Neo QLED 8K QN800D: is Samsung’s luxurious AI-powered TV worth it?

Appearance

Admittedly, the Neo QLED 8K makes a strong initial impression, with its minimalist design emphasizing the distraction-free 65″ display. The thinness of the device is also surprising, measuring less than 2 cm. thick – 1.8, to be more exact – with metal edges that highlight the impression of being in front of a solid product that makes you want to hang it on the wall like a painting.

This simplicity of the screen is possible thanks to the One Connect Box, essentially a separate box where all the HDMI, USB and coaxial cable connections you need to connect your PlayStation, Bluray player or cable signal are located, representing an elegant solution to the problem of having to dig behind the television every time you have to connect another device.

The Neo QLED 8K also has the option of being placed on the table and for that it comes with a solid metal base that holds the more than 20 kilograms of weight of the screen firmly and even has a recess in the back to put the One Connect Box if you want to hide it.

Screen

But the biggest attraction of the Neo QLED is its 8K screen with a resolution of 7,680 x 4,320, which presents spectacular image quality. Samsung points out that this is due to its new transparent Micro LED technology, which allows generating LEDs that are 99% smaller compared to traditional ones, bringing out more details in the images and more vivid colors.

This fits with our impressions and this device is probably one of the best I have seen to date, when it comes to playing content in 8K. And I say you get it, because outside of specialized videos on YouTube it is difficult to find productions that use this format instead of the also recent 4K (Ultra HD) or the still common 1080p (Full High Definition) and 720p (High Definition).

And this is where artificial intelligence technology comes in, with the Neo QLED 8K QN800D featuring an NQ8 AI Gen2 processor that improves the resolution of images in real time. This means that even when you’re watching 4K content it looks like it’s 8K, although we noticed that it understandably had more problems displaying an image of the same quality when it came to 1080p and 720p content, resolutions still used by some of the streaming services like Netflix in its standard plan.

Another issue to note about the Neo QLED 8K screen is the use of OLED Glare Free technology, a low-reflection coating that allows the precision and color of the image to be preserved even in the face of a light source. We tested the TV in a sunlight-lit room and while it was still possible to see reflections on the screen, the effects are certainly much less than those seen on other LED TVs we’ve previously tested.

Sound

The Neo QLED 8K has eight speakers with a power of up to 70W and that use Dolby Atmos technology. The result is a rich, strong and enveloping sound for a television, which we tested – out of pure scientific interest – watching Taylor Swift’s concert “The Eras Tour” with encouraging results. The speakers managed to satisfactorily reproduce Tay Tay’s songs, although they suffered somewhat with the intense bass sounds, so a Home Theater or even a Soundbars could be recommended for those who want to achieve an experience more similar to movie theaters.

Usability

The Neo QLED 8K is an easy-to-use TV. Like all recent televisions from Samsungthe device uses the Tizen operating system, which allows you to quickly and easily switch between the various streaming services and other functions of the television.

The remote control is a particularly fascinating piece, leaving behind its usually overloaded competitors to take on a slim and minimalist design in line with the rest of the television. Part of this finesse is due to the fact that it does not use traditional batteries, but is recharged by solar energy, which in theory means that you never need to replace it and this was the case during our two-week experience with the device.

The control also has a microphone with which you can send voice commands for functions such as changing channels, increasing the volume and opening different applications. As someone who has struggled to get these types of programs to understand their instructions, I was particularly pleased with the percentage that the Neo QLED 8K got right. If I have a complaint it is that the jokes programmed on the TV are very ‘carrot’, although perhaps that is the joke.

In conclusion, this is an impressive television for those who can afford it, with ease of use and exceptional image quality for now and for the future where the 8K format is more common. Samsung He has indicated that he wants the television to become the center of the home, with the rest of the devices interconnected to form a smart home. After testing the Neo QLED 8K QN800D, I can begin to believe that this vision would not be such a bad future.