Samsung QE55Q700TA 55" QLED 8K HDR Smart LED TV

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We don't feel we've spent enough time with it to give The Terrace a TechRadar full review, but our hands-on impressions so far have been mixed. The QLED display (with its 2,000 nits of brightness and anti-glare layer) offers decent viewing even in the midday morning sun. However, the audio of the standard speaker is quite disappointing, especially at this price. New Samsung TV tech What's new in Samsung TVs this year? Nothing’s unbeatable, of course, and we’re looking forward to putting the Q80T up against the Sony KD-55XH9505 and LG OLED55CX in particular, but we’d be surprised if it wasn’t in the running for an Award when the time comes. The TV you're looking for is at the top right-hand side of the display. (Image credit: TechRadar) Design

The Q80T also combines a neutral colour temperature with the ability to produce real vibrancy, and that’s strikingly effective with this film and its broadly cool palette. The abundant greys are just as miserable and washed out as they should be, but the flashes of colour – Sapper Morton’s shiny red gloves, the holographic billboards of central LA, the flashing lights of K’s flying car – all punch through the murky gloom beautifully.While Samsung’s approach to its 2020 model numbers is off-putting, the Q80T’s performance is anything but. It’s the first mid-range 55-incher that we’ve seen this year, but it sets a formidable benchmark thanks to its dynamic and solid picture, substantial sound and typically exhaustive app selection. It's not cheap by any means, and while 8K content is on the rise, it's by no means commonplace – if you do most of your watching via Netflix, you may as well wait until the streaming platform starts offering 8K content. While we can't speak to the effectiveness of Samsung's 8K AI upscaler in this particular model, we'd be surprised if it wasn't as effective as that included in the other models. Early verdict Samsung QN800A Neo 8K QLED TV (65, 75, 85-inch): The QN800A has incredibly thin bezels, though Samsung's matrixing technology that reduces the gap between where the pixels end and bezel begins is exclusive to the company's top-of-the-line Samsung Neo QN900A TV QLED 8K TV. Still, the QN800A does have ultra-wide viewing angle support that you don’t get on the QN700A, and that’s relatively crucial if you’re thinking about going any larger than 65-inches. So far, we're impressed with Samsung's 55-inch 8K QLED – and while the specs and features are pretty much identical to the other variants in the range, the new, smaller size is a game changer.

After much experimentation, we find that the Q80T responds well to the same picture tweaks we made to the Q95T. Thankfully, the strength of the set’s out-of-the-box settings and the clarity of the options mean there’s not too much to it. The effort Samsung has put in here has paid off. The Q80T sounds solid and the degree to which the sound isn’t restricted to the TV is impressive. There’s no surround effect as such (nor would you expect one), but the bullets fired at K’s car in Blade Runner 2049 emerge into the room satisfyingly. It’s a significantly more open and solid sound than expected at this price, particularly from a TV with more or less invisible speakers, and that makes for an engaging delivery. What gamers will appreciate is that all the new Neo QLED TVs shown so far support 4K/120 gameplay with VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync) as well as ALLM. Samsung says the TVs average 9.8ms input lag and HGiG if you connect your PC. Two final neat features for gamers are the 32:9 aspect ratio mode which, on a 65-inch TV, is about 59-inches across and wider than the largest ultra widescreen gaming monitor, plus a new Game Bar that displays real-time FPS and input lag. EMOS TV's have over 20 Years experience in the Tv trade working on all types of equipment old and new. We aim to offer the best service possible to people in the trade or who are competent enough to repair their own products. Our only issue here is that the grain is a little too pronounced. You can fix it by switching on Noise Reduction or reducing Sharpness further, but the former introduces a bit of smearing to faces as characters move their heads and the latter results in a softer picture than is ideal. Films with this much grain are pretty rare these days, and you don’t want to get rid of it entirely anyway, but some TVs strike a better balance than the Q80T.

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Of course, while the Q80T sounds good for a TV, particularly one at this level, it can only do so much, and a picture performance as good as this should really be partnered with a capable soundbar at least. You’ll get benefits across the board, but dynamics will be particularly improved. Verdict There’s good tonal balance, too. The surprisingly deep bass is thankfully free of the artificiality that’s common of TVs with small drivers, the midrange is clear and naturally weighted, and the treble is rounded off enough to avoid harshness. That said, we would avoid the Adaptive Volume feature, which introduces a little fuzz to proceedings. Adaptive Sound+ is definitely worth using, though, as everything sounds quite small-scale without it. Samsung suggests that customers have been reticent to spend the extra money the One Connect adds to the price of a TV, and so it’s now restricted to the flagship 4K and 8K models. We’re big fans of the ingenuity and neatness of the system, so it's a shame to see its availability reduced but, on the other hand, Samsung’s 2020 TV prices are lower than 2019’s.

The HDMIs, of which there are four, aren’t officially 2.1-certified, but they do support the key 2.1 features, including eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel), HFR (High Frame Rate), ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate). On the subject of VRR, the FreeSync format used by the Xbox One X and One S is supported out of the box, while G-Sync is apparently coming soon. There's not a huge difference between the new 55-inch model and the flagship 85Q900R model – it's just smaller.Like the other models in the range, it boasts incredible brightness and color; as we watched Samsung's 8K promo video, we were treated to the vivd reds of a parrot nestled in a treetop, vast, breathtaking landscapes, and vibrant firework displays. As ever, it is worth experimenting with the settings yourself to find the balance you prefer, particularly the Local Dimming and Picture Clarity options. By setting the former to High we increase the punch of bright highlights in otherwise dark scenes but lose a little bit of shadow detail, and while Custom is the right amount of motion processing for us, some may still prefer to switch it off entirely. If you need advice on your faulty product please feel free to ask, we will be more than happy to advise you. Unsure on your part number, we're currently building a step by step guide on how to find each Manufacturer part number for each part, see our part number guide to learn how to find your part number - How To Find Your PCB Part Number Repair Service