive models do, although if people experience glare with the U7Q they will experience it even worse with other TVs since it can get roughly twice as bright as other similarly priced models.

Colour banding and the handling of darker SDR scenes should be better on Samsung models compared to Hisense. There won't be a difference between the AU9000 or Q60A in this area.

Overall, it's hard to recommend any cheaper models at all due to the shortfalls with HDR. With a plan to avoid HDR there's nothing wrong with them, and many people are happy with them as long as you are keeping expectations low.
 
If you watch a lot of low-quality material via plex you may find spending more on the Q60A is worthwhile just to get the better picture processing. Either that or looking at Philips models, which also put higher end picture processors in cheaper models. If it's mainly HD quality, then really any TV will upscale well, even the Hisense U7Q.

Man I was ready to commit to the TU/AU and this quote made me rethink it.

I'm not sure I understand what Upscaling is. Why would the Q60A be better for low quality material? And what is considred low quality? In the case of streaming Plex through my PC I try to avoid low quality material but I do love watching older movies and TV shows as well so I'm not sure if that counts as low quality. If most of the stuff I watch is at the very worst 720P but most of the time 1080p or higher should I even be concerned about it?

And also, the TU8500 and AU9000 are the same price so I really wonder which should I choose because from what I understand Samsung tends to release downgrades and in many cases the older models are better. I'm just afraid that the TU8500 is better than the AU9000 for some reason.
 
The AU9000 is not better, or worse than the TU8500. They are the same, may as well go for the more up to date model.
Upscaling is if you rely on the TV to do the heavy lifting, if your plan is to feed the TV from a PC running plex rather than the internal apps then the PC does the upscaling instead, and there's no benefit to the Q60A over the AU9000 at all really.

You just need to make sure your PC graphics card can output 4k 60hz, for that it needs HDMI 2.0 at least.
 
The AU9000 is not better, or worse than the TU8500. They are the same, may as well go for the more up to date model.
Upscaling is if you rely on the TV to do the heavy lifting, if your plan is to feed the TV from a PC running plex rather than the internal apps then the PC does the upscaling instead, and there's no benefit to the Q60A over the AU9000 at all really.

You just need to make sure your PC graphics card can output 4k 60hz, for that it needs HDMI 2.0 at least.
Interesting. I'll go for the non-qled model then. Hopefully sometime in the future the selection in Israel won't be so abysmal and I'll have the budget for a proper QLED/OLED.

Regarding AU9000 and TU8500 I actually found that uniformity and contrast are better on the TU8500 according to some comparison videos. Might be because of the dual led feature which I believe is missing in the newer model. Samsung loves to remove features from newer models so I won't be surprised If that's the case.

edit:
according to rtings the au8000 can remove judder from 24p source compared to tu8000 and most like tu8500 as well? Is this a big deal?
 
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Which size are you considering? TU85 in 43'' and 65'' also comes with IPS/ADS panels whereas the AU90 is VA in every case. 55'' wil have VA AUO panels in both cases. Be careful with comparison videos especially when there is panel lottery at play.
 
It won't be because of dual LED, it will most likely be because they aren't comparing like for like panels. Samsung play games with panels, unfortunately.

AU9000 and TU8500 in European markets are practically the same as the AU8000 and TU8000 in American markets.

There however can be a difference in panels, which drastically will alter results. You should determine what kind of panel you want from the TV, before shopping for one.

It's also possible that in a different region, you get different panels from others, but perhaps in Israel you are getting European models the same as the rest of Europe.

Go for the more modern model, but be sure you're buying into a TV that uses the panel you want first. You may even be able to save some money and go for the AU7000/AU7100. It all depends on the size. Check this post from @BBA12

Judder - most people don't notice it, and it only applies to sending 24hz to the TV, or playing back 24fps material from its smart apps. Most likely your PC setup will send 60hz, so every TV will have judder in this price segment for you.
 
It won't be because of dual LED, it will most likely be because they aren't comparing like for like panels. Samsung play games with panels, unfortunately.

AU9000 and TU8500 in European markets are practically the same as the AU8000 and TU8000 in American markets.
Doesn't the dual LED make a difference when it comes to overall picture quality?
Also from what I can tell the TU8500 in israel lists both the Dual Led & the so called 2800 "PQI" rating by samsung so it makes me hopeful that it's the actual TU8500 and not something else.
 
Doesn't the dual LED make a difference when it comes to overall picture quality?
Also from what I can tell the TU8500 in israel lists both the Dual Led & the so called 2800 "PQI" rating by samsung so it makes me hopeful that it's the actual TU8500 and not something else.
Not at all, it's just marketing. In practice all of these TVs have the same picture quality, panel differences aside. Even the cheaper TU7xxx / AU7xxx models.

PQI is a made-up figure by Samsung so they can tell you one TV has a better picture than another. No one knows how they work out this matrix, but it's certainly not accurate, and it's there just to try and get you to spend more money.
 
Not at all, it's just marketing. In practice all of these TVs have the same picture quality, panel differences aside. Even the cheaper TU7xxx / AU7xxx models.

PQI is a made-up figure by Samsung so they can tell you one TV has a better picture than another. No one knows how they work out this matrix, but it's certainly not accurate, and it's there just to try and get you to spend more money.
Oh yea I'm sure PQI is just BS. I'm just surprised that the dual led doesn't really mean anything. I will probably go with the newer model then because they price is the same. Thanks!
 

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