Samsung’s smaller, more affordable new Q9FN QLED TV picks up where its bigger brother left off. John Archer reports
AS WE DISCOVERED in our previous issue, Samsung is well and truly back in the high-end TV game. Its QE65Q9FN screen combined a direct LED lighting system (where LEDs sit right behind the screen, not around its edges) with local dimming and the brand's proprietary ‘QLED’ Quantum Dot technology. This delivered a high dynamic range image worthy of the highest praise.
Happily, the 55in QE55Q9FN mostly carries the same premium swagger – but it does leave me wanting a little bit more…
A better fit
The Q9FN design actually works better on this 55in set than it did on the 65in version. Here, the well-balanced single-bar stand seems to harmonise more elegantly with the skinny metallic grey bezel.
A slender cable provides the screen with both its power and AV feeds (which, when you think about it, is rather clever). It plugs into an external connections box which stores the TV's tuner, connections and power block.
This box is seriously chunky compared with the svelte screen, but hopefully you can tuck it away in a bit of furniture or kit rack.
A final nifty aspect of the TV's design is the way you can display pre-loaded artwork – or your own photographs – on the screen in a low-powered screensaver mode when you’re not watching it.
The QE55Q9FN’s connections include four HDMI 2.0 ports, three USBs and Wi-Fi/Ethernet network options, while connected features are handled by Samsung’s latest smart system. This introduces numerous improvements over last year’s already strong interface, including greater sophistication when it comes to voice control/recognition, and improved integration of the TV tuner into the content browsing system.
This story is from the June 2018 edition of Home Cinema Choice.
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This story is from the June 2018 edition of Home Cinema Choice.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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