Samsung Q80T (QE55Q80T) Review & Comments

Great review Phil but you said it in your review no dolby version which is a must now for a main tv
 
Also, my experience of Samsung TVs (I have a 2019 55 Q80R) is that unlike LG, support for older sets is limited. For example, to the best of my knowledge the Q90 series from 2019 are still waiting for their eARC update (inexplicably absent in the first place in 2019) and the app support is not as strong. Case in point, Disney+ and Apple TV apps not supporting Dolby Atmos output, despite having a compatible soundbar attached. LG seem to really push the boat out on ensuring support for the latest formats and codecs. Not to mention Dolby Vision, which is becoming a must, with the rich availability of streaming content in this format. For that reason, I won't buy a Samsung TV again.
 
Looking to upgrade our 65Q70R but the no dolby vision is a killer really, so will be going with the Sony X9505H tomorrow.

HDR10+ means nothing really, barely any content in it compared to DV.
 
Hi, advice please.
So, without DV, would i not be able to watch 4k films and tv? I bouhht one of these and am now worried that i've got the wrong tv.
 
No it still does HDR10 so you will get to watch 4K HDR content.
Ta. Your comment suggests that this is pretty pointless, given the lack of support though?
 
Ta. Your comment suggests that this is pretty pointless, given the lack of support though?

No, not at all, but it gets complicated.

All new TVs have HDR10. Only upper-mid tier TVs like this one are actually capable of displaying HDR properly. Cheap TVs just don't have the hardware to give the required brightness and contrast.

Dolby Vision is an advance over HDR10, it's an incremental difference, not the huge difference between HDR and SDR.
Your TV will take a Netflix or Prime stream or a 4K UHD disc and you will see decent HDR you just don't get the little extra Dolby Vision brings to it.

It's like you're going out for a steak dinner and you get a steak and it's great, but they ran out of your favourite side dish. You still get to eat a great steak.

Personally, I'd go for the Sony XH9505 over this TV. But it's still a good TV and has HDMI 2.1 which the Sony doesn't.

 
No, not at all, but it gets complicated.

All new TVs have HDR10. Only upper-mid tier TVs like this one are actually capable of displaying HDR properly. Cheap TVs just don't have the hardware to give the required brightness and contrast.

Dolby Vision is an advance over HDR10, it's an incremental difference, not the huge difference between HDR and SDR.
Your TV will take a Netflix or Prime stream or a 4K UHD disc and you will see decent HDR you just don't get the little extra Dolby Vision brings to it.

It's like you're going out for a steak dinner and you get a steak and it's great, but they ran out of your favourite side dish. You still get to eat a great steak.

Personally, I'd go for the Sony XH9505 over this TV. But it's still a good TV and has HDMI 2.1 which the Sony doesn't.

Brilliant answer. You've put me at ease. Thank you. As i have it sat in my kitchen, i'll stick with it. I have a new xbox and like the sound of the operating system, so it still ticks boxes.
 
like the sound of the operating system

I have a Sony, it's great, the picture quality is fantastic, motion handling and upscaling excellent.

I'd pay more money though for it to have Samsung Tizen as opposed to Android. Android is fine, I'm used to it on phones, tablets, media streamers etc, but it's not as simple, intuitive or just easy to use as Samsungs OS.
 
I have a Sony, it's great, the picture quality is fantastic, motion handling and upscaling excellent.

I'd pay more money though for it to have Samsung Tizen as opposed to Android. Android is fine, I'm used to it on phones, tablets, media streamers etc, but it's not as simple, intuitive or just easy to use as Samsungs OS.
I'm coming from a 4 year old, 49" LG HD that cost £400. I imagine anything would blow me away
 
I really don't think DV is a must have. If you showed someone HDR10 but got the DV light to turn on, I'd be amazed if anyone could spot that it wasn't.
 
I've noticed, small, subtle differences in content when played back to back, specifically looking for it.

Everyday viewing, wouldn't have a clue which.
 
You'll see from my signature I have both an Oled and this set.
Yes there is no DV but to be honest I feel its not needed here the HDR isn't like that of an Oled. It's subtle and not so vivid and obvious.
I'm not for one second saying it's not great it's just different.
This TV certainly gets the job done. The menu is clunky, getting inputs to change is long winded, but it sounds good and looks good with most devices.

There is stutter iplayer is unwatchable, I watched it the other day with pointless it was just awful, every time the camera moved the screen then stuttered for it. This isn't the same as with netflix and prime and gaming all of which look great.

For £900 it's a great midrange set with no screen brun issues
 
You'll see from my signature I have both an Oled and this set.
Yes there is no DV but to be honest I feel its not needed here the HDR isn't like that of an Oled. It's subtle and not so vivid and obvious.
I'm not for one second saying it's not great it's just different.
This TV certainly gets the job done. The menu is clunky, getting inputs to change is long winded, but it sounds good and looks good with most devices.

There is stutter iplayer is unwatchable, I watched it the other day with pointless it was just awful, every time the camera moved the screen then stuttered for it. This isn't the same as with netflix and prime and gaming all of which look great.

For £900 it's a great midrange set with no screen brun issues
Thank you. Are you able to give me some setting pointers?
 
