Samsung 82” Q900R or Q90R, which is better and why?

ohyeah32 said:

I am currently looking to buy a flagship LED LCD TV. I’m wanting a screen size of 82” or larger, and I’ve narrowed it down to the Samsung Q900R and Q90R. I initially had my sights set on the Sony 85Z9G, but after learning on how mediocre the black levels were with HDR content, blooming issues, and light bleed into the letterbox areas of the screen, I decided to pass on the Z9G. A lot of money for a flagship TV with middling blacks and blooming issues.



That said I am now torn between the Samsung Q900R and Q90R. Both are fine TVs, and both are available in 82” screen sizes. 8K is a non issue, so let’s just leave that to one side. Based on an overall performance standpoint, which is the better TV for PQ, black levels, DSE, backlight/local dimming performance, and anything else that might make one model better than the other. And the price point does not factor in to my buying decision. This discussion is only for the 82” model.



To make this discussion fair, only people who have seen both in person or have owned both should comment.



Thanks in advance.

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BRAC said:

Save your money and get the Q90. By most accounts it’s the better performing set all things considered.

Doesn’t make sense to spend more on the Q900, unless 8K is important to you.

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Nillaz said:

The clarity of the two displays is similar. This is to the Q900's credit given how many pixels it's magically creating when it upscales. It's hard to say how much of a difference this makes with 8K content considering how little of it there is to base a judgement off of. Colors are excellent on both, though in fairness I've had the benefit of being able to calibrate the Q90...I've not had an opportunity to dial in a Q900 beyond basic adjustments.



The blacks are noticeably better on the Q90. On paper the contrast is double the Q900 and you can easily see this when they are side by side. The Q900 has an unusual finish to the screen that almost looks hazy. It's hard to describe, but you would immediately see what I am talking about when standing in front of it.



Overall I would call the Q90 the better display because the better blacks have an immediate and universal impact, but keep in mind that we are talking about 2 top end televisions...there's rarely such a thing as night and day differences at this level. If these were the only 2 displays on the planet and I had to choose between them I would consider life to be pretty good.

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ohyeah32 said:

Well, I think you have really helped my decision. I am almost certain I will go for the Q90, as from what you’ve described really drove the point home on the black levels and how much of an impact they make. I know this to be very true as this what makes the picture so immersive on my Sony Z9D and 940E TVs. If the blacks were not as inky it would not have the same effect.

Thank you for your very helpful reply.

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ohyeah32 said:

Have you had a chance to see both the Q900 and the Q90R in person? If so what were the strengths and weaknesses of both models to your eyes?

So is the general consensus that the Q90 is the better performing model overall? 8K is not all that important to me, I just want the best image quality with the best blacks I can get in a non OLED in the over 80” range.

I’m hoping a few more will chime in to share their thoughts.

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ray0414 said:

best buy has the Q900 and Q90 side by side. in my opinion (and others who have seen the same demos as best buys all cross the country), the Q90 just flat out looks better. not sure what they did to the Q900, but the Q90 has way more color and pop. All you really get with the Q900 is resolution, but that only applies to watching real 8k content.

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bekindrewind said:

I've compared these tv's in my home. 85Q900RA, LG77oled, 77A1E, 85Z9G and 82Q90R.

I would ask the guys in the Q900 thread about the differences between the 2018 85Q900RA vs the 2019 82Q900RB model. It's my understanding the 85Q900RA is the only model that does not have the ultra viewing angle filter, (even thought the website says it does) so theoretically it should have blacker blacks. I'm all about black too, but there was just something about the tv that told me to return it. It was a while ago, can’t remember what the issues were. I’d suggest reading the 85Q900 reviews. I don’t believe (could be wrong, I was once in my life) the 85Q900 has the anti-glare filter if that’s a check box for you.

82Q900 vs 82Q90R, I didn’t have those models in my house for a direct comparison. I did have 2 flagship 8k vs flagship 4k and found I could not see an improvement in any upscaling the 8k tvs did. Personally, with my experience, I think its too early to buy an 8k tv, as history will repeat itself with what the 4k early adopters went through.

I ended up keeping the 82Q90R as it checked off most of the boxes important to me.

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