What's the deal?
He Samsung QN90C 75 inches is available for $1,698, a $1,300 discount on one of the best Samsung TVs available. It's our number one pick for the The best 75 inch televisions.
ZDNET's key findings
- While it is no longer Samsung's latest QLED model, The QN90C It's a formidable TV in 2024, with fantastic picture quality, a low latency mode for gaming, and more.
- The setup process and general instability are weak points, but still worth mentioning for a TV in this price range.
- Samsung's Gaming Hub features are the best understated part of the TV, ideal for users who want full control over their set's color, refresh rate, and more.
Since its launch in 2021, Samsung's Neo QLED TV series has ranked High in its classwhich sets the benchmark for display quality and features. While the 2023 QN90C TV is no longer the company's most feature-rich model, it's still one of the best deals overall if you don't need all the latest AI features on Samsung's 2024 lineup.
The set is available in sizes from 43 to 85 inches; I tested the 55-inch model for this review.
Right out of the box, it's a very attractive TV. It has a very slim design and a super-thin bezel that really makes the picture pop. When I was opening it, the stand caught my eye as well. Instead of two legs like almost all other TVs, the QN90C is supported by a single leg in the middle, similar to a computer monitor.
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Although I must admit that putting the stand together was a bit tricky, so much so that after reading the manual and starting to put it together, I had to refer back to the instructions because I couldn't figure it out. I would consider that a minor inconvenience though, since it's a one-time assembly device. I think the sleek, premium look was ultimately worth it. The stand did wobble a bit, especially when my kids were running around the living room, but I never worried about the device falling over.
If inputs are a concern, the QN90C has four HDMI ports (one eARC), all of which support HDMI 2.1.
Here we take a closer look at the ports on the back.
Artie Beatty/ZDNET
The device uses Samsung's Tizen software as its operating system. This was my first experience with Tizen, and while it wasn't as user-friendly as Roku or Google TV, I was able to navigate where I wanted to go without too much trouble.
As for the display, it is a Quantum Mini-LED, which Samsung first introduced in 2021. As the name suggests, LEDs The LEDs here are much smaller than usual, allowing for better control of the backlighting. However, Samsung claims to have taken this a step further with microlayers inside the LEDs that eliminate noise.
There's support for HDR10 and HDR10+, and online reports put the brightness at nearly 2,000 nits, meaning it's bright enough for most home and office environments.
My living room has a fair amount of natural light shining into where my TV is, and this set’s screen stands out in that environment, largely due to its anti-glare film. There are times with my everyday TV where I have to close the blinds because of glare, but the QN90C was bright enough that that wasn’t necessary. I turned on one of my personal favorites, the Netflix one. Stranger Things, to test the screen, and it was what I most enjoyed visually about that show.
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The QN90C also uses local dimming control, which takes unused electrical power from dark areas of the screen and diverts it to brighter areas. I was impressed with how it worked here. Dark scenes were dark as expected, but black levels still had contrast where things were clearly visible. Bright colors popped beautifully, and scenes with fast action showed no signs of blurring.
Samsung has its Neural Quantum Processor built in to enhance the resolution of content. This uses artificial intelligence to add depth and sharpness to content regardless of the original resolution, which basically makes everything 4K. I tested this with Ferris Bueller's Day Off and I loved the way things looked. I've had TVs where upscaling produced unnatural-looking results, but the QN90C does it very well.
As for sound, this equipment is more than sufficient. It supports Dolby Atmos, but even without a sound barI could hear dialogue clearly over the din of my two kids and dog. For this same reason, I keep subtitles on my everyday TV, even when using a sound bar, and it was nice to be able to turn them off for a while.
Like others Samsung TVssupports object tracking, which sends sounds to the corresponding part of the screen. For example, if you're watching a movie with a racing scene, you'll audibly notice the engine roaring from left to right along with the car.
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However, when I started looking into the gaming features, I found that this TV… In fact shined. It has very low input lag (less than 10ms), a 120Hz display, support for variable refresh rate, and Samsung's above-average Game Bar feature.
If you hold down the pause/play button while a game console is on, the overlay menu will appear. From there, you can access settings like Game Picture Mode (there are six options to choose from, plus two custom options), Game Motion Plus (which reduces motion blur and improves image quality), and an on-screen crosshair (with three color options).
From that bar, there's a deeper Game Mode settings option, which lets you adjust the black equalizer, choose “basic” or “advanced” for HDR, and even choose the level of judder reduction and blur reduction.
Most casual gamers wouldn't go that deep into these settings, but it's a fantastic thing for serious gamers. It's the deepest level of customization I've ever seen in a game menu. I'd easily call it one of the best. The best TVs for gaming I have come across.
ZDNET's buying advice
He Samsung QN90C The TV has a few minor annoyances (I hesitate to call the instability and setup process flaws), but its overall picture quality and gaming features more than make up for it. If you're looking for a premium TV that works well in any environment and with any content, keep this one on your list.
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