Thank you. Are you able to give me some setting pointers?
Yeah for sure do you have the set yet? And what settings do you need or would like?
 
Yeah for sure do you have the set yet? And what settings do you need or would like?
It's going up tomorrow morning. It's going to be a bit of an all round work horse. 50% streaming services and catch up (not much live tv). That includes lots of sports on now and bt sport web site. 25% xbox series s and 25% movies.
 
I really don't think DV is a must have. If you showed someone HDR10 but got the DV light to turn on, I'd be amazed if anyone could spot that it wasn't.

It's pretty much marketing isn't it?? You would think that Samsung would be all over that given most of their TV business is pure marketing.

The amount of people under the illusion that Dolby Vision is a must have feature is quite sad really but great marketing I guess from Dolby - people see their name next to it and think they are getting something special.
 
I genuinely can’t see how this tv can be recommended.

The picture quality out of the box is a joke. And most people who buy them do not have them calibrated. Nor do they even know how to adjust the picture using the simplest controls.

This should have been sent back in a brown box with a note saying ‘what are you playing at Samsung? Is this your best shot! Seriously?’.
 
I genuinely can’t see how this tv can be recommended.

The picture quality out of the box is a joke. And most people who buy them do not have them calibrated. Nor do they even know how to adjust the picture using the simplest controls.

This should have been sent back in a brown box with a note saying ‘what are you playing at Samsung? Is this your best shot! Seriously?’.
Well, fortunately the good people on this forum are here to assist!
 
Well, fortunately the good people on this forum are here to assist!

Indeed. But not everyone who may read this review will be a member here.

They could simply be doing a quick check of reviews before buying.

Also, even with ‘assistance’ from here, many may well still struggle. Lots of people are not remotely clued up. Technically speaking.

And, more importantly, there’s no reason at all for that kind of picture skewing from anyone the size of Samsung. It’s not a little bit out, it’s all over the place.

And that’s the best setting out of the box?

‘Not recommended without serious calibration’ is the only genuine review ending for this tv.
 
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Personally having viewed the same content on my Q70r in HDR10 and on a X9005H and X9505H in dolby vision, there is a fair bit of difference to my eyes.

Shadow detail on the Dolby Visions is a bit better and the colours arent as oversaturated either and it looks much more natural, add to that the black bars scene to scene are generally blacker as well.

Obviously there are differences form tv to tv, but using MY eyes and it being MY tv that im replacing then i am going for a tv with Dolby Vision.

Dont know why people have to slyly insult others on here, well i do its full of pretentious douchebags, but if it makes them happy to do it then.....
 
‘Not recommended without serious calibration’ is the only genuine review ending for this tv.
That's not the case at all. Yes, the graph looks out, which it is in the brightest part of the scale, but you would be hard-pressed to see any visible errors with actual content in the Movie Mode with that result. If you read the review that is quite obviously stated. It should be better, but it's nowhere near as big an issue as it is switching to Standard and it's incredibly blue whites, yet that's the mode 'most users' and even reviewers for other well-known sites, will stick the TV in. My job is to point out errors and issues in the most accurate modes but to also offer a balanced view of the entire package. This is a strong LED LCD TV which has issues but also has some real strengths, especially with gaming.
 
That's not the case at all. Yes, the graph looks out, which it is in the brightest part of the scale, but you would be hard-pressed to see any visible errors with actual content in the Movie Mode with that result. If you read the review that is quite obviously stated. It should be better, but it's nowhere near as big an issue as it is switching to Standard and it's incredibly blue whites, yet that's the mode 'most users' and even reviewers for other well-known sites, will stick the TV in. My job is to point out errors and issues in the most accurate modes but to also offer a balanced view of the entire package. This is a strong LED LCD TV which has issues but also has some real strengths, especially with gaming.

I’ve no idea why you assume I didn’t read your review?

I wouldn’t have commented otherwise.

This is a bit of a giveaway to the picture quality out of the box.

Gamma tracks well enough but, because of our red issues, the DeltaE errors are well over the visible threshold of three, which means that errors can be seen within normal TV and film viewing with red-tinted whites for example.’

That’s enough for me to immediately discount it out of serious consideration.

I genuinely see no reason at all for a modern tv from a multi national, nor anyone else in fact, with ‘...errors (that) can be seen within normal TV and film viewing...’

I don’t recall seeing many, if any, other reviews with such poor best setting results here. Certainly not from LG, Panasonic, Sony or Hisense.

I might be wrong though. I don’t read them all.
 
I don’t recall seeing many, if any, other reviews with such poor best setting results here. Certainly not from LG, Panasonic, Sony or Hisense.

I might be wrong though. I don’t read them all.
You are wrong, it is mentioned in all reviews. You need to understand that what is being pointed it is something that the vast majority of viewers will not see in actual viewing. But it is mentioned to be complete. I'm all for people having opposing opinions, but they should at least make a point of seeing the product in action first, rather than looking at a graph and assuming it is a disaster. You also need to look at the scale of the graph to see that what we are sometimes talking about are single figure percentages. The greyscale accuracy is not the biggest issue with this TV either, you'll find those pointed out in the review as well, but they are balanced against what is very good. Once I have a good understanding of the good and the bad I give a verdict based on that, in this case, it has some real plus points that would give it a recommendation.
 

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